The camel was not the only thing waiting for me.My system dashboard also rang with new notifications.Updates to System Dashboard*Name: [Alexander]Level: 2Bronze Coins: 0/1000. 0 used.Experience Points (XP): 0/10,000 Health Points (HP): 0/10,000 Magic Points (MP): 0/10,000Strength: 10/10Intelligence: 10/10 Agility: 10/10 *Skill Section*Active Skills: Fire Breathing. Passive Skills: Night Vision. Skill Cooldowns: 5 hours (Night Vision). 3 hours (Fire Breathing).*Quest and Mission Log*Current Quests: +NEW: Loot the Ancient Tomb of the Invincible Soldier.Completed Quests: Find the Sword of Pella. *Statistics and Analytics*Kill Count: 0/15Distance Travelled: 0/310 kmResources Gathered: 0/10*Notifications and Alerts*System Messages: Congratulations on reaching Level 2, which will lead you to the Tomb of the Invincible Soldier. More challenges await you.Warning Alerts: NONEEvent Notifications: NONE *Equipment and Inventory*Equipment: 1x Steel Katana, 1x Sword of P
I like to think that surviving the road to Plateaea was only successful for one reason.My camel.We were roaming terrain that had once been buzzing cities now long forgotten and covered in sand, which my camel navigated with patience. I was spare with my water, and tried to preserve it in the best way I could for my camel, but the animal was resilient and needed no water.Also, those are days when loneliness got the better of me.Maia was a companion, but not the best one, especially when it came to fun. I liked her, but I wished she was funnier.We journeyed through the desert for a whole week, riding on my camel as it walked the way. This was when a few funny things happened, which I doubt that I can forget.First was a sandstorm that blew hard on the second night, and without a place to stay to block the storm, I could only stay close to my camel, who appeared to be well adapted to the scenario. I covered my head in my hood and buried myself in the sand where it lay to avoid any i
The joy of having my camel back soon faded away, as the pain from my fight with the Praying Mantis persisted. I tried to hold it in, but taking the hood with the blood out by myself hurt too much, which was when I decided that I needed help.“Get me the Sand Demon’s heart, Maia.”At once, it was in my metallic hand.“How do I assemble the Sand Demons?”“Speak to the heart like one would in a microphone, and say the words 'Ich Na Raho Kïö Se’.”I said the words just as Maia asked me to, and a second later there arose before me two figures in the sand, with red glowing eyes that were very familiar, and one of them with half an arm as they bowed in front of me.“Welcome,” I told them, waiting patiently for Maia to translate my words. “I want to thank you for your help, including the camel, which has been very useful to me. However, I must ask for your help once again, as I need a desert healer who can help me with a bruise I sustained in a fight.”Maia translated my words, and the Sand
I grabbed the mirror with both my hands and held it, looking at this reflection. Slowly, my metallic hand crept up to touch my face, but I could not even do so much as feel it, as I could not feel anything with my metallic parts.Nothing mattered anymore.I did not care so much that the desert healer could come and find me holding his mirror. All I could think of was how wonderful it was to see myself again, to see who I was before the night that Mancini scarred me and Debbie broke me.This moment was ruined by the desert healer clearing his throat. Slowly, I turned to look at him, and he stood there, seeming to not know what to tell me.“You know… it's not real, right?” he finally spoke.“What?”“The image in the mirror. It is a dream mirror, and only shows you what you want to see. I use it to pay homage to who I was before I was cursed to be a leper.”“Who were you?”“A prince. Of Odesso.”I felt my heart skip a beat at the thought of the fact that this was the city I had just pass
I rolled away as the axe’s edge sunk into the bed with a quiet thump, and then stood to look at my assailant, the healer.His chest heaved beneath the bandages, and I moved further behind, silently muttering to Maia to bring my sword. The sword was in my hand, and he rushed forward to attack me.I dodged the swing of his axe, and made sure to cut the wood of the axe. It fell to the ground with another thump, and I used my foot to kick the desert healer to the ground, holding the tip of my sword at his neck.“Surrender.” His eyes looked at me, and then he raised his hands in surrender. My heart thumped steadily in my metallic chest, and I took a step back, letting him go.“Did I not tell you that I was like you? Cursed to not be able to die?” I asked him, keeping a watchful eye on his surprisingly still body.“My desire to harm you was stronger than reasoning.”“And why would you want to harm me?”“Because you're sailing through your own Hades game so easily that even he would want to
I came to discover that very often, you plan while the desert surprises.A thick sandstorm the morning after I left the leprous desert healer was ruining visibility, while I had my mind intensely focused on getting through 261.9 kilometres. I wanted to reach Plataea in the fastest time possible, and to get to Level 3.I was riding on my camel, with my hood covering my face as I thought of getting over a tall sand dune when all of a sudden, I was no longer in sight of what my eyes were on, but falling through the darkness and then into a pile of dust with a thud.The first thing I did once I got to my feet was to check my camel. It did not appear to have suffered any injuries, and I felt succour, at least until I turned and saw that we had fallen into some giant, underground temple. Statues lined the sides, with spare bits of light coming in from the roof, and within my chest, an ominous thought made me wonder if this was another trick from Hades. It could just be him.“Where are we, M
While trying to rest, I made a mistake I would pay for.I did not close the door I opened, somehow assuming that what it was on the other side was far too big to come to me.It wasn't. Rather, it must have been waiting for that door to open, because I was barely asleep when the sound of a warning alert woke me up, which I was quick to check.*1. New Notification Alert*Warning Alerts: 1x Duos Python approaching. 0.005 km away.At the same time, I could hear something moving over the stone, and I activated my night vision, to see what it was.What could have been more terrifying, then, than the sight of a python slithering towards me in the dark, its wet slimy body gleaming in the dim moonlight from above. If that was not frightening enough, this one was so big that its girth was twice that of my human frame.Most of all, it had two heads.I jumped to my feet and pulled out my sword, stepping back as it lifted itself high into the air, so that the white underbelly showed clearly. I fel
“What the—”“Well that's what happens when you cut a Duos python halfway.” Maia said. “As long as you leave a part still attached to the other, best believe it's waking up again.That was when I remembered that a patch of skin was the only thing attaching one head, which had joined the neck. The other neck hung uselessly, the only sign of my victory.“Well it can't be that hard.” I assured myself. “I killed it when it had two heads. I can definitely kill it now that it has one.”Just as I said this, my camel ran off in the direction we had just come from, and I could feel my heart break as the thuds of its feet faded away as it went far off, disappearing in the distance.Now, everything just got harder for me. EVERYTHING.The Duos python, itself unconcerned with the escaped beast, started to come closer when Maia gave me one final warning:“It will have its fast reflexes back now that there is only one head, and not two that you can distract like you did the first time. Make sure to c