“Just what is this?” Holding the blood crystal in hand Glass pondered. After removing the bandages from his chest, he found a hard piece at the size of his thumb sticking out of his chest. He also felt similar small pieces of these stones in his body too but they were not as big as this.

“Texture feels like stone, a brittle stone at that.” Due to only a small amount of illumination in the cave. He wasn’t able to see the make up of the crystal clearly, the only thing he knew was that this “Stone” got brittle after taking it out of his body.

“I am suffering from 2 debuffs or status at the moment. Necrosis got removed after my constitution increased but Gene degeneration and Jade crystallization still exist. So, I assume these two are the symptoms of this ‘Unknown’ disease?” The reason Glass had so few body movements previously was because he suffering from necrosis and most of the nerves in his body had decomposed by the point, he ‘revived’ again. But when he placed some points in his constitution, it worked as a tonic and the nerves in his body reconnected.

Hence the Necrosis status was removed. But whatever illness caused the death of the previous owner of the body, he was still suffering from it, but with 5 points in constitution he can extend the time he can survive for.

“But I don’t think it will be enough for 10 days… I need to find a way out of this place and increase my endurance as much as I can.” Glass didn’t want to test what would happen if the his died in this game. He already understood that his existence was between an NPC and a player in this world or this game. And from his experience, an NPC doesn’t get 2^nd chances unless there is some plot device in the game.

It would be a lie to say that Glass was not a bit scared, he never loved dark environment nor did he love the little counter telling him when he will die.

Name: Shatter Glass
Species: Human/Crystallization
Class: None
Level:0
Health: 43[145]
Stamina: 155[155/165]
Auxiliary Energy: 0[Not awakened]

“It decreased again. The main cause should be Jade Crystallization, the destruction of my genes is probably an end product of Jade crystallization. The main illness should also be related to this status and this damn rock!!” In his anxiety of his approaching demise, Glass crushed the brittle stone in his hand. He noticed it while he was feeding on the tree roots that his health decreased by 1 point, first he thought that the tree he was feeding on was poisonous, but noticing no change in the log. He assumed it was his illness.

“In every 2 hours, I will lose 1 HP…. Fuck! its less than I assumed. I need to further increase my constitution or just something to increase my health. It’s the only way I can live.” The disease has taken root in his body, if he had 5 constitution when he came in contact with this disease. He would have been immune to it. But now that his blood stream contains so much of the infected crystals and his gene was mutating due to it. There was no chance for him to extend his life even with the limited resources he was provided with the in the form of FSP. There was not even a cheat or a player’s starter pack that gives a new payer bare essential to survive the first few days in a game.

“This is too real to be a game. Oh!! Who would I not kill to have a sip.”
There was no time to rest for him. He needed to find the place where the air was escaping from and exit this dark place. But navigating in this ark environment with wet surface is really hard thing to achieve.

*****

“Never knew even Lord Shanark’s son would succumb to this plague. Death doesn’t discriminate huh?” In a pub with few patrons a drunk man derided to his friends. He was not happy when speaking, but all there was in his eyes was dread. Even if the Lord’s son who had everything from doctors to magical potions was not safe from death, then why would they who had nothing will survive this catastrophe.

The city is already under martial law. No one is to go outside the city and all those that deserted this city were hunt down by rangers. The people of Shanark lived in fear now.

“Shanark is no more, it is just a giant tomb waiting to be buried in the annals of history. Oh! I just wanted to get married and have a family.” A man cried after being a bit poetic about the situation. He still can’t believe how the city change in the matter of months.

“Shanark was long dead. When the plague was in its infancy the war mongering asshole of a lord ignored it. Even when his own son pleaded him, he didn’t even act. Now when the situation has become so serious did that Lord of ours calls for a shaman.” The first man cursed at the City lord of Shanark, but not a single patron or the guards in the pub did anything to stop him. Everyone was indignant due to the incompetency of the city lord. When the citizens were dying and the plague was spreading in the poor districts of the city, the Shanark lord was still having celebrations over his victory of the last war ignoring the plea of the suffering denizens of his own city. Only when his own son caught the plague did the city lord woke up.

“The boy was good… alas! he is dead too.”

In a corner, Javed sat while eating some mash potatoes and beans. This was the food he ate when he was a just scholar or a lab-rat under the magician and his pay was not good at that time.
Eating this would suffice the hunger of his stomach and gave him enough nutrients to move further ahead in his life until he became an apprentice at the young age of 19.

He was still 19 though and now his pay was 20 times more than his previous income but he still hasn’t changed of eating food in this cheap pub. He was the kind that didn’t want to abandon his root even if he climbs the stairs of heaven itself.

“The lord’s son… I remember he was given a health elixir a few days ago. How can he die?” Javed mumbled. He was still depressed after the incident of last night and the blast that happened during the ritual was out of everyone’s expectations. When he came back to his room, he found himself covered in bits and pieces of the dead. He was not that far away when the explosion happened. A small trauma has already taken route in his heart but the biggest question in his heart was how can the corpses cause such a big explosion.

“Even if the inflammable gas was accumulated naturally in the ditch, it would have already flown into air as there was nothing holding it in. Why stay in the ditch? It’s not like that the hole was covered up or something.” If he can think something like this, his teacher Reich Reinhard would have already come to this conclusion. But he still ignored it.

“So when are the dead rites?”

“No one knows, some say the lord isn’t even interested in it.” The man who seem to be the one who knew some things shut up mid-way after noticing the pleading eyes of the guard. The guard could ignore some things men say while drunk, but some stuff was a taboo and even the guard would have to act against his will.

“I should go and clarify some things with teacher.” Javed thought after some ideas formed up in his head.

*****

“I can’t die in here… No… I won’t die in here…” In has been hours in this dark cave, Glass didn’t know if it was night or day on the outside. He was getting desperate after his HP dropped to 38 while he was searching for the exit or the place where the air was escaping to. But he never succeeded, wherever the air vent was it was probably out of his reach.

“Should I try the other way?... No! the stream is too strong, I don’t have enough strength to go upstream.” Glass thought after looking at the water vein he came from, but he changed his mind instantly after remembering the pain he suffered while coming here.

You are infected with an unknown disease that causes complete crystallization of blood in the body and this disease may take your life if you don’t deal with it soon enough. Survive this fatal disease.

Quest clearing conditions:
1: Cure yourself of the unknow disease
2: Survive the crystallization
3: Find the cure for the unknown disease

Time Limit: 10days
Failure to complete the quest: Death

“Cure yourself of the unknown disease… this ought to be the easiest condition with minimal work required. But what I am going through is the 2^nd condition. Which seems impossible with the current resources I have at my hand.”

“If the 1^st option is the easiest, then it means that it would solve my problem the fastest. Then does it mean that the cure was in the place I came from? That dark hole? Or is it here?” Glass thought while he looked in the dark cave. The only think out of ordinary in this cave was the algae that was also the source of light in this cave.

[Fluorescent Algae: ???; Remark: For a 2-year-old, this looks tasty]

“No way, it will be this easy.” Glass rubbed off some of the algae from the wall and massaged it on an exposed crystal of his shoulder. But nothing happened, he didn’t feel any irritation or even if there was any reaction at all.

“Will it work if I eat it?... But I don’t think these algae is of edible kind.” Without thinking any further, Glass placed a mouthful of algae and gulped down the shining slimy plant lifeform in his stomach. He didn’t feel anything

“I will wait for 2 hours and see if it has any affect.”

[Fluorescent Algae: Causes slight discomfort in stomach; Remark: For a 2-year-old, this looks tasty.]

He waited and waited, but besides a few bloody farts that dropped 2 HP in just an hour, nothing happened. “I will die... This body is not up for any experimentation and there is no cure in this cave only death.”

“Is there really no way out of here?....” Ignoring the slight discomfort in his stomach, Glass sat on the ground thinking of a way out. He can’t go back in the river, nor there is a place out of this cave that he knew off.

“Just what should I do?” Glass mind drifted, he was contemplating a way out. There were no options for him left and the options there was, he was incapable of achieving them. His eyes were running all around the cave and a small map was also got drawn in his mind. But there was nothing in there that could help him achieve his goal of survival.

“If there is no way out… I will make one on my own!!” Glass came to a conclusion, staying here waiting for death was not his way. In his previous life he was always searching for adventure and in this dark place in which he can’t even properly see his own hands he got to experience the most primal form of adventure the he so desired.

He was always taught to always strive for success and if there is no way for success and make one on your own. And in this scenario, him succeeding meant him living through this adventure.

“Game or not, I will find out the truth soon enough and I will find it… on my own.”

No computer of capable of running such an expansive world for the time this counter is showing. From what he remembered, the beta would start in just 3 days. How did he get such a huge time difference was outside of his understanding. A computer can’t handle the process a world for approximate 4 years in just 3 days.

“And whoever brought me here… either was he just a nerd on a computer or some fucked up thing I can’t fathom. I will beat the hell out of you if and when I find out the truth.”

Reaching the tree roots on which he fed previously, Glass rip one of the strong one out and then with all his strength he pulled on it. His legs were not on the ground, instead they were on the walls busing his body away.

“There will be less rocks close to the tree roots. And if what I assume is correct, then this is the place where digging will be easiest.”

*****

“Hmm?”
Inside the forest east of Shanark, a fire was lit up in the middle of forest driving away the night predators. Surrounding this fire sat 3 women with a bowl of soup in their hands, 2 of whom were wearing the knights armor and the third one that seemed to be the leader was covered in jewelries made of bones with nose piercings.

“Is there something master?”

“I guess so… the spirits were asking me to take a look.” This woman was named Tathkakotta and also called Shaman of Melour by many. As a renowned spirit shaman, her services were always needed wherever she went as she is one of the few that can communicate with spirits of not just living things but even inanimate objects.

“Is it compulsory madam?” The woman in the right asked, it was already night and they didn’t want to delay their trip any further.

“It will not take any time and my body will also exercise a bit due to it. Sitting in the carriage all day has hurt my back a lot.”
“ And I am not young anymore, you know…” The shaman laughed while she placed the bowl near the fire and got up.

‘You are old that’s why its not good to walk in the forest madam.’ The guard thought but didn’t voice out any of her thoughts.

“Manira, you stay here and make some more soup, we may have a guest in our midst.”