When my eyes open, I can see the clouds, but for some reason it feels like I was falling.
Because I was.
Instead of what I had hoped would be the ground under me, I was greeted by nothing but the wind. Real wind, tearing past my ears, tugging at my clothes, roaring loud enough that it steals the breath from my lungs. My stomach lurches, the ground rushing up far too quickly for comfort.
The rune on my wrist vibrates, I rub a finger against it in a panic, the system screen coming up and pinging.
Seeming cheerfully oblivious.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
Environmental transition successful.
Calculating impact mitigation…
So it wasn't oblivious.
"Oh, now you help?" I shout into the void.
The air thickens around me.
Not solid. Not cushioning. Almost…resistant. Like falling through deep water instead of empty space. My descent slows sharply, enough that my teeth rattle rather than shatter when I hit the ground.
I land hard anyway.
The system screen vanishing as dirt explodes outward beneath me, a dull thud rippling through my bones. Pain blooms across my back and shoulders, sharp but contained, already fading before my body can fully panic about it.
"Could've cushioned the blow a little" I mutter as I lie there for a moment, staring up at a sky that is somehow aggressively blue.
Not the blue you'd expect for a clear day, more like a storm may be coming but the grey clouds haven't caught up.
White clouds instead were drifting lazily overhead, white and uneven, edges fraying as they move. Sunlight warms my face, just warm enough in a way where the sunlight is welcomed, not trying to cook me.
I'm alive at least.
I groan, rolling onto my side, then pushing myself up onto my elbows. My hands sink slightly into soil that smells rich and damp, dark earth threaded with roots and tiny stones.
Grass surrounds me, knee-high and wild, bending gently in the breeze.
A forest looms ahead.
Tall trees with thick trunks and sprawling canopies rise like silent sentinels, their leaves a deep, layered green. Sunlight filtering through them in broken rays, dotting the forest floor with shifting gold.
Birds call from somewhere unseen.
Something skitters through the underbrush.
I suck in a breath.
"Well...that could've been worse" I mutter as I reactivate the system.
The purple system screen pulses back into my vision.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
Free skill acquired
"Because you didn't fully stop my decent to the ground?" I ask in a groan.
Pioneer (Passive) - A Rank
Receive a short rundown of the more important information about the current location with relation to kingdom and locality.
"A Tier? Already?" I hum.
LOCATION DISCOVERED
Veridae Plains - Outer Wilds of Kingdom Veridae
Kingdom Leader: King Shazzi
Threat Level: Unknown
Civilisation Proximity: Low
"Low is relative, how much are we talking?" I say under my breath.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
Within a half a day of walking
I push myself to my feet fully this time, brushing dirt from my trousers. They're scuffed but intact, the fabric tougher than it looks. Good to know.
As I stand, something shifts inside me.
A subtle tug. Not pain, not hunger.
Almost like...I was being orientated?
I turn without thinking, gaze snapping toward the forest. The sensation intensifies, a gentle pull just beneath my ribs, like a compass needle settling.
Kitsuka.
Not her voice. Not her presence exactly.
Her influence.
"So that's how it's going to be" I murmur, "you point, I walk."
The system responds immediately.
PASSIVE EFFECT ACTIVE
Instinctual Awareness - Environmental Sync
You feel a natural inclination toward areas of biological significance, you'll get immediately notified when danger is nearby.
I hum softly to myself, "so you won't pull me around the whole time"
The forest answers with a rustle of leaves.
I hesitate only a moment before stepping forward.
The moment my foot crosses the tree line, the world seems to change again.
The air growing cooler, heavier with scent. Moss. Sap. Damp bark. My footsteps soften as the ground layered with fallen leaves and tree debris. Shadows deepen, but my vision doesn't suffer for it. If anything, details sharpen.
I can see the way the bark curls on certain trees. The faint movement of insects clinging to leaves, small creatures darting to hide from me. There was a subtle dip in the ground where water must gather after rain.
I stop short.
"Alright" I say quietly, "that's new"
Another pulse from the system.
SKILL UPDATE
Adaptive Physiology – Minor Enhancement Detected
Visual accuracy increased in low-light environments.
My heart kicks harder.
It's one thing to read stats on a glowing screen. But it's another to feel your body quietly rewriting its own physiology.
"Not creepy at all" I mutter, then flinch as a sharp sound cracks through the forest.
A snap.
Not wood settling. Not an animal darting away.
Footsteps.
Uncareful, heavy footsteps that were landing on twigs.
My muscles tense instantly, body dropping lower without conscious thought. I slide behind the nearest tree, peering around the trunk.
Three figures emerge into a small clearing ahead.
They're humanoid, at least at a glance, but something's off. Their builds are too lean, limbs just a little too long. Their skin has a faint greenish cast, stretched tight over wiry muscle. Long ears twitch from the sides of their oddly shaped heads, their heads swiveling as they scan the forest.
Not elves. I am almost certain of that.
These were something rougher.
They speak in a language I don't recognise, voices sharp and almost clicking, words punctuated by low growls. One carries a crude spear tipped with stone. Another has a short blade at his hip.
Bandits? maybe hunters? maybe they were something in between.
My pulse pounds in my ears.
The system expands again, unprompted.
HOSTILE ENTITIES DETECTED
Species: Goblin (Common - Low Rank)
Tier: E Tier
Threat Assessment: Moderate
Additional Information Gathered: All are armed
"Moderate?" I whisper. "There are three of them."
A new line appears beneath it.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
Situation suggestions: Avoidance, Talk or Environmental Advantage
I glance around, mind racing.
The forest feels…close. Not suffocating, but attentive. The pull in my chest tightens, urging me not toward the figures, but sideways, deeper into cover.
I listen to it.
I move slowly, carefully, placing each step where the ground feels firmest, quietest. Leaves don't crunch beneath my feet. Twigs bend rather than snap.
One of the creatures pauses, ears twitching.
I freeze.
He sniffs the air, nostrils flaring. My breath catches, instinct screaming at me to run.
The forest exhales.
A sudden gust of wind rushes through the canopy, leaves shuddering, branches swaying. The scent shifts, drowning mine beneath sap and soil.
The goblin snarls, irritated, and turns back to his companions.
I don't wait.
I retreat, step by careful step, until the sounds of their voices fade completely.
Only then do I let myself breathe properly.
"That was a little close" I sigh
The system catches my attention again.
KARMA GAINED+3
Reason: Avoided unnecessary conflict. Preserved balance.
I blink slowly, "you can get karma for not being an idiot?"
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
You were rewarded for not causing unnecessary bloodshed
The screen flickers, smug in its silence.
I continue moving, guided by that subtle internal pull, until the forest thins and opens into a small clearing bathed in sunlight.
At its centre stands a massive tree.
Its trunk is wide enough that I couldn't wrap my arms halfway around it even if I tried. Its roots coil above ground like the backs of sleeping serpents, thick and ancient. Its leaves shimmer faintly due to the sun, as if it is trying to draw more attention to itself.
The moment I step closer, warmth floods my chest.
Recognition.
"Oh" I breathe, "you were leading me here."
The system expands.
POINT OF INTEREST DISCOVERED
Elderroot Sapling – Awakened Node
Affinity Resonance Detected: Nature (High)
A sapling?
I stare up at the colossal tree, incredulous, "you and I have very different definitions of that word."
A sensation pulses through me, gentle but insistent, urging me closer.
As my palm touches the bark, the world seems to thrum with a new silence.
The texture is rough, alive beneath my fingers. Not literally alive in the sense of sentient, I think...but in a general, life seems to be pulsing from within. I feel a faint echo in response, like the tree is acknowledging the contact.
Images flicker at the edge of my mind. Growth. Seasons. Storms endured. Roots breaking stone inch by inch.
Survive. Adapt. Evolve.
Kitsuka's presence swells, not overwhelmingly, but almost proud.
The system responds.
CONTRACT RESONANCE: NATURE – UNLOCKED (PARTIAL)
New Skill Available
I swallow, "already?"
The text scrolls.
SKILL ACQUIRED
Terra Pulse (Active) – Rank B
Release a controlled surge of natural energy through physical contact. Effects vary based on environment and affinity.
My hand tingles, warmth spreading down my arm.
Before I can pull away, the ground beneath the tree shudders softly. A faint green glow ripples outward along the roots, sinking into the soil before fading.
The brief light that had pulsed had made it very clear not all the roots were actually roots, some of the more snake looking ones were...well...snakes.
Then another notification appears.
KARMA GAINED+7
Reason: Established connection with awakened natural node.
My gaze snaps back to the system.
"How much karma do I need to do the Lucky Spin?" I murmur.
The locked section pulses faintly, as if aware of my attention.
LUCKY SPIN
Unlock Progress: 10 / 50 Karma
I let out a slow breath.
"So that's the game" I say quietly, "live. Choose. Don't break the world. And maybe I get prizes."
The forest answers with birdsong. The silence now gone.
Somewhere in the distance, something roars.
Not close.
Not yet.
My instincts flare, warning me that this clearing, peaceful as it is, won't stay hidden forever.
I step back from the tree, giving it a respectful nod I don't quite understand the impulse for.
"Thanks" I say anyway.
The pull in my chest shifts again, pointing onward.
Back towards the forest, where the roar had just come from.
I square my shoulders, heart still racing, fear and excitement tangling in my gut.
"Alright, Kitsuka" I murmur under my breath, "let's see what kind of mess you dropped me into."
The system rune hums softly in my wrist as I deactivate the system screen.
I start walking, "guess I have to verse whatever this thing could be" I mutter.
I feel the pulling in my chest leading me deeper into the forest, this all felt like the beginning of a stupid scavenger hunt.
"I don't even have a weapon" I sigh.
I go to take another step but am stopped as I saw the source of the roar.
A large tiger, a vibrant red that faded to orange, but the neck area is covered in white gilled shelf mushrooms, the top made to match the fur. Subtle green spots adorning the mushroom parts, its eyes milky white.
The tiger exhales, the sound rolls through the undergrowth like distant thunder dragged across bark and bone.
It doesn't see me.
Not properly.
Its milky eyes stare through the trees, unfocused, unfixed, as if the world is a suggestion rather than a certainty. Each breath lifts the shelves of fungus at its throat. Spores drift lazily from the gills, glowing faintly as they dissolve in the air.
My instincts scream for me to do literally anything other than stand here like an idiot.
The pull in my chest tightens instead, warm and insistent, like a hand at my back.
Of course.
"Yeah" I whisper, "that tracks"
A faint pressure brushes against my wrist, the system seeming to activate on its own.
The soft glow of the purple light unfolds in front of my eyes.
HOSTILE ENEMY DETECTED
Species: Tiger
Tier: B Tier, A Tier Currently
Threat Assessment: High
Additional Information Gathered: Infected with Saspira's Mycelia
I swallow.
Fantastic.
Another line writes itself, slower this time.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
Recommended Action: Too far gone for saving, engaging is the only true option
"Again though, I don't have a damn weapon" I hiss softly.
The tiger's ears twitch. One flicks back, then forward again. Its head tilts slightly, mushroom shelves shifting with a soft, papery creak.
It could definitely hear me despite my whisper, and it was clear that despite its milky eyes.
It was definitely looking at me.