Natural Contest: BRAVE

Chapter 4: Respite



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[ Username: Skylar ]

Click [ Attributes ]

[ Specie: XY Human ]

[ Constitution: F+ ]

[ Perception: E+. ]

[ Spirit: ??? ]

[ Intelligence: ??? ]

[ Energy: Ether(chemical)]

[ Traits: Beast hatchling ]

[ Titles: The bravest, one who...]

[ Possession: None ]

[ Affiliation: None ]

[ Money: None ]

[ More ]

"When will this rain stop, everywhere is just gloomy and humid."

Skylar grumbled absentmindedly as he looked closely at the holographic characters suspended before him, his head and back leaning on something that look like a tall black wall.

Soon after he had that encounter with the gigantic mythical beast;

Pitch black rain clouds from nowhere rapidly gathered above him, blocking his view while he was still laid sprawl with his back on the muddy river bank as he marvel at the glories of the heavens which has been hidden away.

And About a minute after the cloud gatherd, it suddenly released literally a heavy downpour of black liquid that almost drowned and burned completely his blackened skin.

Skylar quickly realizing the situation after a mild burn ran for cover under a giant shrub located very close to the riverbank and that's where he decided to check his so called status window.

What's the deal with this simulation thing, everything just feel like reality, the view, the smell, the touch, especially the pain and body reaction, its like someone was thrown here directly and not through some suspicious VR pod. ... .

Skylar thought as he continued to go through the content of his so called status window while the downpour continues like it was never going to stop.

Click [ Messages: ... ]

"Fu.k, so the aim of the tutorial is to navigate our way to a safe zone with the help of this map thing, hmm, now i get it, so"

He muttered after he went through the contents of the message.

Click [ Map ]

After he clicked on the map character floating in front of him, a 3D map with little information unfolded before him, but with terrains and regions highlighted in different bright colors.

"Let's see, according to the message, we have white, green, red, and black zone, in order of increasing associated danger, and this arrow pointing in the direction i am facing represents my location and direction, so."

Skylar muttered as he carefully studied the map, looking for his destination on it.

"Wait, i am in a black zone, and, ..."

He continued as he zoomed out on his location on the map with hopeful expectation.

"Fu.k!, how far am i from the nearest safe zone, are they kidding me?"

He cursed and questioned after doing an experiment to compare the length of distance represented on the map to that on land.

"If i walk with my feet from here to the nearest red zone on a straight line, i probably would never arrive in a 1000 years. So how do they expect me to overcome this, not even putting into account the countless dangers i will encounter, maybe i should just quit." He muttered dejectedly, his expression downcast, his eyes a bit moist.

I won't quit, i chose this, i will see it to the end, and i will triumph, definitely, ... He thought, his face regaining its usual confidence and his eyes their bright spark.

He stood up after the corrosive downpour seized, with a brimming vitality, took a careful look at his surrounding and circled to the other side of the black giant shrub boasting an enormous girth.

On the other side of the shrub he spotted a tunnel carved into it, probably leading into a space inside it and for some reason exposed in plain sight, not hidden, something unusual.

"Let's see what's inside"

Skylar muttered as he set foot in the wooden tunnel and head towards where it leads.

Soon after, Skylar exit the tunnel as he sets foot into a very large chamber that can maybe fit 40 dump trucks. Its wall creamy white, its floor covered in a thick layers of wood shavings, its ceiling several meters high and dotted with many luminescent stones, their dim warm lights presenting the chamber a cool cozy vibe.

That's a bedding right, its fucking big, that means the creature living here is truly as big as the tunnel entrance. ... Skylar thought as he spotted in one corner the beddings made from extra layers of wood shavings.

Skylar made his way to the corner adjacent to the beddings at the far end of the tunnel on the left side and rested his tired body down on the soft floor covered in wood shavings.

"I hope the house owner don't return here while i am sleeping. Cause waking in the VR pod cluelessly wouldn't be funny."

Sky muttered after he blanketed his body with a layer of wood shavings, an act to maybe hide from the chamber owner or keep himself warm.

Not long after closing his eyes, he drifted into a deep sleep, his expression peaceful and tranquil.

After about 3 hours later, outside;

A very large black reptile with a rough skin approached the tunnel's entrance that leads to the chamber.

It has the likeness of an agama lizard but with a spiky row of sharp and strong teeth, a metallic elongated blade-like claws and a very long tail drowned in pointy and sharp spikes.

The creature made its way in, slowly into the tunnel, and approached the chamber.

The head of the creature soon appeared in the chamber and its body and tail also followed behind in tandem.

The creature, perhaps in a situation similar to Skylar carried its large body to the top of the unoccupied beddings, unaware of the brave intruder, slumped on it and demanded slumber, which it was granted as it soon also drift to the other side.

After several hours, Skylar who opened his eyes as his first action, suddenly got to his feet and turned slowly to look behind him with is face drained of color and his muscles tensed as he laid his eyes on the agent of death resting in a corner.

He slowly, quietly and stealthily escaped into the tunnel, where he was able to calm his nerves and organize his thought.

Fuck that was super scary, thank the universe that guy didn't spot me or i would have turned into its dinner, wait that thing didn't wake when i left just now right, this is definitely an opportunity, ...

He thought as he made his way out of the tunnel into the open.

Skylar went closer to the side of the roaring river, picked two shiny hard stone deposited in the river shallow edge and walked back a few distance.

With a wide smile he hit the two stones against one another with great force.

But suddenly and immediately after the stones clashed, a large and tall flame appeared abruptly in front of him, threatening to consume him.

But he instantly threw the stone and backpedaled like a frightened dog with a funny expression and was able to save his skin.

"Fu.k, i have forgotten the oxygen content in this world is abnormal."

He muttered after he struggled to catch his breath.

Some times later, Skylar after practicing how to start fire went around the edge of the forest to collect plenty dry giant leaves and logs, which he dragged with him into the tunnel.

Now, its the hardest part, ... Skylar thought as he glanced at the materials he gathered to aid him in a cowardly ambush.

He took a deep breath as he began to push the materials into the chamber quietly and carefully, trying not to wake the sleeping predator.

In the chamber, once again, Skylar with greater caution arranged the dry leaves and wood round the sleeping creature like he was going to bury the poor creature with it.

He took out two shiny pieces of stone, crouched next to the setup and did as he practiced. Yeah, he set the poor sleeping creature on fire and run into the tunnel like a coward living the fire to burn and consume the creature.

"That should work, i just hope that guy is not fire resistant or a fire bender of some sort."

Skylar muttered with a little difficulty as he inhaled a bit of black smoke escaping from the chamber.

A little while after sky ran far away from the reach of the smoke coming out of the chamber in the giant shrub into the open, he suddenly collapsed on the ground, paralyzed, unable to move a muscle and his eyes fixed to the view of the black smoke rushing out of the shrub's into the open air.

He remained in that position for fairly a long time, even after the black smoke have ceased coming out of the chamber.

A long time later;

"Fu.k, talk about unexpected."

These were Skylar's first words after he regained his right to move his body parts.

"So that mfucker smoke is that dangerous, what would have happened if i had inhaled a lot of it. Is this what the TRIBES people mean when they say they were going to mimic completely sensory perception and all body metabolism."

Sky muttered as he entered the sooty tunnel, his mind shoving the encounter and its implication to the back of his mind.

"Fu.k! all this are absolutely beyond sophistication and shouldn't be man made."

He said this after he entered and saw the state of the chamber, really an unbelievable sight.


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