Chapter 3. The System
My eyes shot open and adrenaline coursed through me, my body still in a fight or flight mode. It felt as If I had only blinked, but from the lack of pain or exhaustion, I knew that wasn't quite what had happened. I got up and looked around to see the unusual surroundings and Oblivion. But what I didn't see were any Oblivion Cores on the ground. In a panic, I quickly checked the quest.
Quest: Unlock System. Quest Information: Gather 5 Oblivion Cores. Quest Status: 4/5 Oblivion Cores Gathered. Quest Reward: Unlocks System.
Now that I had taken a second to wake up, I did notice a bit of a change. Checking my body there wasn't a prominent physical change but I could feel it on a deep level. Not only did I feel stronger but it was like a fog had lifted from my brain. This, along with a few other small improvements like my breathing and my senses. With 4 of the 5 Oblivion cores "gathered" all I needed was 1 more Oblivion Core to unlock this so-called "system" which would hopefully make surviving this place a little more manageable. Remembering the main quest and its two-week timer I checked it to see how long I had been out.
Current Main Quest: Initiation. Main Quest Information: Survive until Initiation. Main Quest Status: In progress. Time remaining until Initiation: 329 hours, 4 minutes, and 19 seconds.
It seems I slept about six hours or so, meaning I've lost so much precious time! At this rate, I'll never achieve the ultimate goal of speedrunning this place! Six hours down the drain, truly unfortunate. Jokes aside, I definitely needed the rest but I'm lucky that nothing had attacked me while I was out. I was worried about how I was going to sleep in this place as there hadn't been any real cover that I had noticed. I reasoned I would figure it out when the time came but seeing as I passed out I didn't really have any choice but to lay out in the open. Considering how unusual the whole experience was though I'll have to try and ask Oblivion about it at some point.
I focused on the screen in my mind, which seemed to be everpresent, patiently waiting for me to look at it. It was hard to explain but it was like how your eyes naturally filter out your nose but you could look at it if you cross your eyes. Maybe it was a bad analogy but the screen was always at the back of my mind until I focused on it. When I did, it appeared in front of me as a physical monitor, well maybe not actually physical. Strange new normalcies beside, looking at the screen I quickly noticed a little flashing light In the bottom left corner. As I mentally interacted with it, multiple messages sprawled down in a new menu. The first two were notifications detailing my successful slaying of the first Oblivion Wolf and attaining the Oblivion Core. The next 6 were about my recent exploits, although I wasn't sure how I absorbed the other two cores. Mentally scrolling down to make sure that was the last of the notifications, two more appeared. They seemed important as they were bolded and accentuated in the menu.
-Common Achievement Unlocked: Solo Survivor 1. Prerequisite: Successfully survive an encounter with 2 deadly threats by yourself. Reward: + ? Stregnth&Endurance.-
~Rare Achievement Unlocked: Tis but a Scratch. Prerequisite: Successfully survive a deadly encounter with only 1 health remaining. Reward +% ? Vitality.~
"Alright, so I get achievements for completing certain feats, wait, did that say survive with only 1 health remaining!? Hold on, does that mean I...almost died? I mean, I can't even see how much health I have, I wasn't even sure those stats were affecting me yet. I guess they are just invisible until I unlock this system thing?" I mused aloud, concern heavy in my tone.
"You are mostly correct." Oblivion interjected.
I turned to stare at the entity, my expression nonplussed at his casual tone. "Thanks oh wise one, you are as useful as ever," I replied coldly, and sarcastically.
It would take some time to wrap my head around almost dying but hey, at least I got a rare achievement from it. Now, time to gather this last core so I can finally see all these hidden stats and start making some real progress. I would be lying if I said I wasn't shaken by how close I got to dying potentially a second time? I still wasn't sure If I had even died to get here, and what would happen if my health hit 0 here. I assume I would cease existing entirely, but it was bold to assume anything about this place.
I picked up my stick, which was safely positioned on the ground, and started scouting around. I was hoping I could find something all alone and finish it off concisely without unwanted interruptions this time, but I had to expect the worst. It was clear I shouldn't have survived my last encounter, and that I only did from dumb luck, so I would need to be a lot more careful from now on.
Walking around I made some more casual small talk with my eternal partner, but as expected, most of its replies were silence or dejections.
"So, why do you have a suit on?"
"This attire was deemed best suited to appear calming and familiar." It said, finally giving me an interesting answer.
"Haha, nice pun, but if that was your goal why is your face painful to look at and constantly shifting?" I asked genuinely.
"My appearance is solely based on you, any complaints can be directed to the aforementioned individual."
"Based on me? Well, I can assure you that all of this." Gesturing at Oblivion's face. "Is not my preference. If what you speak is true though, I guess I'll try and manifest a face for you or something."
Attempting to imagine a face my mind came up blank, I couldn't even remember what I looked like. The harder I tried, the more my head hurt at the effort. Perhaps my memory issue was worse than I initially thought. There was no use dreading on it so I put my thoughts to something else.
My previous experiments to figure out how Oblivion worked sprang into my head and a new idea came to mind. If I couldn't get close enough to touch Oblivion maybe throwing something at it would do something interesting. Anytime there was an obstacle and Oblivion was about to come into contact with it, it would simply faze right through.
Picking up a rock I threw it up and down in my hand before turning around suddenly and throwing at the entity. Expecting the rock to simply phase through Oblivion I was slightly confused as it was absorbed by it and disappeared. It hadn't landed on the other side of it, and after a few seconds, I heard a thud to my right. Leaning down I inspected the rock and it was indeed the very same rock I had thrown.
Curious, I threw the rock at it once more and looked up to notice a small area in the sky that was warped. It was similar to the heat wave like disturbance the Oblivion Jackrabbit had feasted upon. The disturbance in the sky subsided and the rock once again thudded to the ground. Very interesting indeed, I wasn't very sure of the implications but it was definitely something.
After mindlessly walking and talking for what felt like hours I finally found something interesting. There appeared to be a deer grazing in a field of grass with a forest behind it, the scene felt a bit too normal. Going in a random direction and only seeing dead trees or bland rocks the view of grass and lively trees was a welcome change. The obvious implication of something alive in this place was the potential existence of water. I hadn't experienced thirst or hunger yet, but it was entirely possible it just took place at a much slower pace. There was also the possibility water and food in general weren't something I or any other creature needed, better safe than sorry though.
"Unknown entity detected, further information needed for detailed analyses."
"Oh, I was expecting an Oblivion deer or elk, something along those lines, but nothing..?" I mused aloud questioningly. I hadn't anticipated Oblivion to not know something, I figured it was an omniscient all-knowing knowledge keeper, the way it was so encyclopedic.
I expected the deer creature to have some nightmarish quality as thinking otherwise would be considered unwise I had discovered. But trying to anticipate all the kinds of horror the creature could express was more disconcerting than helpful. Simply staying vigilant and on guard was what I needed to practice in this bizarre world. I thought to myself, taking in a gulp of air to calm myself.
Gripping my stick of Nitherith I got low and crouched, the action only slightly straining my body. I could really feel the difference now, not only did my movements feel more natural, but less physically taxing. Adjusting my stance I hid behind one of the trees surrounding the serene field. I eyed the deer quizzically and noted it truly did look like a normal deer, at least from what I could see of its upper body. Its antlers weren't that developed and it wasn't all that big but I wasn't going to make the mistake of underestimating the creature.
Waiting for a good moment to strike, the deer finally got close enough to where I felt comfortable attacking it. As soon as it's head dipped down to take a bite of the grass I leaped into action. I had no real plan in mind but to stab it in the head, that seemed like a good enough plan. Unfortunately, the plan did not go off without incident. Right as I was about to plunge my handy and loyal stick into its soft skin, and hard skull, it dashed away from me. Now on the surface, this would seem like an ordinary thing for a startled creature to do, but oh ho ho no, the deer was unquestionably far from ordinary.
The deer, if that was its true nature, was now standing on two legs. It eyed me with a concerning amount of intelligence as it seemed to be assessing me. The thing had moved scarily fast, and a sinking feeling in my gut began to warn me about the evident dangers such a revelation, well, revealed. Without the low intelligence animals normally had, this agile deer monster didn't bode well for my survival. Speed was a scary threat already, but could be handled if the monster, animal, whatever, just ran straight at you and attacked. However, the way the deer stood its ground and was waiting, it sent chills down my spine.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
I made sure to keep my eyes on it but I made an understandable mistake, blinking. In the fraction of a second it took for my eyelids to close, and then reopen, it moved. Reacting more on instinct than vision my arm came up to block the creature. This only barely worked as it's leg crashed into the block. I stumbled back but stood my ground, watching as the deer dashed away, seeming to only be testing my ability.
The very fact I was even able to block it's attack was a surprise to me. It moved at ridiculous speeds and packed quite the kick. A good few hours ago and that kick would have broken my arm and potentially a rib. Not to say the attack didn't hurt but it could have been a lot worse. At this point I knew I was in over my head though, considering it still seemed to be testing me and not outright trying its hardest to kill me.
It's intelligence was freighting, the way it stood there and watched me, all while still monitoring it's surroundings. As I stared, I prepared myself as I couldn't hold my eyes open much longer. It wasn't like when I blinked it was suddenly upon me, I could still react. The first time it had just taken me by surprise by timing its movement with the very momentarily lapse in my vision. This time, I would be ready.
Assuming it would deploy the same strategy, as soon as I blinked I moved. It came in with the same kick but instead of immediately backing off it came in with a second attack. It didn't come as too much of a surprise but the way it attacked did. With its kick making me stumble back it used this opportunity to thrust it's horns towards me.
This action was slower than the kick, but still fast enough to where I couldn't comfortably deal with it. That said, I dodged the deers horns by a hairs width and stood guarded with my stick. It once again backed off and continued to appraise me, slowly circling me. After it's second attempt at attacking me, I felt like it might have had a better chance if it went all out from the beginning. Perhaps that was a flaw in its intelligence, overestimating my abilities. Whatever the case I wouldn't make the mistake of underestimating it.
I slowly backed up, creating as much distance as I could before it's next assault. Which didn't take long as it decided to come at me at a dead sprint, not waiting for me to put my guard down. One thing I had noticed is it always seemed to sprint straight forward. It seemed like however it was getting so much speed it's straight trajectory had something to do with it. So thinking quick and moving quicker I sidestepped so hard I landed on the ground. It sprang past me and scrambled to put itself to a halt.
I made my way over to the creature noticing it's strange behavior. I hoped to capitalize on whatever was going on but the sight of the situation made me halt in place.The creature had one hoof touching the ground of Oblivion just outside of the grassy forester area. The hoof was rapidly pulsating and morphing grotesquely. After being stunned for a moment it pulled it's hoof back and pulled itself away. I could see the expression on its deer face and it was eery. The emotion I could see on it gave me a sense of dread and uneasiness. There was an instinctual part of myself that knew what I was seeing was very wrong. From the way it moved and acted down to the minor details of its body language and facial expressions.
It made me freeze in shock and hesitation for a moment letting it situate itself. Which consisted of it severing it's own leg brutally and efficiently. The whole scene was just one more in a chain of disconcerting and horrible incidents I had so far seen. If there was any mercy it was that when I had slept, I didn't remember dreaming. I could only imagine the possible nightmare fuel these past hours could easily induce. Although something told me that this was just the beginning and that whatever I could see next could be worse than my wildest imagination. Although you could never underestimate the limitless potential of the subconscious brain.
After the deer started to scurry off it still stuck around close enough to be within the field of grass just before the thicker foliage and forest. I had assumed it would flee entirely but it's missing limb seemed to be regrowing, and it was still fast with three of its limbs. I had a feeling it wouldn't be able to do it's little dash move since it no longer had two hind legs but I had to assume the worst. Just as I had thought this the deer seemed to bulge out ever so slightly, it's leg also regrowing at a much faster pace. It's horns started growing and muscles began to form on its previously relatively petite frame. Not to say it wasn't muscular before, but in terms of deer it was obviously a young buck.
Now having a very obvious and defensive weakness I devised a strategy I hoped would work. Peering over to Oblivion, his form moving with me, I realized that the deer had never once looked it's way. It wasn't something I had even thought to realize or look out for, but the knowledge was interesting. Focusing my mind on the current situation I locked in on my target, staring into the eyes of what was supposed to be a prey, but was instead a predator. It waited until it's leg was fully reformed and then charged, it's speed even more formidable than before. It's distance from me had almost doubled from it's earlier charges but it's speed in this new form was even more imposing, making up for the distance and getting to me even faster than before.
It almost seemed to easy, I was on the edge of the field and with a swift movement I could get out of the way and see the deer sail into the apparently deadly Oblivion ground. But as I sidestepped once again, instead of the projected outcome in my mind, the deer stopped on a dime and put all it's momentum to an attack. I barely put up any guard against the attack and even then it was a half assed attempt as I was in shock at it's quick stop. The full force of its attack hit me in the side and this time I felt the snapping of bone in not only my arm but other parts of my body. I assumed it cracked my ribs but I couldn't be entirely sure. The one thing I knew for certain is that it hurt, bad.
For better, or worse, instead of retreating to come at me again, it lunged at me with another attack. It seemed to opt for kicks instead of using it's horns or front legs to attack. Taking this into consideration I dropped as fast as I could and narrowly avoided the blow. Immediately, I sweeper out to knock the deer down, hoping the force was enough. As it's momentum carried it's body and my kick hit it's one leg planted to the ground, it's whole body fell with a crash. It's balance was completely off and with it's miss it was already slightly off balance as it was.
I could feel my body keeping up better than before by a not insignificant amount as I plunged my stick down towards it's head. It, of course, dodged the attack but I quickly grappled it, using my improved strength to tussle it effectively. This wasn't going exactly to plan but one always needed to improvise and adapt when dealing with Oblivion and it's challenges, as anyone should know. I held strong to the creature as we tumbled about, I could feel the strength of the creature was substantial and more than my own but I kept strong. My aim was to obviously get it onto the Oblivion ground to hopefully take it out but it was putting up quite the struggle despite my best efforts.
It thrashed and kicked at me but adrenaline pushed me to keep at it and push myself to defeat this creature. I had lost hold of my stick in the skirmish but found it once again in my hand as I thought of it, something I didn't have time to think about. I hit the creature with the stick of nitherith and it's the area around the where the stick made contact throbbed and visibly pulsed. The stick seemed to have the same effect on the creature as when it touching the ground, something else I didn't have much time to think about other than it's use in the moment.
It's struggling only grew but it was now erratic, making it easier to grapple the deer. I continued to roll with it, getting closer and closer to the toxic ground. I made sure the stick made as much contact with it as possible to take advantage of that weakness. I was not going to pull any punches with this creature, even if the methods I used to defeat it were cheap. In this place I did not feel bad about fighting dirty.
The closer to the ground we got, the more it tried to get loose from our tussle. I needed to do something drastic or else it would definitely get away. I was starting to feel very worn down at this point but the opportunity to win was so close. Deciding it was now or never, I forced the deer to roll with me and used all my strength to throw it's mass. The deer flew 5 meters or so to the ground and landed fully on the strange surface of the wastelands of Oblivion.
It immediately tried to get up and get away but all of its limbs were pulsating, a long with most of its body. It screeched out with a horrific and torturous scream. The noise was almost defending but it was nothing in comparison to what the deer must have been feeling. It's entire body was bulging out and making terrible noises, like something was trying to make it's way out from under its skin. Almost right as that thought entered my mind its flesh began to burst.
Grotesque fleshy appadages starting bursting out from all over its body, writhing around and tearing at the deers flesh. Blood gushed out from the various wounds and from the flesh appadages, the cries of the deer fading out as it slumped to the ground. Not long after, the deer exploded, sending pieces of it flying as the fleshy monstrosity birthed from it. It stopped flailing and just sat on the ground pulsing and growing.
"You have defeated a Weredeer. Reward: information."
"You have discovered, Oblivion Flesh Abomination. Oblivion Flesh Abominations are solitary creatures born from untainted. They are exceedingly rare and deadly, absorbing and feasting upon living flesh."
Just as I had begun to grasp and process the words uttered from Oblivion the "Oblivion Flesh Abomination" shot one of its long tentacle like appendage towards me. The speed at which this occured putting the deer to shame. Not even being able to begin to understand the creature or react the tentacle of flesh reached me and trapped around me. Where I expected to feel pain or potentially instant death I was instead met with a rancid smell.
The dark red bloody tentacle started melting and evaporating into a mist. It was exactly what had happened to the Oblivion Wolves and Jackrabbit. The liquidy flesh fell to the ground and hit the grass, Immediately killing it and the surrounding grass. It pulled back it's appendage and made a ear splitting noise that sounded like it was emanating from inside my own skull. The speed of its attack may have been horrifying but the speed of the creature itself was that of a snail.
It was hard to tell if it was trying to escape with urgency or if this was it's default speed but it was indeed getting farther away from me. I stood up and tried to keep the creature within my periphery, as it's mere visage of it was exceedingly painful. It sent a deep sense of dread to my core and a gave me a splitting headache. It gave the sense that I wasn't supposed to look at this creature, a common feeling in this place. However with this Oblivion Flesh Abomination the feeling was overwhelming.
I was hesitant to mess with this creature and gave heavy consideration into just leaving it alone and being happy I was still alive. On the other hand though, if this thing was damaged just from making contact with me I could easily kill it. Assuming that wasn't some effect of the environment or some other anomaly. I slowly creeped up to it, its flesh actively morphing away from me. I brought my palm to the creatures body and pressed it against it. Bracing myself for the unexpected it once again started melting and turning into a mist, this time at a rapid pace. The smell was still abhorrent but even less so than the previous two times. The thought I may have been gaining a resistance to the smell both excited and concerned me. Deciding using my thoughts as an escape from the present moment was just distracting me, I refocused and cast my inner thoughts aside. Stepping even closer so that my body was almost touching it, I reached my arms forward and forced them inside the creature. I looked away and bit my lip, making it bleed. As it melted and evaporated I continued to walk forward, my arms outstretched and eyes closed. The smell began to be too much and I gagged but kept at it. Slowly, the creature that was once the size of a large boulder was now a small feeble mass of flesh. It held onto an object inside of it which was visible through the thin flesh. Grabbing the last of it in both my hands, it disintegrated and I was now holding a massive Oblivion core.
"You have defeated an Oblivion Flesh Abomination." Reward: Oblivion core, 1."As I held the core in my hands it
floated up and slammed into my chest, throwing me onto the ground.
"Absorption of Oblivion core 28%...67%...95%...99%...100%. Absorption of Oblivion Core complete."
The pain was brief but extreme, leaving me breathless and sweaty. "
"Quest: Unlock System, is complete Quest Information: Gather 5 Oblivion Cores. Quest Status: 5/5 Oblivion Cores Gathered. Quest Reward: Unlock System, granted."
As Oblivion completed it's rambling, I looked at the screen and noticed the quest get greyed out and marked. The moment it did an intense pain grew in my chest. At first it was a slight discomfort, like gas pain, but the pain quickly got much worse. It felt as if something was forming in my sternum and pressing up against my heart and lungs. I fell to the ground seething, my hand on my chest. My vision started to go as the intense pain gripped my entire body. I faded into darkness once more, Oblivions voice ringing out. At this point this exact situation was becoming a bit too frequent.
"Initiating system integration."
Current Main Quest: Initiation. Main Quest Information: Survive until Initiation. Main Quest Status: In progress. Time remaining until Initiation: 326 hours, 57 minutes, and 18 seconds.