Walking through the ruined forest, I picked up some twigs casually, lost in thought. Should I try to use my origin? I can feel koi in my chest but I don't know how much it uses. How long does it take?
None of these questions were helping so I made the decision. Crouching down to the forest floor, letting the sticks drop to my side. I held my hand against the grasses and closed my eyes. Instantly, memories appeared in my mind, flashing through how to use it.
Taking a deep breathe, I urged my koi through my arm. It was slow at the start, but eventually, it trickled through my right arm like water through a cracked dam.
Suddenly, a green glow eminated from my palm, spreading over the grasses below. I felt my koi draining at a steady pace and guessed i could hold this for about a minute total.
Slowly, the grasses grew longer and new buds sprouted at a slow pace but still remarkable for any plant life. At the 30 second mark, I had to pause because I heard a rustling behind me. Standing up, I turned around and froze.
A meter long red snake layed infront of me, ready to strike.
<40% chance to drop a spark. 10% chance to drop spirit skull. 0.01 to drop elite burning soul>
My mind was racing, but my body wouldn't move. Then, a choice was made for me. The snake lunged at my head, while a deep red flame spewed out of its mouth. I dodged to the side but the flame still scorched my left arm.
Pain radiated from it, making small streams of tears fall from my face but it wasn't over. I wiped my eyes with my good arm and saw it circling back. I ran towards the stream, to cool off my arm and fires natural enemy is water. Can the snake get wet? What would happen?
As I ran, I could hear distinctive rustling behind me, getting closer with each passing second. Then, I saw the stream, along with Leia.
"Leia! Get in the water!" I yelled in a panicked voice and our eyes met for a brief second before I felt a painful burning sensation in my back. Flames danced on the shirt I brought from home as I threw it off me and jumped into the water. It was waist high and muddy as hell but it was good enough.
As soon as it got to the edge, I splashed it and it paused for a second as steam came off of it. That's probably from its trait, boiling blood.
Suddenly, Leia went on a rampage. Splashing water at it with everything she got. If the snake wasn't an immediate threat and my arm and back didnt burn like hell, I'd be dying from laughter right about now.
Steam was rolling off it like crazy until we heard a hiss as it backed off slowly. I frowned as I knew it was trying to escape and scanned the streams bed for anything that could be a weapon.
Then, I noticed the bones from the bone wolves still lying around and darted towards the closest pile, grabbing a part of the leg bone.
Looking up, I saw the viper some distance away and chased after it. I saw Leia dart off into the distance but didn't want to waste time asking why. Soon, I was right behind it. I raised the bone high before smacking it down onto it's head.
A sickening Crack rang out as dark red blood spashed on my arms. It was fairly warm and made my left arm burn a little more. It layed simply as the system rang out.
The system stunned my but my arm and back distracted me from the suprise. I ran back to the stream as fast as I could and jumped in, easing the pain from my body. I saw Gavin and the rest of his group run up and freeze when they saw my back.
"What happened?" Lucia cried out and I pointed towards the viper corpse off in the distance.
"A snake that can spew fire came up behind me when i was gathering sticks. Killed it but got hurt too" I explained and they nodded slowly, but I could see the look of horror growing on their faces.
"You killed a snake with a fire ability?" Caleb asked in a daze, looking at me with a mix of horror and something inside didn't recognize.
"None of us have a healing origin. Youre going to have to heal at normal pace" Gavin spoke up, clearly showing mixed feelings on his face and I understood why.
Who would want to drag around dead weight? It could drag down there scores, effect their futures in the millitary academy. Effect their future deployments.
"Well, you stay there, we will get the snake and sticks" Gavin announced with a fierce look. I nodded slowly as I wondered what torch tongue viper would taste like.
I watched them walk off and I sunk a little deeper into the stream. Time passed slowly and I didn't see anyone coming back. Then, 15 minutes passed, leaving a cold scowl on my face. They fucking left me!
I took a couple deep breathes as I thought of a new plan. The sun was at the horizon, about 10 minutes left of sunlight for tonight. I slowly walked out of the water, feeling somewhat ok. The burns on my arm look like 2nd degree but they were healing a little quicker than I thought they would.
I need to get wood, and food at some point. Im a little hungry now but it can probably wait till tomorrow.
I walked over to where the corpse of the viper should be and sighed slowly when I saw a blank space in the grass, a blood trail leading down the stream. I picked up my moderate pile of sticks and slowly brought them back to the stream.
From here, I made a choice. I wouldn't allow myself to get caught in a position like this again. I slowly walked into the water, keeping the sticks close to my chest. Then, I walked up the stream.
The muddy stream bed felt nice against my feet but I would feel the occasional rock, threatening to trip me with its smooth surface. Weirdly enough, the feelings the nearby trees gave me died into the background of my mind, like they were a natural part of me.
Time passed slowly but as soon as the moon rose, I froze. I glanced up at it and the familiar flowy feelings ignited in my body as my mind became clear. I started to move faster in the water as time passed.
When I hit the 15 minute mark from when I started walking in the water, I was at a fast walking pace and the moon's energy seemed extraordinarily bright. It's reflection illuminating my surroundings with extreme clarity. Suddenly, the system rang out.
I froze and almost dropped the sticks into the water. I looked at my status but it didn't say anything different. Wait... I have a soul space. Does it work like an inventory like in games?
I thought about bringing the sticks into the space but they stuck firm in my arms. Weirdly, my koi started to get disrupted from its cycle when I tried and got an idea.
I slowly tried to bring my koi to my arms, taking time to move it through my body. It flowed through my right arm first, already starting to coat them. a minute later, koi was starting to trickle through my left arm and began to coat the sticks.
As soon as one stick was fully coated, I felt like a door had opened and immediately brought it into my soul space. One by one, all the sticks were brought into it and I smiled bitterly when my arms were finally free.
"Took me long enough" I breathe out as I noticed a steep incline in the stream up ahead. The sides of the stream were now solid stone, broken into jagged edges. I looked up and nodded slowly, seeing the top somewhere up ahead.
Sleep was starting to become a pressing need as I climbed up the stream. The stones threading to slip me again and again. The water was flowing quickly but I seemed to manage fine under the light of the moon, easing my movements like I was cutting throught the water with a knife.
Eventually, I made it to the top and grabbed onto the ledge, pulling me atop of it. On the surface, there was a small pond of clear water and a ring of dirt around it, halfway covered by the rocks above it. I slowly swam towards the edge untill I made it and passed out.
Now, I don't normally dream, but tonight must have been too much for me. I was laying in an endless ocean of water while a bright silver moon stood proudly in the sky, adorning all in its light.
I layed there for what felt like hours until a single ripple formed from me, spreading across the ater at an incredible rate.
I woke up feeling refreshed, sitting up. Infront of me was the pond of clear water, along with random weeds scattered all around the dirt.
Looking down at my arm, I was surprised to see it looking a little lighter. I touched the skin tenderly and it didn't hurt nearly as much. I slowly stood up and noticed i lost my shoes sometime in the stream, and there was a weird plant in the corner of the rocks.
It looked like a vine with melted bones next to it, while the vine was a pristine white. I slowly walked towards it and got an idea or two. I actively tried to feel its emotions with my trait and got a weird mix of curiosity and hostility.
I tried to dig deeper into it and slowly, i felt my koi leaving me. It was really quickly and I couldn't tell where it was going. When half my koi left me, the emotions I wad feeling off of the weird plant were getting stronger and more distinct.
Suddenly, I felt my world get dark, with the light of the world getting more and more distant. The last thing I registered was a system notification.