In a certain area of a forest appeared a blue rotating circle with intricate symbols, shapes and letters.
From the rotating circle appeared a ghost-like figure of an androgynous boy, their physical form fully materializing before they dropped to their knees.
A weird sensation overwhelmed them that made them feel like the world was spinning. Covering their mouths with their right hand, a heavy sense of vertigo hit them and they felt the contents of whatever was left in their stomach come up. Trying their best to hold it down proved fruitless when it eventually escaped their mouths.
'Damn it, Cel. Why do I feel like crap?'
[Apologies, Atlas. The first couple of attempts of Realm Walking can result in this effect.]
"Oh, gr—blerrg." Atlas began but stopped when he dry heaved wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He attempted to try and stand up but his legs still felt weak and he ended up falling on his butt.
Letting out a sigh, he began to look around his surroundings to get an idea of where he was. Yet what he was seeing was beyond what he could comprehend.
The leaves of the trees were the various colors and shades of Autumn. Yet the leaves weren't normal leaves. Each leaf was...on fire? Flames on the branches of the trees were in the shape of leaves flickering as the wind occasionally blew. The trunks of the trees burnt black with lines of red burning on its surface.
Surprisingly, it wasn't even hot to be surrounded by. It felt like the sun's rays burning down on your skin. Hot but tolerable. It created a unique harmony with the setting sun in the sky.
'Where is this?' Atlas asked Cel as he got up from the ground and walked towards a tree trunk close to the bark to check the heat. It was warm but he wasn't dumb to touch it.
[This is the Blazing Phoenix Forest in Elysium. This territory belongs to the legendary rank phoenix beast.]
Atlas's eyes opened wide when he heard that an actual phoenix existed in this world.
'Incredible,' he thinks to himself looking around the blazing forest. 'But I have to find a way out.'
Not knowing much about surviving or navigating the forest. Atlas decided on checking the map tab on the interface.
'Show map,' he says to open the map to get a good look at where he was. On the map was a blue triangle that turned wherever Atlas turned so he now knew this showed his current location.
Materializing his white glove on his right hand he pinches at the screen with his thumb and forefinger to zoom out.
'How big is this forest!?' Atlas thinks when he keeps zooming out till the triangle on the screen becomes the size of a speck of dust.
[This forest should be around the size of the Amazon rainforest on Gaia. If not bigger.]
'That's got to be big.'
Luckily for Atlas, he seemed to be close to the edge of exiting the forest to what seemed to be a town of sorts but it still was a distance away. Clicking on an icon on the map that looked like a triangle the map zoomed back to his current location.
The area around him was all grayed out but the areas he walked to, though minuscule, became "filled."
"Let's hurry and get out," Atlas says to himself as he looks towards the sky unequipping the glove on his right hand. The sky was getting darker, and he wouldn't like to stay and find out what kind of creatures might be in the forest if an actual phoenix lived here.
As he went to take a step in the direction to exit the forest the sound of a twig snapping behind him sounded in his ears causing him to stop and slowly turn around, and what he locked eyes with sent a shiver down his spine.
[Error: Beast realm is too high for mind compulsion to take effect]
-5 🔷
—---------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] [ATTRIBUTES] [SKILLS] [CURRENCY]
—---------------------------------------------------------
♥️ HEALTH: 🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥 (50/50)
🔷 MANA: 🟦🟦◾️(25/30)
🔶 STAMINA: 🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧 (50/50)
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
'What...is that?'
In front of Atlas was a boar-like creature that looked like it came from the depths of hell itself. Its body was black with red molten lava cracks running across it. What would've been its fur was replaced with flames and its eyes were as red as blood, while its sclera was black.
[Scanning...]
The creature Atlas was staring at was scanned and an interface popped up in the corner of Atlas eye. Due to Atlas being preoccupied with the staring contest with the beast and not making a move. Cel read aloud the interface contents to Atlas.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
[ Enemy Name: Wildfire Boar
Realm Rank: Elemental Beast
Realm level: 3/9
Status: Weakened
Description ➕]
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Once Cel gets to this point the Wildfire Boar lets out a snort that causes smoke to escape its nostrils while at the same time adjusting its footing.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
[ STATS ➖
Overall Level: 33
♥️ Health: 🟥🟥⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 100/500
🔷 Mana: 🟦🟦🟦⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 30/100
🔶 Stamina: 🟧🟧⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 50/250
Strength: 80
Agility: 60
Intelligence: 30
Speed: 70
Defense: 70]
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The beast takes a step forward trying to intimidate Atlas. Yet Atlas didn't take a step back. To the beast, this looked like Atlas wasn't bothered by its presence when in all actuality Atlas was frozen in place with fear. His heart beating hard in his chest and he can hear it thumping in his ears.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
[Weaknesses: water-based attacks,
frost spells
Resistances: fire-based attacks,
physical damage]
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The beast released a growl that sounded deep and demonic and vibrated the ground. The flames on its body had reacted to the growl and grew bigger.
This time causing Atlas to take a step back which wasn't intentional. The beast growls shaking the ground caused him to lose balance.
A glint shines from the boar's eye as it believes it was successfully able to intimidate Atlas. Not knowing it was successful from the very start. It lowers its posture a bit and drags the hoof of its front right into the ground front to back leaving a trail of scorched Earth.
'Not good!' Atlas thought his eyes widening at the action
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Abilities ➖
Flame Charge: Charges at high speed towards its target, leaving behind a trail of flames that deals continuous damage over time.
Ember Burst: Releases a burst of fiery projectiles in all directions, inflicting burn damage on nearby enemies.
Inferno Roar: Lets out a deafening roar that ignites the surrounding area, causing a widespread fire explosion.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It dragged its hoof a second time as it started to glow a deep fiery red.
'Definitely not good!'
[The beast, though weakened, is still 2 whole ranks above your awakened rank. The best course of action...]
Atlas didn't even register what Cel was saying but one thing did register in his head once the beast dragged its hoove one last time and dashed in his direction.
[RUN!]
Atlas dodged to his left avoiding the boar as it crashed into the tree that he was standing in front of turning it into tiny little chunks, yet the boar was unphased by the damage it caused.
Atlas looked at the trail of scorched Earth left behind by the ability.
'I would have died if that hit me directly.' Atlas looked at where the boar was as he huffed and puffed. He gets off the ground and takes off running in the direction to get out of the forest.
'Cel! How far until I'm out of the forest?' He asked his A.I companion as he ran through the forest dodging trees, roots, and bushes. Hindering him from running at his top speed.
[you are approximately 5 miles away from exiting the Forest. At the current speed it'll take about 50 - 60 minutes or more.]
'Damn it!' Atlas yells in his head as he can hear the crashing of trees and heavy stomps from behind him. He didn't even need to turn back and look to know that the Wildfire boar was close on his tail.
'I can barely run two miles.' Atlas thinks as he's huffing and trying not to fall. As he continues to run for his life a ding sound from the interface briefly catches his attention.
'What was that?'
[Emergency Quest option 1: Survival
Emergency Quest option 2: Defeat the weakened Wildfire Boar]
'An Emergency Quest? Seriously?!'
Just reading the option titles already gave Atlas a headache. He either had to survive by running out of the forest or defeat the boar? He can hardly do both already.
'What if I can't do either?' Atlas thinks as he continues to run through the forest with the boar gaining on him with each passing moment. Sweat was building up on his body and his legs and arms were starting to ache while his Stamina was already halfway gone.
—---------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] [ATTRIBUTES] [SKILLS] [CURRENCY]
—---------------------------------------------------------
♥️ HEALTH: 🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥 (50/50)
🔷 MANA: 🟦🟦🔲(28/30)
🔶 STAMINA: 🟧🟧🔳⬜️⬜️(25/50)
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
[Failure will result in death]
He suspected as much, why else would there be an emergency quest out of nowhere?
'Tell me...details for...option 1'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
[Emergency Quest: Escape from the Wildfire Boar
Objective: Escape the Forest before succumbing to the terrors of the Wildfire Boar.
Difficulty: High
Rewards ➖
Strength: +10
Agility: +15
Endurance: +20
Intelligence: +5
Wisdom: +10
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Hah...hah," Atlas's breathing was getting heavier as he continued to run through the forest. As he ran he came across many different other creatures but they also ran away from the threat that was closing in on Atlas.
'De—details for option...2'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
[ Emergency Quest: Defeat the weakened Wildfire Boar
Objective: Engage the Wildfire Boar in combat and defeat it.
Difficulty: High
Rewards ➖
Physical Attributes: Increase in strength, agility, speed, dexterity, endurance and fortitude by +15 points
Mental Attributes: Boost in Intelligence, wisdom, and focus by +15 points
Potential item drop
[Tactical Recommendations ➕]
]
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Both options had decent rewards upon completion, but Atlas had a feeling that option 1 didn't seem possible with his current stamina. He would be drained before he was even halfway to the goal, so that option wasn't smart for him.
It would be smarter for him to use the amount of stamina and mana he had left to try and defeat the beast, but there was a problem that he remembered.
'How the heck am I supposed to beat it with no weapon?'
[Equip physical form]
Not wasting time to ask why Celeste told him to equip her physical form, he immediately did as told. This was a matter of life and death.
As soon as Atlas equipped Celeste a small interface appeared in his field of view.
[Requesting to create a temporary symbiotic connection...Do you accept?]
[YES] [NO]
'Yes!' Atlas answered
[Creating connection]
Tiny little needles emerged from inside the gloves before Celeste's glove form constricted around his hands. The prickling sensation was unpleasant but not painful as the black and white gloves began to glow and turn a crimson color as it absorbed some of his blood.
Atlas felt a connection with Celeste that drained him of energy briefly before he felt invigorated with power.
[Connection created]
-14 🔷
[Siphoning 50% of host's current mana...generating weapon form...doubling host's stats. Host has approximately 15 minutes to use symbiotic weapon form]
—--------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] [ATTRIBUTES] [SKILLS] [CURRENCY]
—---------------------------------------------------------
♥️ HEALTH: 🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥🟪🟪🟪🟪◼️(96/100)
🔷 MANA: 🟦▪️⬜⬜️⬜️⬜️(14/60)
🔶 STAMINA: 🟧🟧⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️(20/100)
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
{ MENTAL ATTRIBUTES } 🔷 ➖
INTELLIGENCE: 10 > 20
WISDOM: 10 > 20
WILL POWER: 6 > 12
FOCUS: 4 > 8
PERCEPTION: 12 > 24
CHARISMA: 12 > 24
> M.A POINTS: 0
{ PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES } 🔶 ➖
VITALITY: 40 > 80
FORTITUDE: 8 > 16
ENDURANCE: 10 > 20
STRENGTH: 8 > 16
DEXTERITY: 8 > 16
AGILITY: 8 > 16
SPEED: 8 > 16
> P.A POINTS: 0
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Atlas's pupils dilated briefly before returning to normal and a smile emerged from his lips. The power coursing through him made him feel like he had a chance to defeat the beast chasing after him.
With newfound confidence Atlas slowed his run down until he fully stopped, squatted down on the balls of his feet swinging his arms back, and closing his eyes to enter void vision.
He was able to perceive the wildfire boar getting closer to him and glowing red. Signifying Atlas that it was about to use its ability.
Timing the jump as soon as the beast got close, Atlas executed a backflip over it gaining a height of nearly 3 meters, which was about double his height.
While in the middle of the air, the gloves began to expand from his wrist until it reached halfway up his forearms, while the gloves grew metallic demonic claws at the end.
The weight of the gloves increased as they became more durable, expanding outwards creating what looked to be a metallic exoskeleton armor for the non weaponized gloves.
Taking the chance of both of their momentums, Atlas sank the claws into the back of the beast as it continued forward and him continuing backwards leaving ten long gashes on its back.
-10 ♥️ to Wildfire Boar
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Enemy name: WildFire Boar
Overall Level: 33
Status: Weakened
♥️ Health: 🟥◼️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 90/500
🔷 Mana: 🟦🟦⬜⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 20/100
🔶 Stamina: 🟧⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 25/250
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The beast growled in pain when it felt the gashes on its back as it continued forward crashing into more trees around the time Atlas landed back on the ground.
'Expand Tactical Recommendations.'
Atlas glances at the screen that appeared.
[ Tactical Recommendations ➖
Exploit Elemental Weakness: The Wildfire Boar's elemental nature makes it weak to attacks of opposing elements. Use water-based spells or weapons to exploit its weakness.
Aim for Vital Points: Target the beast's vulnerable areas, such as its eyes, throat, and joints, to maximize damage and hurt it more efficiently.
Maintain Distance: The Wildfire Boar's fire attacks have a limited range. Keep a safe distance to avoid being caught in its flames while maintaining the ability to strike back effectively.
Utilize Terrain: Use the natural features of the environment to your advantage. Lead the boar into areas with limited maneuverability or obstacles that impede its movement.]
'Well, number one seems to be out of the question. This is its natural habitat. Two and three are obvious tactics to use. But for number four...' Atlas trails off from his thoughts when the boar emerges from the dust and debris it caused, angry from being hurt more than it already was.
'How can I use the terrain to my advantage if it can just bulldoze everything and not get hurt? It has resistance to physical damage for crying out loud.'
Atlas's eyes squinted at the beast before him as it began to glow red again, this time multiple medium-sized fireballs formed around it.
'A different ability? I should prepare to gain some distance just in case.' Atlas gets on the balls on his feet to maneuver easily once the beast launches its attack.
The wildfire boar released a growl before sending fireballs toward Atlas at fast speeds that he barely reacted in time jumping backward in a zig-zag pattern to not bump into trees which also served as cover for him when the fireballs hit. On the last fireball attack, Atlas jumped up on the branch of a tree making sure to avoid the fire-shaped leaves.
Atlas grinned as an idea came to mind on a way to utilize the terrain.
'No hard feelings you demonic looking boar but desperate times call for desperate measures. And that ability is sure to have lowered the amount of mana you have left.'
Atlas jumps down from the tree branch, squats down to the ground, and scoops up some dirt in his hands. He waited for the dust to clear caused by the fireballs shot at him in this position until the boar saw him again.
'It's time to play dirty.'