Chapter 2: Getting To Grips
"So let me get this straight, Z'nthara…You decided it was a good idea to put a Mortal's chance at a Second Life rotation up for a gamble on a roulette wheel…"
The Angel known as Z'nthara squirmed in their seat as they were currently staring up at a professional looking Angel, this one was wearing a white business suit but with gold accents and having six wings instead of the usual two, unlike Z'nthara who looked burned out and like they were on an all nighter: This Angel was currently more immaculate looking with white hair and gold eyes. "B-But M'Orana, they were the ones who asked to be surpri-"
"I talk, you listen." The Angel snapped them out of their rebuttal before reading their transcripts; "On top of that, you not only rushed them with a time limit to come back with a single potion but you also fumbled this supposed roulette idea of your's." They mentioned with a growing apprehension; "And you just went along with it?"
"In my defense, I was trying to explain EVERYTHING to them and my hand must've slipped when I was using the mechanism…If you're going to blame anyone, then by all means; Blame Artamel….That butterfly brained nymph was in charge of the maintenance, not to mention it was her that got me 300 consecutive lifecycles of overtime in the first place!"
"I'll be talking to her later, but for now; we need to fix this! What power system did you give them before they ventured out?" M'Orana asked them while pinching the bridge of their nose. "Because the potion that was taken from the inventory was a Stat Max Draught so if there's a good synergy then we can still turn this around."
"They asked me to take the data from their last game played which was Skyrim and that alone was quite substantial." They explained; "They should have all attributes and perks for the world they landed in on top of Dragon shouts so they'll just need weapons, magic and armour but outside of that, they should be set…I think."
"Good…Though on to the last question, You said that you did another game world to put them in with the objective to find a way out, care to tell me where you sent them?" M'Orana quizzed them as they felt a little better knowing that this human wouldn't be dropped in without a lifeline.
"Souls." They mentioned with their voice trailing off once the memory set in; "The mechanism in the roulette wheel got to just Souls…"
M'Orana realised what this meant and had to struggle with not losing it right then and there; "So because of your error, you've taken someone who knows how to play Skyrim and put them at the beginning of a franchise known for it's harsh playstyle, challenging enemies and even more challenging lore…I don't know whether to be impressed or be appalled by this utter travesty."
—Back at the Asylum—
Mar was staring up at the several feet tall demon that threatened to crush him, he began to think on a plan while trying to roll and evade each swing of their gnarled hammer. "Okay, not good….This is seriously not good! What even hurts this thing?!"
The Asylum Demon then started to stomp after him while swinging it's hammer but barely even flinched when a large man-sized pot was thrown at it's head; followed by another and another, it turned to Mar with the same manner that a fully sized man would approach a fly.
"Okay, elemental weaknesses…We got fire, ice and lightning but what harms…Whatever that thing is?! Let's start simple…Yol, Toor, Shul!" Mar's voice deepened and warped as he changed his voice to the Dovah language and let loose what looked like a plume of fire from his mouth towards the lumbering bulk of the Demon's body.
The Asylum Demon was prepared for any threat that the opposing Undead would try but watching it belch out fire like a Dragon from the Age of Ancients was not what it expected at all. It reared back with a painful howl as it tried to shield itself.
"Fire…I got your number now yo-" Mar smirked but then realised; "Wait…I can't Shout again…." The thought branded in his head as the injured Demon quickly recovered and roared at him with a newfound anger.
Mar looked around quickly and then started rushing for the open door that lay between the Demon's thick legs. Realising that until he had an actual weapon or magic in his hands; things were going to be touch and go for a while. Mar then decided to make a mad dash for the iron door and tried to use another of the large pots to stun the Demon; but as he turned around to face the gigantic monster, the last thing he saw was the head of it's massive hammer bearing down on him with deceptive speed. "So that's it…I'm gonna die again right from the start?" He would think to himself, lamenting his situation while cursing the Angel that sent him here, the only last thing he spat out was the promise that he'll come back to find them before everything went black.
With a sudden gasp and a jerk upwards; Mar found himself sat at the bonfire like he hadn't even moved from his spot; "I-I'm alive?" He said to himself as he got up and looked himself over; He definitely remembered the Hammer slamming down on him and the feeling of his bones crumpling under it's weight like they were made of toothpicks. He looked around and saw that the doors which he had opened before had stayed open; But there was a thick layer of fog that covered the opening.
Mar got his bearings and got up, seeing as there was no other way in or around this thing; With a tap of his finger to his palm, he could see that the cooldown of his Shout got brought back to zero like he had essentially gone back in time to before he "died" with some minute differences. "Well, couldn't do that in Tamriel…Though I think I should avoid fighting that thing barehanded…" Mar remarked as he then checked a barred door near the bonfire; He rattled the door and tested the lock on it with no success.
Mar then sighed since he had no keys or a lockpick on him before walking up to the mist laden gate and walked through to see the Asylum Demon standing there with that same look of rabid intent to kill. "Not this time…" He grimaced before deciding on a new Shout to try and get around the Demon; "Wuld, Nah, Kest!" Mar yelled out in that same deep, draconic tone as he did when he shot fire at the Demon; However this time, he shot towards the iron door like a cork from a champagne bottle and cleared it with ease.
SLAM!
The door slammed shut behind Mar as the Demon roared and smashed about with the loss of it's new plaything, it could only roar with nothing else to do but throw a tantrum.
Mar sighed a breath of relief as he carried on through the water tunnels as he continued to look around and see what he could turn up; "Well…In all honesty, it doesn't look all that different from a typical dungeon; Aside from the giant lump outside, the only other thing that I've seen wandering around are these other prisoners…Though they do look like Draugr more than anything else…"
There was a croaky groan as one of the Hollowed Undead got up; feeling hostile at the fact that something that still had life was audacious enough to get into it's personal space. It screeched out a horrific noise as it rushed towards Mar with gangly hands flailing in an attempt to maul him.
"It's no Demon but I can see how Hand to hand compares." Mar thought as he sidestepped the thrashing undead and then swung a powerful right hook into the side of the Hollow's head; His smirk at being able to fight something more his speed quickly changed to shock when he saw that simple punch lift the Undead off of it's feet and slamming into the wall with the sound of a wet paper towel hitting the window. "Ho…ly…Shit…" Were the words that left his mouth as the undead crumpled to the floor in a heap; "99 Strength hits like a damn truck!" He remarked as he cracked his knuckles and felt a rush of energy into his body; A small counter appeared at the bottom that slowly climbed itself up from 0 to 150.
"Looks like that's this world's equivalent of gold…Since I'm maxed out on stats, I won't need to worry about leveling as much but I do still need to buy gear and spells." He mused as he continued further in; Though the unmistakable sound of a Thwp! alerted him to the sound of a bow loosing an arrow and hitting the wall behind him when he peeked around a corner.
Archers…
Every Skyrim players' bane if they aren't careful; with two Hollowed men standing at the top of a slope with a pair of longbows and an abundance of arrows ready to turn any would be escapees into pincushions, "Ordinarily, I'd use a Slow Spell or a Time Slow Shout but since I have nothing of the former and the latter was still cooling down from Whirlwind Sprint…" Mar said to himself as he turned the corner and started to sprint up the hill.
Seeing their new target in sight; the arrows were notched and set loose to try pinning him down, they groaned and fired arrow after arrow with no luck as Mar then ducked and weaved with little effort around their arrows before slipping into a hideaway spot.
"Man, these archer don't make it difficult to dodge…I swear I can just see their arrows moving in slow-mo…." Mar thought to himself as he saw an unmoving body slumped to the side with arrows littering its body. Contemplating the fact that if the 99 in Strength meant he could floor the lower level crowd barehanded, the 99 in Dexterity was most likely improving his footwork or his reaction time since he had be standing as still as possible if an arrow was to hit him.
The sounds of trickling water from the drains and the readjustment of the bowstrings brought it to attention that even if he could get closer to them; Mar was still practically more vulnerable like this, with nothing to protect his body except for a loincloth. "This isn't good…I might be able to slam dunk an enemy but I'd much rather do it in layers of armour…Although…" Mar grinned as he reached down to the body and picked up the club that was clad in it's hand: It looked like a primeval made one with a smooth outer service and worn leather wrappings around the handle. "If it works for the cavemen, then I can't complain."
Mar twirled the club in his hands; it almost weighed nothing to him and it looked like a few good swings would splinter it but compared to dying, it was better then no weapon at all. "Plus it's not like this is the only weapon I'm going to come across…"
The Archers aimed again as they saw a blur come around the corner and almoat as fast as they could blink; A club swung from the side and hit one in the head and rounded down their health to zero before he carried on.
The second archer looked ready to pull out a knife but Mar was already swinging downward and practically slammed the Archer into the stone ground like a ton of bricks.
Total Soul Points: 450
"Y-You there…Undead friend …Please…I need your assistance…" A voice could be heard from a small crack in the wall once Mar climbed the stairs and made it to the second floor.
Mar would head over to where he heard the voice however aside from the tiny hole that he could peep through to see that same knight who dropped the key for him, there was no solid way of getting through a wall of solid stone even if he had a weapon on hand. He quickly headed down the stairs to open up an easy way around and then headed upstairs to try and find an armoury.
The sound of a rumbling was growing louder as when Mar looked up; A giant ball came rolling from the top of the stairs so quickly that he didn't have time to react…or to block.
With a loud crash, Mar was able to see the wall open up after he was knocked to the side painfully. "Uh…Hello…Knight Guy? You still alive in there?" Mar asked as he climbed through; Seeing the Knight's breath slowing as he weakly turned his head.
"Oh…Good Friend, you're alright. I'm glad to see someone has their senses in the Asylum." The Knight chuckled as he gazed up at Mar; "I was about to escape when that oversized Demon smashed me to bits and then threw me in this cell."
"Well…Do you know how to beat it or if there's an armoury where I can get better gear?" Mar asked curiously; However his optimism dwindled as he heard the pained coughs.
"My name is Oscar of Astora and if you are Undead like me, then a pilgrimage you will make to Anor Londo…The City of the Gods…Please go in my place and fulfill the great journey of us all…" Oscar then thrust a jar in Mar's hands; "A-An Estus Flask, it cannot help me here but it will aid and heal you when you will need it…Now go, I will rest for a moment."
Mar knew that it was a step in the right direction but he still felt that twinge of guilt as he heard Oscar dying as he left. "This flask is probably my one and only safeguard between life and death…At least until I can get Healing Magic." He thought as he climbed up the stairs from where the giant ball came from.
Standing at the top was a proud looking Hollowed man clutching a broken sword as it heard Mar getting hit, though it seemed like that changed fast when Mar descended upon it with the club in hand.
After it yielded to the ever after, Mar then carried on through the open gate as he saw the vast expanse of the outside world he had landed in; A murky, cloudy sky with nothing around to see but mountains and the occasional squawk of a bird in it's nest.
"Man, this makes the Throat of the World look cheery…" Mar thought to to himself as he wandered the outside perimeter with club in hand, the sounds of growling and the as he saw more enemies on the path; rushing forward and swinging the club to knock them out before finishing the two archers with some swift blows to the head. "Come on! There has to be a sword or something left behind that I can use…This clubs already splintering as it is."
As he looked to the stairs leading up to an archway, he pressed his hand to the fog gate and stepped through; Though where he was standing happened to be on a ledge directly over the Demon staring up at him. "Oh shit….OH SHIT!"
The Demon howled angrily as it remembered the Fire Breath it was subjected to and readied itself to jump up and smash him from his perch.
"Okay instincts….Let's see how max stats work like this!" Mar thought to himself as he landed on the Demon's head and with a frantic war cry, he started to smack the club down again and again to knock the beast down.
The Demon tried it's hardest to fight back but the desperate swinging of the club dwindled it's health down faster and faster. The last nail in it's head was punctuated by the sounds of it's final roar and the sound of wood permanently shattering; it's body collapsed on itself and vanished into nothingness, leaving Mar with nothing but a feeling of Souls rushing through his body and a club handle that served to be all that remained of his weapon.
Total Souls: 2,450
"…lo…."
"He…llo…"
"Ca…n you hear me?"
A voice could be heard in Mar's head that emanated from a crystal on the ground; With some tentative suspicion, he picked up and found his vision going white once more as he was now in an open space with nothing and no one else around.
"I apologise for reaching out to you like this…But there is something we must discuss." Z'nthara mentioned apologetically as they stood before him.
"Who…Are you?" Mar would ask as the Angel in front of him was far different from the one that sent him on his journey.
"Apologies, my name is M'Orana…I am the primary custodian of the Second Life Program and the supervisor of the Angel that had sent you here in the first place." They explained; "I wanted to say…I am sorry, you were placed in this situation because of some precarious choices and a lack of attention on our part." They said sincerely and made a deep bow towards Mar.
"It uh…It's okay, I guess you can't call it a complete mess up…I still got in here with something to help me on this journey." Mar remarked with a rather upbeat tone; They seemed rather happy when it came to having maxed out stats at the beginning of the whole thing but when it came to everything else, they weren't sure where to go with it.
"You were given a single potion and our policy stands that every person going into the world of their choice has a potion, a specially made weapon or a tool…Or even something more than just a basic boost." M'Orana further elaborated; "Which is why I came here…Since I couldn't show myself sooner with the Boss of this area still roaming, I took the time to get this together." They mentioned and handed Mar a box that was the size of his palm.
"It's a compass?" Mar asked as he opened it up and saw the arrow pointing in the direction to where the other giant door was.
"A specially made one; This Grand World Codex can allow you to track your objective in the world, it also has special magic to let you speak to others here…Though it may have some translation issues with Dragons but since you can converse with them, that won't be a problem."
"Wow, this is pretty amazing…I just wish I got it sooner rather then getting killed by a Demon to get considered for it." Mar said to M'Orana with a dry tone; "And hit with a giant iron ball…And arrows." He added with more intent to rub this in for the Angel.
"I..I understand that with where you landed, it doesn't sound like a lot but this is also part of our sincerest apologies; I did some digging into the Game you played the most and discovered a very useful item that could aid you." M'Orana mentioned and snapped their fingers; Making a long and thin key appear in their finger grip, it was a solid iron key with a skull as it's handle.
"A Skeleton key? But don't those normally have a set limit on locked doors?" Mar asked as they turned the key over in his fingers.
"Ordinarily yes, but since this is a whole new world…This key will open any traditionally made door…Though unfortunately it has issues when trying to open magic barriers or event constraints." M'Orana explained but noticed the rather disappointed look on Mar's face; "B-But enough of the apology and recompense, I'm going to give you one additional gift to aid you on this journey as a show of good faith…So name it…Whatever you wish."
Mar thought on it long and hard but then decided on the most obvious choice. "Can you bring me out of this so I can try another world…Or at the very least tell me where I have to go?"
M'Orana sighed with hesitation and that alone said volumes, if an Angel, a being of high renown and honor was shrinking at this request and grimacing was not a good sign; "I…I was thinking that maybe we could offer you a weapon…O-Or a magic ring or something like that."
"Give me an out!" Mar insisted with a more firm tone as he wanted something that could give him a more possible chance of living/succeeding.
"The…The contract was already signed when you came in, despite the oversight and the errors regarding your placement here…An Angel's contract cannot be broken until it is completed….I am sorry…" M'Orana said with a softer tone, this wasn't going to make it any easier but they still had a duty to uphold their decrees.
"Then you better give me a strong weapon, something that can help me with busting through this world and getting out of this so I can give you a real yelling at in person!" Mar yelled as he was not happy about the fact that he was stuck here with no other way out but to push forward.
"V-Very well…How about this?" M'Orana suggested and pulled out what looked like a katana with a red gem in it's pommel and a solid black blade; "This is from our stock room called the "Dragon's Bane" and it is one of our more gifted weapons; It does more damage against Dragons and against any other opponent, it will issue lightning damage." M'Orana explained and then held the blade out towards Mar; "This Multiverse has a durability limit but this sword is made of solid Corundomite…Which means that no matter how many opponents that you kill with it, it will never dull or break."
"It's light…I can work with this…" Mar thought to himself as he held on to the sheathed sword; "I think I can work with this, I want to be strong here but I still want to earn and explore where I want…This sword'll help the process but it doesn't mean that this is water under the bridge." Mar mentioned as M'Orana's time ran out and they disappeared.
As the world faded back to normal, Mar could see a glint of a giant, bulky key and picked it up; after unlocking the second set of heavy iron doors leading to the outside, Mar could see this world really looked no better from the ground floor. "I'll say it again, this makes the Throat of the World look cheerful…" He grumbled as he wandered up the rising path towards the edge of the cliff before a giant crow swept down and grabbed ahold of him. Flying off and away from the Asylum before dropping him somewhere called the Firelink Shrine.
"Wait…Didn't that Angel say Multiverse?!"
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