((Just because you've all been so nice and excited for the proper release, have another draft chapter - sorry to be a tease!))
Sally took her first steps into the outside world. This part of reality had less familiarity to it. Sure, there were trees and patches of grass - the things she knew existed on a base level. But historically, this area was new information to her already cloudy head.
A cool evening breeze ruffled her red skirt and blonde hair as she narrowed her eyes at her surroundings. The diner looked to be the first building that the road led to, and then as the overgrown cobbled street carried on to the left, a small group of buildings in a U shape made up what could be considered a small town. A townlette, she mused.
Two shops, a bunch of residential buildings, and at the furthest point - a larger building that must be some kind of town hall. Everything was made of the same light wood as the diner, perhaps locally sourced. The darkness in the depths of their windows and open doorways in the dying sunlight confirmed her first impression that the whole micro-village was either abandoned or similarly filled with rotten shamblers.
“Hey, Humphrey?” She waited for the Observer to follow her outside as the four members of her group slowly caught up the short distance. “Is it just zombies here, or is there anyone special?”
“I couldn’t tell you even if I knew. I am only here to observe. Remember?”
She narrowed her eyes in response. “Have you observed anything more than zombies here? Y’know, when you haven’t been constantly blabbering at me.”
“Nice try. I suppose I can send my report back now, and receive any admonishment for breaking protocol. If I disappear into a mist, then it was nice knowing you.”
The skull paused in the air as if frozen in time, and the eldritch energy surrounding it became a glowing white flame that flickered upwards, enveloping the Observer.
Sally shrugged and looked back at the gloomy buildings. There were still questions left unanswered, so hopefully the skull wouldn’t go away so soon, but she would need a plan either way. The Hall would be the best bet for a defensive structure. Possibly. She mostly liked it because it looked the most castle-like. Being a named monster and all, a decent place of residence seemed like the next step up.
Staying in a small area would probably not go well in the long term. They would need to keep moving so that adventurers wouldn’t come by and wipe them out. Soon. There were already too many questions weighing on her mind; the thought of travelling in this unknown world would put her off balance.
Stabilise, she told herself, then think calmly and logically.
Sally turned and watched some of the zombies meander out of the diner. Her four chosen shamblers were standing in a loose formation behind her, idly waiting for some direction. For an awkward moment, she half expected them to talk or give some kind of signal. They did not. While Humphrey was still in a state of… communication with the Architect, she prodded at the star on her wrist.
Interestingly, she found that it could rotate. Micro menus popped up depending on which point of the star jutted out towards the back of her hand. There were very few options, however, some things must be hidden until unlocked or needed. With a brief amount of fiddling and muttered curses, the skill description for Command Dead popped up in front of her on a big semi-transparent window.
That was more helpful than the floating skull, but not by much. She wondered why the language was so imprecise. ‘More likely’ and ‘bonus’ didn't exactly provide a granular experience of whatever this existence was. Maybe there was a skill for seeing the numbers; that would be it. She was the same level as the zombies for now, at least, but did that mean a specific class level - or total level? There must be some difference.
The star was spun again, and she brought up a party member and their Details screen.
Other than the Monster Level, this one was similarly ambiguous. Being in a Party didn't seem to give much benefit, so far, other than being a little nosey. With a quick flick-through, none of the other zombies had anything special going on aside from the change in power level.
Humphrey buzzed and shook in the air before the white glow encompassing him returned to the simmering purple of before. He took a moment to attune back to his current surroundings.
“Well,” he said, eventually adjusting himself in the air to address Sally, “good news, and bad news.”
“Good first.” Always go good first; that way you can not listen to the bad after and pretend it didn’t exist.
“I have been forgiven of any err I have made in talking to you-”
“Including doing so now?”
“-yes, but the bad news is-”
“That was the only good news?”
“-is now,” he sighed, regretting ever having started the conversation. “The bad news is now I have been assigned as your personal Observer.”
“Creepy.” Sally crossed her arms. That meant the Architect had some interest in her, and was keeping tabs. It reminded her of the first week at the diner when Doris had watched her every move. Sally rolled her tongue in her mouth - those were memories of her previous life? Doris… the name conjured up a rough round shape, but it lacked detail.
“It appears you are special,” the Observer woke her from trying to piece together that puzzle, “and I'm here to watch and make sure you don't do any… damage.”
“Like Hit Point damage, or irreparably knocking some intangible screws loose in the structure of the System kinda damage?”
“Yes.” The skull hovered slightly higher in the air to avoid her scowl. “The latter, mostly.”
She sighed and bit her lip. This was turning into more of a pain than she first thought. The ‘classless monster’ stomped back over to the diner doorway and yelled at the remaining dead inside.
“Alright! Everybody out. If they want me to break the System, then I'll need y'alls help.”
“That's not what I…” Humphrey sighed and decided it wasn't worth the effort to continue his objections, as they were falling on deaf ears.
Sally stood and beamed as the half dozen or so remaining undead filtered past her out of the diner. Even the elderly gentlezom in the tweed suit followed despite his sad, but still glowing red, eyes.
“Sorry bud, all hands on deck until I leave this little nook of forgotten civilisation.” She gave him a pat on the shoulder as he passed. You never knew when an extra pair of hands would come in use when it came down to it.
“Hillan. That is what this place is called.” Humpree shuffled down closer to her as a small ping on her wrist-star lit up.
“Location information? Neat, but I'm not going to stand here and read it when so much is at stake.” Sally shook her head and narrowed a glare at the skull. “So, now you're my Beginners Guide?”
“I have been granted allowance to furnish you with some information. So long as it doesn't go against my scheduled duties, or could affect the System in any way.”
“Sure,” she rolled her eyes as she remained unconvinced, “and we know how much you like sticking to protocol.”
Before the Observer could object, Sally turned and pointed towards the supposed Town Hall of Hillan. “Onward!”
With sluggish ambition, the horde of zombies began shambling in that direction, the haunting groans and scraping of feet against dirt signalling the inevitability of their arrival. Or it would if there was anyone else around to hear it.
“A little quieter people, please.” She rubbed her head as her thoughts bounced around like a bee in a balloon. In response, the moaning volume dialled down a couple of notches. [Command Dead] clearly proving it was worth its weight in gold.
“What are your plans now?” Humphrey questioned as they joined the throng in walking to the building. “Not only now, but also long term - let’s say next day, week, and month. Assuming that you aren't dead by then. Re-dead”
Sally was silent for a few moments, as then soon breached the front of the group due to their less-shambling pace. Her party members were also at the forefront just behind them, although their pace was barely any quicker.
Just as the floating skull was about to prod her again, she spoke up.
“As I am, I am going to be hunted by adventurers and the like. That means I will need to get stronger and get a stronger party to support me.” She looked up to the darkening sky, as distant stars twinkled back at her. “For now, just survival is enough. Until I know what this world is, how it works.”
“Very wise.” The Observer hovered higher up and turned to watch the group of zombies following the woman, allowing them to pass him as he stopped.
“I will be watching your career with great interest.”
((Just because you've all been so nice and excited for the proper release, have another draft chapter - sorry to be a tease!))
Sally took her first steps into the outside world. This part of reality had less familiarity to it. Sure, there were trees and patches of grass - the things she knew existed on a base level. But historically, this area was new information to her already cloudy head.
A cool evening breeze ruffled her red skirt and blonde hair as she narrowed her eyes at her surroundings. The diner looked to be the first building that the road led to, and then as the overgrown cobbled street carried on to the left, a small group of buildings in a U shape made up what could be considered a small town. A townlette, she mused.
Two shops, a bunch of residential buildings, and at the furthest point - a larger building that must be some kind of town hall. Everything was made of the same light wood as the diner, perhaps locally sourced. The darkness in the depths of their windows and open doorways in the dying sunlight confirmed her first impression that the whole micro-village was either abandoned or similarly filled with rotten shamblers.
“Hey, Humphrey?” She waited for the Observer to follow her outside as the four members of her group slowly caught up the short distance. “Is it just zombies here, or is there anyone special?”
“I couldn’t tell you even if I knew. I am only here to observe. Remember?”
She narrowed her eyes in response. “Have you observed anything more than zombies here? Y’know, when you haven’t been constantly blabbering at me.”
“Nice try. I suppose I can send my report back now, and receive any admonishment for breaking protocol. If I disappear into a mist, then it was nice knowing you.”
The skull paused in the air as if frozen in time, and the eldritch energy surrounding it became a glowing white flame that flickered upwards, enveloping the Observer.
Sally shrugged and looked back at the gloomy buildings. There were still questions left unanswered, so hopefully the skull wouldn’t go away so soon, but she would need a plan either way. The Hall would be the best bet for a defensive structure. Possibly. She mostly liked it because it looked the most castle-like. Being a named monster and all, a decent place of residence seemed like the next step up.
Staying in a small area would probably not go well in the long term. They would need to keep moving so that adventurers wouldn’t come by and wipe them out. Soon. There were already too many questions weighing on her mind; the thought of travelling in this unknown world would put her off balance.
Stabilise, she told herself, then think calmly and logically.
Sally turned and watched some of the zombies meander out of the diner. Her four chosen shamblers were standing in a loose formation behind her, idly waiting for some direction. For an awkward moment, she half expected them to talk or give some kind of signal. They did not. While Humphrey was still in a state of… communication with the Architect, she prodded at the star on her wrist.
Interestingly, she found that it could rotate. Micro menus popped up depending on which point of the star jutted out towards the back of her hand. There were very few options, however, some things must be hidden until unlocked or needed. With a brief amount of fiddling and muttered curses, the skill description for Command Dead popped up in front of her on a big semi-transparent window.
That was more helpful than the floating skull, but not by much. She wondered why the language was so imprecise. ‘More likely’ and ‘bonus’ didn't exactly provide a granular experience of whatever this existence was. Maybe there was a skill for seeing the numbers; that would be it. She was the same level as the zombies for now, at least, but did that mean a specific class level - or total level? There must be some difference.
The star was spun again, and she brought up a party member and their Details screen.
Other than the Monster Level, this one was similarly ambiguous. Being in a Party didn't seem to give much benefit, so far, other than being a little nosey. With a quick flick-through, none of the other zombies had anything special going on aside from the change in power level.
Humphrey buzzed and shook in the air before the white glow encompassing him returned to the simmering purple of before. He took a moment to attune back to his current surroundings.
“Well,” he said, eventually adjusting himself in the air to address Sally, “good news, and bad news.”
“Good first.” Always go good first; that way you can not listen to the bad after and pretend it didn’t exist.
“I have been forgiven of any err I have made in talking to you-”
“Including doing so now?”
“-yes, but the bad news is-”
“That was the only good news?”
“-is now,” he sighed, regretting ever having started the conversation. “The bad news is now I have been assigned as your personal Observer.”
“Creepy.” Sally crossed her arms. That meant the Architect had some interest in her, and was keeping tabs. It reminded her of the first week at the diner when Doris had watched her every move. Sally rolled her tongue in her mouth - those were memories of her previous life? Doris… the name conjured up a rough round shape, but it lacked detail.
“It appears you are special,” the Observer woke her from trying to piece together that puzzle, “and I'm here to watch and make sure you don't do any… damage.”
“Like Hit Point damage, or irreparably knocking some intangible screws loose in the structure of the System kinda damage?”
“Yes.” The skull hovered slightly higher in the air to avoid her scowl. “The latter, mostly.”
She sighed and bit her lip. This was turning into more of a pain than she first thought. The ‘classless monster’ stomped back over to the diner doorway and yelled at the remaining dead inside.
“Alright! Everybody out. If they want me to break the System, then I'll need y'alls help.”
“That's not what I…” Humphrey sighed and decided it wasn't worth the effort to continue his objections, as they were falling on deaf ears.
Sally stood and beamed as the half dozen or so remaining undead filtered past her out of the diner. Even the elderly gentlezom in the tweed suit followed despite his sad, but still glowing red, eyes.
“Sorry bud, all hands on deck until I leave this little nook of forgotten civilisation.” She gave him a pat on the shoulder as he passed. You never knew when an extra pair of hands would come in use when it came down to it.
“Hillan. That is what this place is called.” Humpree shuffled down closer to her as a small ping on her wrist-star lit up.
“Location information? Neat, but I'm not going to stand here and read it when so much is at stake.” Sally shook her head and narrowed a glare at the skull. “So, now you're my Beginners Guide?”
“I have been granted allowance to furnish you with some information. So long as it doesn't go against my scheduled duties, or could affect the System in any way.”
“Sure,” she rolled her eyes as she remained unconvinced, “and we know how much you like sticking to protocol.”
Before the Observer could object, Sally turned and pointed towards the supposed Town Hall of Hillan. “Onward!”
With sluggish ambition, the horde of zombies began shambling in that direction, the haunting groans and scraping of feet against dirt signalling the inevitability of their arrival. Or it would if there was anyone else around to hear it.
“A little quieter people, please.” She rubbed her head as her thoughts bounced around like a bee in a balloon. In response, the moaning volume dialled down a couple of notches. [Command Dead] clearly proving it was worth its weight in gold.
“What are your plans now?” Humphrey questioned as they joined the throng in walking to the building. “Not only now, but also long term - let’s say next day, week, and month. Assuming that you aren't dead by then. Re-dead”
Sally was silent for a few moments, as then soon breached the front of the group due to their less-shambling pace. Her party members were also at the forefront just behind them, although their pace was barely any quicker.
Just as the floating skull was about to prod her again, she spoke up.
“As I am, I am going to be hunted by adventurers and the like. That means I will need to get stronger and get a stronger party to support me.” She looked up to the darkening sky, as distant stars twinkled back at her. “For now, just survival is enough. Until I know what this world is, how it works.”
“Very wise.” The Observer hovered higher up and turned to watch the group of zombies following the woman, allowing them to pass him as he stopped.
“I will be watching your career with great interest.”
