"You... I remember you. The first time we crossed paths, I barely made it out alive." Wesley said. "Ah, yes. The trembling player who thought he could escape my grasp. How foolish." The zombie lord said. "I was weaker then, now I know this world better. I know you better."From the swamp of death, Wesley was lifted into another level. He had passed the trial needed to get to the next level, although he wasn't aware. Earlier in the game, Wesley had confronted some mini bosses, all fingers- associates to Shadow, the grandmaster of the dark world. He would now subsequently come face to face with those mini bosses one after the other. The first of them being the Zombie Lord, he was in charge of dispatching and commanding zombies to do the bidding of Shadow. He had his own mini kingdom however - moreso, an area he had jurisdiction over. "You've grown stronger, true. But strength alone would not save you here. You're still bound by the same rules, Wesley." The zombie lord explained.
Roaring in rage the health bar drops to 60. "You insolent little worm" the zombie lord said and a dark aura activated, causing the area a wide fear status. You cannot withstand the darkness of the cursed realms. Wesley under the effect of fear vision felt himself loosing. "What The...? my movement speed just dropped by 50% what's this?" "Your time is up! you will be another soul trapped here for eternity!" the zombie lord said, charging forward with his sword raised. "Not so fast! I've got one more trick up my sleeve!" Wesley said. Cleansing orb of purity inventory warning: one left. This better work... He uses the orb and boom, the buff removed! No more fear! Hissing in anger the zombie Lord said, "impossible! no one has ever survived my fear aura before!" "Guess I'm not no one," Wesley smirked. He dashed in, activating 'power strike combo'. "Time to bring that health bar down. Strike, strike, strike! Crut gut! Down to 35%! You're loosing this fight, and fast." Staggering,
The path forked ahead, and Wesley brought up his map. Two options: the Crona Sapphire to the north or the remembered Spiff to the east. The sapphire was marked with a hazard icon -likely toxic environments or poison enemies, which meant he'd have to chug antidotes regularly. The spiff, on the other hand had a skull icon over it, indicating that a boss lurked within. Wesley smirked, after taking down the zombie lord, he was ready for any other challenge. He directed Thorn towards the remembered Cliff and as he approached, the screen flashed red- Thorn's health bar dropped by a quarter. A faint hiss echoed from behind. Wesley's eyes widened. "Poisoned?" He hadn't even entered the sapphire yet. Spinning the camera. Wesley spotted the culprit: a shadowy figure with glowing red eyes crouched low behind a broken statue. It was an assassin, a classic ambush enemy. The figure dissapeared in a blur of motion, leaving behind a puff of dark smoke. Thorn's health continued to tick down from t
During the course of the game, Wesley had vanquished many foes and explored many dungeons; however none could compare to the warmth he felt by being with his family. Thinking of them was like taking a magical elixir that would revive his spirit and restore his strength.He opened his game’s inventory and looked at memories placed in his virtual backpack. Every one of them, from precious relics to the simple potions, made him remember the real life experiences he missed. His brother had challenged him to have better performances in gaming and that had been his drive while his parents’ words gave him the morale boost.While sitting by a fire Wesley remembered the relationships he had with his family. It was not like simple buffs or debuffs, as they were in truth the essence of who he truly was. The virtual world might have imprisoned him but home was always his beacon of light even when he was trapped in the midst of the dark dungeons.He finally got up and with yet a deep breath prepar
The name ‘The Abandoned Desert’ flashed on screen as the sweat on Wesley’s forehead dropped and he wearily clutched the handle of his sword. "Okay, deep breath... I just need to get through this level. There must be a way out of this game…”. He and his companion, Thorn, were traveling across a barren region under the scorching heat of the sun. A thick sandstorm surrounded him and obscured his vision. ‘Be careful about your health, player! You’re low on energy now. Drink a potion before the next wave hits’ a fellow player suggested.Wesley rummaged through his stash and pulled out a health potion off his bag. “Well, that should suffice me for the moment.” He moved forward and in an instant, the screen blinked. The ground seemed to buckle and move, and there, just for a moment, a familiar sight flashed before him, a memory. Mom’s garden in spring, beautiful and ringing with colors. His dad laughing from the outside and his brother and other friends coming down the street on their b
"Maybe your save file is corrupted. Happens sometimes. Just reset your console, dude." "No you don't get it, we're trapped here. Time has passed. Weirdly, actually. Everytime I close my eyes, I spawn back at the last check point." "Wait. Are you serious?" "Dead serious? Remember that forest level, where you have to dodge the traps? I've run through it over a hundred times." "Dude, that's impossible. Respawns only happen when you die. Right?" "Except I haven't died. I just reset, like the game's looping " 'New quest unlocked: BREAK THE CYCLE. Objective: ESCAPE' The game AI said. "See that? It's like the game knows I'm trying to break free" "Okay, let's think this through. Maybe there's a hidden mechanic, like a secret quest line you haven't triggered." "I thought so too. Tried everything. I've collected every item, completed every side quest, maxed out my XP. Nothing changes." "Have you tried multiplayer? Maybe someone else can pull you out." "No one els
A clock appeared in the top corner of his screen, counting down from 24 hours in real time. His heart thudded in his chest as he started moving through the forest, his HUD glowing red, indicating enemies were near. "Just stay calm", Wesley muttered. "It's just an event driven quest." But this time the enemies weren't mindless AI-controlled mons. They were ruthless adapting to his tactics. He switched between stealth and combat mode, landing critical backstabs and counter-parries, but they just kept coming, their movements more erratic, as if the game's AI was learning faster than any other game he'd played. For the first time in years, he felt like he was outmatched. Finally after what felt like hours of endless fighting, he reached a clearing. In the center stood a towering black beast, Tador. It's body a mass of writhing shadows, its glowing eyes locked on a figure bound to a pillar of light. His mother. Wesley's breath caught in his throat. She looked exactly like his real mom.
"Alright, inventory check," Wesley muttered to himself as he pulled up his HUD, his health was low and he was running out of potions. He still had a handful of bombs and traps but they wouldn't be enough if he ran into another pack of enemies. With a sigh, Wesley closed the menu and leaned back against the wall, thinking. He had recently received a message from another player, someone named Zilor, claiming there was a way out. The message was cryptic, filled with strange coordinates and warnings. But Wesley had nothing to lose. He was desperate for any lead that could get him out of this nightmare. "Okay",he whispered, glancing at the waypoint marker that blinked on his mini map. "Just follow the path. Easy enough." He stood and began to move cautiously through the hallways of the castle, his boots tapping lightly on the stone floor. He kept his sword drawn and his eyes darted around every corner. The castle was quiet, too quiet.In games like this, that was a very bad sign. After