/Babe, I bet we could have a nap in here, and he wouldn't even notice
//I'm sure you want to nap! -Kyrina.
/Maybe Diamand needs a nap, right, buddy?
Somehow I felt Kyrina's glare, and that diamond was not tired in any way and to get off my lazy ass. Yes, I somehow squeezed that all out of a feeling. These people were wound so tight, maybe.
I stood back in Diamond, my mind finally able to separate us, taking back my identity as I. The blade still glowed, so I started cutting everything that looked important and then carved my way into the chest, but that was when alarms started going off. I was already here, so I began to cut more this, and the MAS started to shake around, but it didn't affect me with the stabilizers.
//WARNING! The Gallant had taken critical damage and should be evacuated
Alta's warning was all the convincing I needed to move and cut a hole in the side to escape. It was falling away from me, so I stepped out onto a ledge made of air and watched the King fall. Watching it smashing the rocky side of the cave wall was just the icing on the cake.
Man, I was feeling sadistic today; maybe Maxine's death has made me a bit kill joy. I needed to get my shit together if I was going to keep Kyrina safe. Well, perhaps ill let that kill joy go for just a bit longer, one more person to stamp my card to say I rode all the rides once.
//Are you okay, Dave? -Kyrina.
/Yeah, I think im just venting, so I'm saving a bit for our friend
I lowered us down by sliding down a hill of air, hoping off it just before the bottom. The whole act was comical, but it got us down to the ground and less than a hundred meters from the target. I walked to the marble hall that was so out of place in this cave area like some shined up ancient ruin.
Inside was a door taller than Diamond that opened as we got close. A warm voice greeted us in welcome, but I knew that voice.
"Welcome back, Captain, it has been a while, but I'm sure my secretary could have worked something out if you would have just called ahead."
The inside was a burning forge and a massive metal man beating on some strange metal. Weapons were everywhere, in the racks, on the walls, and all across the room. I looked at the massive MAS and then knelt, opening the chest. As I jumped out of Diamond, Kyrina's protests followed me but stopped as I hit the ground.
The familiar time freeze hit me again, but I wasn't surprised by the smart ass comment. Alexander opened, and the white trench coat and glasses jumped out, smiling at me, but I crossed my arms at him. Whatever this was, it wasn't going to be good, or maybe it was; Simon did look far too happy for his own good.
Part of me want to punch him in the mouth, but logic ruled out because it wasn't Simons' fault. At least, I didn't think it was; who knew how deep this was? Maybe what he told me was a lie, but why then?
"Stop it! You're making my head hurt when you think about things you can control, but flapping your gums to your ladies about this shit is not a good fucking idea, Dave. Give your head a shake, will you? Only I can talk to you about this, or do you like scooping up parts of your ladies?"
"Are you fucking kidding me, Simon?"
Chapter 128: EXI-EVO
Don't give me that shit, Dave! I fucking told you told to tell anyone, right? So what do you do? And now you have the nerve to be mad at me. Get your head in the game, Dave!"
Dammit, I hated to admit it was my fault. I had been looking for someone else to blame this entire time, but if I had just kept my mouth shut, none of this would have happened. I took a deep breath in, held it, then exhaled, letting everything go.
"I'm sorry, Simon, I know this is my fault."
"Good, now, shut the fuck up and listen, most of our time has been wasted already. You have another MINI-GAME coming up in less than five minutes, but you will be alone, and it's going to be fucking weird. It's a new game mode they are testing, and you're the guinea pig. Now, quick, DOG, RABBIT, or FOX, Pick one! This choice is all I can give you this time, HURRY!"
Dog, rabbit, or Fox? New MINI-GAME? GUININE-PIG?!
"FOX!"
"Good choice, I think. One more thing, the second lost soul is here somewhere, find her and... you know, put in in her dark cave! Oops, I meant to bring her to the dark side, or light; I know you not that picky, hehe!"
"I thought you said we only had less then..."
Then I could feel the world start to peel away, bit by bit. I looked at Simon again, but he was gone; the rest of the world, including Diamond and Kyrina, slowly disintegrated. The world soon left me on a flat grey surface for as far as I could see in all directions.
"Dave."
I turned to Serina's beautiful brown-skinned face, and took her into my arms, hold her tightly to me. I had missed her since she had left in the last game, two games, and we would play together again. I pulled back and took her face in my hand and then kiss her large pillow-soft lips as I felt her body press into me. Serina pulled back faster than I wanted, but I could tell she had something on her mind from the look on her face.
"Be careful in the next game; I don't think it will be hard, since it is the trial run, but still. You know what the Game Masters can be like; just be wary."
"Do you know what the next game is?"
"I heard it was going to be called EXO-EVO, but that's all I know. I'm sorry, Dave, but this is all the time I have right now. We will meet in Central Park, in Growing Powers!"
The world started to go black for me, and I was gone.
//WARNING MINI-GAME ACTIVATED
//DOWNLOADING NEW SYSTEM AND WORLD
//EXI-EVO SYSTEM ACTIVATED
//PREVIOUS SYSTEM AND WORLD PAUSED
//NEW SYSTEM ACTIVATED
Having my memories back now allowed me to be able to relax in the nothingness as the screens flashed by. EXI-EVO? What kind of system was that? Better question, what did it have to do with a fox?
//WARNING MINI-GAME ACTIVATING IN 3, 2, 1
I could see a dim light coming from the trees above me, and the world around me was filled with greens and browns, but something wasn't right. My line of sight was now dramatically lower to the ground, and then I tried flexing my red...furry...paw?
I scurried backward, trying to get away from the animal paw attached to my animal arm, but something tripped me. The hell was that furry thing? I looked, but as I turned, the furry thing kept turning with, shit, that was my tail!
"Ara?"
WAS THAT MY VOICE!? What the hell was this shit? What just happened to me? Okay, Dave, calm, think.
Furry red paws? Check. Long furry red fluffy tail? Check? Long face and pointy ears? I moved my paws up to my head but then dropped them. Check... I was a fox.
What kind of game was this? What was I supposed to do as a fox? I tried to think of my AVATAR, and nothing happened, Great.
*POOF!*
Suddenly, I disappeared into a cloud of smoke and made me start sneezing uncontrollably like a small dog sniffing pepper. Why didn't I pick a dog?! Ugh, I sneezed so much that at one point, I thought I might just explode into a shower of gore and red hair.
"Dave! Achoo!"
I immediately recognized my favorite program's voice, Trinity! Or Trina, I guess since she was in her guide mode. Thank goodness, I was actually starting to get worried there. I thought I might just have to figure out things as I went, but I Trina was here, then I would have some kind of help.
"Trina!" That is what I wanted to say, but all that came out was, "ara!"
"Don't worry, I can understand you, and soon when this ridiculous smoke clears, I will see you!"
The smoke cleared, and my tiny fairy came flying over the top of me and past. Trina didn't see me and kept going looking around but not calling out.
"Trina, I'm done here!"
"Oh, good, I thought you were ivisb...is that you, Dave? ARE YOU THAT CUTE AND ADORABLE FOXXY WOXXY?!?!"
"Ara! Ara? Ara...Ara! ARA! Ara ara ara ara?" (Yes! Wait, no, or yes! Nevermind! Why am I like this?"
"I'm sowy,
Dave, That was way too cute, and I ignored everything you just said and only listened to the Ara squeaks you are making. Can you repeat it? PLEASE?!"
Ugh, great, my cute Foxxy...fox form was making her melt into a puddle of cuteness overflow.
"ARA!" (TRINITY!)
"Alright, Alright, I heard you the first time; I just wanted to see if I could get you to do it again, hehe! Okay! You a fox, call up EVOLVE for your single menu options this time. The point of this game is to become King of the forest and top of the food chain. That means you need to fight forage and fuck to get to the top and gain SKILL and EVOLVE points to get there."
Oh, I got it.
Chapter 129: No, Wait...That Was An Ara!
"Ara Ara Ara, Ara?"(Just like old times, hey?)
"Stap it, you sound way too cute to be Dave!"
"ARA!"(Hey!)
"Okay, we need to find something for you to do to level up! There is no registered experience, and you cant level more than one level at a time! How about you open the menu, Mr. Foxxy!"
Ugh, I better change soon before Trina drowns me in her gushing.
*Wave of evil thoughts rolling though my little fox mind*
No! lousy brain! I am not some lolicon! Stupid play on words takes my brain into a dark rabbit hole. Nevermind this, screen, page, sheet... what did she call it again, stupid brain...EVOLVE!
Instantly a red screen appeared in my HUD that was back, but different this time. I had a health bar and some other things to do with my body, like hunger and the need to relieve myself. I had no idea why those were there, but they were part of the HUD and not the red screen.
Current Evolution: Basic Fox
Current Combat Skills:
[Bite] 1s
[Hide] 1h
Survival skills:
[Track Berries] 5m
[Track Rodents] 10m
Mating Skills:
[Fox]
That is a simple enough sheet, I guess I can just activate the skills like opening the menu, and the numbers must be the refresh rate. Good, a basic system so far, maybe I will try hunting; how does my hunger look? Jeez, I was just complaining about how I didn't need this stuff to tell me, but here I am.
After closing my sheet, I looked over my status bars and noticed that my hunger was just below half and was orange. The rest of my gauges seemed reasonable and were all green.
"Ara Ara Ara?"(Should I hunt?)
"Mmhmm! But be careful! You are what you eat!"
I wanted to ask more but refused to make those ridiculous noises. I bet weebs everywhere outside this game are just losing it whenever I talk! That's it!
"ARA ARA!"
"Oh, my MOM! You're even cuter when you mad! Alright, I'll try to stop it, but... DAVE YOUR SUCH A CUTIE PIE!"
Trina flew at me with open arms, but I ignored her and started to walk. She passed through me and walked into the ground; interesting, I had half expected her to fly right through the ground. I wasn't sure if that bit of info would help me in the future, but I tucked it away as a random thought.
/Activate [Track Rodents]
Suddenly a force pulled me out of my fox body, and I was given a birds-eye view of the area around me. I spotted two blinking spots, and then I was sucked back down into my body. Two red lines running parallel to each other ran along the ground in the direction of the red dots I could see.
I started to follow the lines, and I noticed that the skill [Track Rodents] was now im my display with a time stamp on it that was changing.
//9:23
Good, easy to track as well; for a first-time system, it was running pretty smoothly. I started to run in my new body, and I was surprised just how agile this little body was. I made some practice movements as I got close to my target; something inside me told me that it was close.
When I was not too far from the targets, I noticed that they led into a hole under a tree. I snuck over and watched the entrance, but then I noticed something. A supple and smooth green body was already pulling itself up to the hole, dammit!
The snake was already moving into the whole, but I wasn't sure if I could take it, and dying here was not the plan. Maybe I just wait and see what happens; I would lose my meal, but I would be alive to talk about it later. Suddenly I heard a squeal, no, wait...that was an Ara!
I ran forwards as Trina screamed that this was a horrible idea. I didn't care; no animal made an Ara sound, so that only mean one thing, one of the animals in there was not an animal.
[Bite]
[Bite]
[Bite]
Three hard bites caused the snake's green body to writhe in pain and twist as I jumped back.
//Skill Upgrade Acquired: [Bite] is now [Rending Bite]
//[Rending Bite] 5s-Additional effects: Target starts to bleed and loses 1% of total health -per bite -per 5s X20
Woah, auto skills levels, but no time for thoughts as the green serpent pulled itself and a rabbit's limp body out of the hole. I could still hear the crying Ara's, so I focus on the snake. I had to kill it fast while it was still trying to eat!
[Rending Bite]
I leaped forward and sunk my teeth into the snake. Blood squirted as I tore a chunk out of its body, but now I was running again. I leaped and dodged the swinging tail.
[Rending Bite]
The snake writhed more as I bit again, but this time I was tossed back with my chunk of flesh. I was surprised that no taste came with each bite, just the wet and sticking feeling. It was almost like I was biting rigid and thick foam that was juicy.
I landed, and I finally noticed something close to the snakehead; I health bar, and it was in the red. I circled and watched the snake, it was in rough shape, but it had tossed the lifeless rabbit aside after my last attack. It was bleeding from two places now, but that wouldn't be enough to kill it.
The thing might be injured, but it was still a snake, and it was angry. I could just wait it out and see I it would leave, but something told me that wasn't going to happen. The snake kept its eyes on me, but I noticed something.
What the hell was it doing? Was the person inside there suicidal? I watch the small rabbit creep out of the hole as I circled the snake.
Suddenly the snake turned on the small rabbit. Dammit!
Chapter 130: My Ugly Duckling
I ran as hard as my little legs would carry me, but I knew I would be too late. I watched the head move in slow motion, but I moved at the same speed. I needed something, but I was just a stupid little fox.
I watched as the snake turned on the small rabbit, and it reared it's head back to strike at the bunny. The head darted forward as I came so close to activating bite, but then something happened. The bunny glared at the on-coming snake, and then at the last second, it stepped to the side and then kicked the head away.
[Rending Bite]
I sank my teeth into the foam that squirted out red juice. I did this in my mind because sink I couldn't taste it, I could register it as whatever I wanted. That way, it wouldn't bother me as much while I was using my mouth to fight.
The snake vanished in my grasp, and two lights shoot out of where the center of the snake's body used to be. One wants to the rabbit, and the other came to me. I turned to look at the rabbit, and it was eyeing me warily.
"Ara?" (Hello?)
"Ara Ara Ara ARA Ara, Ara?"(You make this STUPID sound, too?)
"...Ara..."(...Yeah...)
"DAVE, DAVE, DAVE!!! THERE ARE TWO OF YOU NOW MAKING THE SAME NOISES!!! And it's the cutest little thing ever!"
"Ara Ara Ara?"(Who is that?)
"Ara Ara Ara Ara?"(You can see her?)
"Ara Ara Ara Ara Ara?"(Am I not supposed to?)
"Oh my Tequila, You just, way, too cute, getting, short of breath, too much cuteness, I'm dying, GAH!"
Trina fell out of the air, clutching her chest with great dramatics. She then splatted on the ground in a mock faint, but the rabbit took at as real and rushed over. I wasn't sure what was going on inside Trina's head, but she t
hought it would be a good idea to scare the rabbit as it got close. Just as the rabbit got up close, Trina jumped up with a loud *RAWR!*
*Thwap*
*THUMP*
*SSSSSHHH, Thump*
"OWO!"
What did I just see? Did that bunny just boot Trinity into the wall?! I rushed over to Trinity, but she was already back up and waving a little hand while hacking and coughing.
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