DING!
A translucent white screen faded into my vision, interrupting my thoughts.
You have been Resurrected. As a Resurrection penalty, you have lost 3000XP. Please be careful in the future.
My Ga’em prompts, I thought again, and much to my surprise, this time I knew exactly what that phrase meant. I blinked, confused as new information was processed in my brain, things I’d been confused about before becoming more clear now. I don’t know how but it seemed like parts of my memory had come back to me, as though this Resurrection or whatever, had reset some of my lost knowledge.
I still didn’t know who I was, or where I came from, but I could recall bits and pieces of information about the world around me. It was as though I’d still lost my identity, but I’d regained my knowledge of the world. I could now confidently tell that these translucent screens I was seeing were part of something that I intrinsically knew as the Ga’em.
The Ga’em was a hidden entity that helped everyone interact with the world. It was an invisible power that bridged a connection between one and everything that they could do. The health bar and the prompts I saw before were all examples of how the Ga’em interacted with living things and gave them information about the world around them.
Now there was something else called the Ga’em menu. This menu was a powerful interface that existed between an individual and the Ga’em and helped them customize themselves completely.
I still wasn’t entirely sure how to open this menu though, so I let my instincts do the rest. I calmed myself down and focused on my thoughts, letting them lead me to where I was supposed to go.
I pointed my index finger in the air and unfazed my eyes, giving my subconscious total power. I imagined a rope pulling up my finger and I immediately felt a faint sensation, as though something really was tugging at it. I felt it for a second and quickly flicked my finger downward, going against the tug.
TRING!
A vertical row of five icons slid out of nowhere, the circular shapes translucent white. Yes! I made a silent cry of victory. I looked to the first circle on the list, an icon that contained the dark-grey silhouette of a person’s upper body.
My player menu, I thought as I tapped on the circle. Two screens slid out, expanding from behind the icon and taking space on either side of it.
The screen on the left was quite tall and contained the 3D full-body image of a young man in his early twenties. His body was toned, but not especially muscular. He had high cheekbones, a chiseled jaw and a skin tone that was a shade between tan and pale. His hair was a radiant silver-grey, the locks falling softly onto his forehead. His eyes were a shade paler than his hair and had flecks of grey in them, as if spirits and ghosts were trapped within.
I could immediately tell that I was looking at a caricature of myself. I grinned. Pretty good looking, I thought playfully. Even if I say so myself.
I pulled my gaze away from the 3D model and looked down at my actual self. I was wearing a full sleeve tunic of misty grey along with a pair of pants that was of a shade nearly black. The clothes felt rough on my skin, as though they were well worn out, but I felt comforted by them, as though I’d been wearing these for a long time.
I turned to the screen on my right. It contained a menu that displayed four different options, each one separated by a thin transparent bezel.
Stats
Items
Equipment
Skills
I selected Stats and another tall screen of translucent white opened to the right of the menu. I looked at the new screen, at all the information that was on it.
Name
Zoran
Level
2 (5% to next level)
Health
10
Mana
10
Stamina
10
Strength
3
Agility
4
Dexterity
2
Wisdom
3
Constitution
1
Intelligence
1
Endurance
1
Charisma
4
Luck
9
“Zoran,” I said, hearing my own name for what felt like the first time. That was the first piece of my identity that I’d found so far and I silently hoped it wasn’t the last.
I looked at the rest of the screen, reading up on all my stats. I figured that I’d been around level 4 before I’d been resurrected. It had to be since I was level 2 now after a 3000XP Resurrection penalty.
I felt the urge to flick the screen, and so I did, putting my finger to the Stats screen and flicking it to the left. The text and numbers slid away, making way for a new set of information. My gaze turned to the next section of data that had slid in.
Name
Zoran
Race
Human
Abilities
Resurrection
Titles
None
Resistances
None
Alignment
Neutral
Reputation
Level 1 - “Do I know you?”
I looked through the screen, noticing the sole ability that I possessed. I tapped on the word ‘Resurrection’ and a small screen opened over the Stats screen.
RESURRECTION: Upon death, you will be respawned to a randomized location. You will lose XP every time you respawn. Other effects unknown.
“That’s why I’m still alive,” I blinked. It wasn’t that the wolves hadn’t killed me. It was just that I hadn’t stayed dead even after. “This ability is powerful,” I grinned, but even though I seemed happy on the outside, my mind was still a tad uneasy. Resurrection seemed a great ability but it had its own share of concerns.
The ‘other effects unknown’ part bothered me especially. I couldn’t tell exactly what kind of effects were unknown. All I could do was hope they weren’t too consequential. The ‘randomized’ part of the respawn location made me feel uneasy as well, but not by too much. I knew that even if I got respawned into a dangerous location and got myself killed, I’d still resurrect back to life.
It’s almost like I’m immortal, I chuckled.
I was a little curious though, about how I’d obtained this ability in the first place. I remembered that one could gain abilities either by being born with them or by obtaining them as blessings and rewards. But I didn’t know the first thing about how I had gotten my Resurrection ability.
I sighed and added that to my list of ‘Things I need to find out about myself’. It had probably been just a few hours since I’d first woken up in that forest with the wolves and my list was already getting pretty long. My mind though, was weirdly calm in between all of this. I hadn’t felt panicked or lost from the situation I was in.
Maybe I’m some kind of peaceful, meditative monk, I chuckled.
My thoughts slowly shifted, focusing on the mystery of my current location instead. But unlike my other mysteries, this one was something I knew how to solve. And pretty easily at that.
I closed my Stats screen and tapped the fourth icon on my Ga’em menu, the one that had a scroll illustrated on it in dark-grey. A new menu slid out as I touched the icon, expanding from behind the circle.
Dungeon Map
Quests
Field Map
The Map Menu, I recognized.
I tapped on Field Map and a larger screen opened up, displaying the image of a map in front of me. But unlike what I had expected, this map was almost blank. There weren’t any landscape features like mountains or rivers or anything of the sort. There were only two significant pieces of information on the screen.
The words ‘Kingdom of Aingard’ were written in the center of the map in a shade of faded grey. A clump of trees lay at the bottom-left corner, with ‘Kurc Woods’ written next to them in bold black lettering. And right below them was a glowing blue dot that pulsated s
lowly, an indicator that let me know where I was with respect to the map.
The Kurc woods, I thought to myself, looking up from the screen to see the cluster of trees ahead of me. I tried to recall if I knew anything about the place, but I was drawing a blank. If I had ever known anything about these woods, it had all been long lost along with my memories of who I was.
Guess I don’t remember everything about this world, I thought. To be honest, I didn’t remember much about the Kingdom of Aingard either. The name seemed vaguely familiar but other than that I had nothing.
I gazed at the trees ahead of me, watching their silence as they swayed in the gentle wind. Right now, the first thing I had to do was get back to civilization. That was my priority. I needed to find someone that could help me out with my amnesia and that wasn’t happening unless I got out of these woodlands.
Right now, I was in the blind about what to do next, because I couldn’t recall whether there were any cities close to this place. So, after a bit of contemplating, I decided to play into luck’s hand and see what happened. I walked towards the trees, navigating through the Ga’em menu as I did so. I tapped on my first icon again, bringing up my Player menu once more.
Stats
Items
Equipment
Skills
I tapped on Equipment and a new screen emerged. It had ‘Equipment Inventory’ written at the top in large letters, and right below that, aligned to the left, was a piece of text.
Sol: 50,000
“Whoa,” I gasped, surprise in my voice.
I remembered exactly what Sol were; the currency that was used in this world. But I also remembered that fifty thousand Sol wasn’t the kind of money a Level 2 had with them. How did I have that much money? Another mystery to add to the list.
My eyes wandered beneath the text, to the rest of my Equipment Inventory screen. ‘Empty’ it said in large words of faded black.
Damn it, I cursed. I hadn’t really expected to have any weapons or armor in my inventory, but I’d hoped there was at least something I could use. At the moment a squirrel could attack me and I’d still have nothing to defend myself.
I stopped myself at the edge of the woods, staring up at the trees in front of me. A strand of wind ruffled the leaves as I looked into the woodland. I wondered if what I was doing was really a good idea. There was nothing telling me that there was a city somewhere on the other side of the forest. But I knew any other routes I’d taken would have been just as questionable. I was trusting luck on this one, and all I could do was hope that trust was returned in kind.
I took my first step into the woods just as a chill blew on the back of my exposed neck. I felt unease swirl within me as I walked deeper inside. My eyes darted around from tree to tree, looking out for any threats.
A whole minute of bored silence later I finally began to calm down, my mind certain that I wasn’t in danger. I noticed a stray branch lying on the ground and picked it up.
DING!
You have obtained a Broken Branch! This item can be processed to obtain more useful raw materials. Would you like to transfer it to your Item Inventory until further use?
Two buttons lay underneath the prompt with the words ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ written in each one.
I tapped ‘No’ and the prompt closed. I glanced at the piece of wood in my hand. I knew it was neither weapon nor armor, but I could at least use it to defend myself from a few squirrel strikes.
The trees around me became bigger as I walked deeper into the woods. The already dull sunlight turned even duller, blocked by the thickening branches and leaves. I looked through the gaps in the dense canopy, noticing that the clouds in the sky had darkened over these past few minutes.
The forest slowly began to remind me of the wolves I faced before. I could almost see their eyes now, shining bright in the black. A shiver ran down my spine as the memory of pain and hurt coursed through me for a moment.
Ugh, I do NOT want to go through that again, I thought to myself.
The sound of thudding came from close by, the mud trembling with each beat. I heard squeaks and yelps follow right after, the panic apparent in the voices.
What was that? I inched forward, my curiosity getting the better of me. The forest mud crunched under my feet as I moved ahead, my eyes scanning the surroundings.
The growling sounded once again, this time from closer than before. I looked ahead, peeking through the gaps in the trees and my eyes immediately widened. A few yards away stood a green-skinned giant rampaging through the forest, a massive club of wood resting on its shoulder, the weapon covered with faded red stains.
The remains of its victims.
“An ogre,” I whispered, a little uneasy.
The series of squeaks sounded once more and I peered closer, focusing on the ground around the beast. There were a small group of miniature beings standing there, in a face-off with the ogre.
Forest Nymphs, I recalled as I glanced at them.
They were all short women, with cuts and bruises sculpted on their olive-skinned bodies. The signs of a battle. They glared at the ogre with their large eyes, their pupils’ colored with blues and greens. Mud and dirt stuck to their long hair, dulling its shine. Spears and bows sat firm in their hands, armed and ready.
I felt like this scene should have threatened me, as if I should have turned around and run away, taking myself as far away as I possibly could. Yet I had different ideas, for only one word echoed within my mind.
Opportunity.
***
CHAPTER THREE
I walked towards the face off, my presence as I silent as I could keep it. At this point my sense of fear had been dulled down completely by the ambition that had invigorated my body and mind. I was excited for the opportunity before me.
Growls and squeaks spread into the air as the Nymphs took to the Ogre, spears lowered and arrows nocked. The battle though, was heavily one sided. The pointed weapons went flying into the air, only to harmlessly bounce off the ogre’s body. The beast growled and swung its massive club, smacking into two Nymphs and sending them shooting through the forest. I winced as I heard body against tree, my bones rattling at the thought of that happening to me.
“Stand down beast!” a voice squeaked. I peered through and saw a nymph come forward, this one carrying a long wooden staff in her hand. She looked different from the others, with her jet-black hair and yellow eyes. A tall crown of leaves sat on her head, and around her neck was a wooden necklace with a stone pendant.
The Nymph Mother, I recalled, remembering the title of a Nymph colony’s leader.
The ogre stared at her for a moment and then growled, powerful sound waves emanating from it. The Nymph Mother however was not deterred and lifted her staff into the air. She tilted it towards the beast and the wooden weapon glowed with a tinge of faint blue.
She knows an art, I noticed. Arts were types of magic that one specialized in, such as Wind Arts, Fire Arts and so on. There were many different kinds, but the one she was using seemed like a basic elemental art, and going off the hue she was generating, it was probably the Wind Arts.
The Nymph Mother spoke a word, far too soft for me to hear, and then swung her glowing staff. A solid circle of light formed, facing the ogre. For a second nothing happened, and then a twister of wind blast out of the light, smashing into the beast.
Definitely Wind Arts, I grinned.
I saw the silhouette of the ogre behind the dust that kicked up, the beast’s shadowy figure standing defiantly against the attack.
Just how strong is that thing? I mumbled. I stared at the ogre, my mind involuntarily focusing on the shadow of its head.
DING!
A screen of translucent white opened.
Name
Forest Ogre
Level
12 (5% to next level)
Health
100
Mana
0
Stamina
70
What,
I blinked.
DING!
Congratulations! You have learnt a new skill: Analyze. You will now be able to discern information about players and objects by using the analyze skill on them.
I was about to revel in how cool that was, but the wind attack stopped and the nymph mother hunched down to the ground, already drained of her strength. The ogre on the other hand, stood as it had before, the attack not having phased it much. What the attack did do however was annoy it. A lot.
The beast stepped forward and smacked its club into her, sending her flying into the air, and onto the ground a few feet from me. She rolled and slid, the coarse surface cutting her skin, her body finally coming to a stop mere steps away from me.
I glanced at her limp form, unease within my mind. A part of me winced in sympathy of her state. But another part of me saw an opportunity here, an opportunity better than what I had expected before. I was going to be nice to this woman, but not stupid nice.
“Mother,” I knelt beside her heaving body.
“Please…” she said, her eyes slowly looking up to me, her voice trembling. “Help…us.”
The Eternal: Awakening - A LitRPG Saga (World of Ga'em Book 1) Page 2