《Betrayal of the Dead》 1. -Death- *CRASH* Headlights. The sound of screeching tires. And then pain. Unimaginable pain. ¡°Must have been a car¡­¡± A quiet remark sounded in the Abyss.
-Death counter: 1-
An AI-like monotonous voice resounded.
-New passive acquired: rank 1 bludgeoning damage resistance-
¡°What the fuck is going on?!¡± The human voiced a question which was completely ignored.
-Resurrection system activated: Deaths betrayal-
¡°You''ve got to be kidding me.¡± The voice stared to get shaky ¡°I¡¯m dead?¡± ¡°Wait, but this can¡¯t be happening!¡± Then the realisation finally hit, any denial in the voice completely disappeared. ¡°I just got accepted for my job.¡± ¡°SHIT!¡± The human consciousness started to lament it¡¯s fate. ¡°Why me?¡± ¡°The statistics clearly state that only about 12 out of 100000 people die form a car crash, that''s less than o.o2%!¡± ¡°I guess most people tend to crash their cars rather then get hit by them so these stats don¡¯t mean shit in my circumstances.¡± ¡°At least I''m lucky that I died instantly.¡± ¡°Judging by the sounds I heard before everything went dark I might have just broken all the bones in my body.¡± If a consciousness could turn pale then the change in colour would have been like heaven and earth. ¡°Just thinking about the pain I would have been in sends a shiver down my¡­¡± ¡°Hmm down my what exactly?¡­¡± ¡°I clearly don¡¯t have a body, and even if I did then my spine would be broken and I wouldn¡¯t feel a thing.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just settle with shiver down my soul I guess.¡±
-Resurrection sequence initiating in 10¡­ 9¡­ 8¡­ -
¡°let¡¯s just hope I don¡¯t come back as a bug or something.¡±
-3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­-
*SILENCE* ¡°Wait¡­ why isn¡¯t anything happ-¡± *BADABOOM*
-Welcome back to the world of the living¡­ Isla McCall-
¡­ The sun was shining brightly, it¡¯s heat beating down on Isla¡¯s bare skin. He opened his eyes and asked no one in particular. ¡°Where the hell am I?!¡±
-Location unknown-
He was stunned as his question was answered. ¡°Who the fuck is this?!¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
-Death''s Betrayal personal AI-
The AI''s answer was just as monotonous as the last.
-Host needs to gather information to determine world¡¯s properties-
After getting up and looking around Isla saw what looked like an unending sea of tall grass. Something quite similar to the Mongolian Steppe.
-Body calibration complete-
Once again the AI chimed in.
-Loading host¡¯s stats-
Isla McCall Age: 24 Race: Human Male Death counter: 1 Class: Na Strength: 1 Agility: 1 Endurance: 1 Spirit: 0.1 Passives: Offensive: Na Defensive: rank 1 bludgeoning damage resistance Auxiliary : Na
Isla let out a depressed sigh. ¡°Why do my stats look so shit this isn¡¯t right.¡± With a soft whine he started lifting up his shirt. ¡°I used to work out a bit so I thought that at least my strength might have been a bit high- MY ABBS!¡± What greeted him was a flat stomach, his ribs were even slightly visible. He collapsed in a heap on the ground, one of the only things that had made him feel like he had accomplished anything in his life was gone, weak sobs could be heard from the thin bundle of limbs. Alas this didn¡¯t last long as his episode of self-pity was abruptly interrupted by the AI.
-If Host doesn¡¯t start moving in 20 minutes chance of death by starvation will go up by 68.73%-
*rumble* Isla realised that he was actually really hungry. He propped himself up and looked around, then noticed a thin line of smoke in the distance. ¡°Smoke means fire, fire means humans, humans and fire mean smoke¡­¡±
-The host means food-
He was corrected by the AI. ¡°Must be the hunger, it¡¯s making me delusional.¡± Isla knew that in order to survive longer than an hour in this world he needed to get up and start walking. Orange tall grass brushed past his legs. As he was walking he felt a weird sense of calm as he reminisced about his past life. Once again sighing he spoke out loud. ¡°I guess I don¡¯t really miss anything from my past, well I guess I do miss my abbs¡­¡± ¡°Hehe¡± ¡°No-one is going to remember me. Or even care that I died. I didn¡¯t make a life for myself, didn¡¯t make any friends and lost contact completely with my family.¡± He was getting very close to the source of the smoke, his voice only getting louder. ¡°I am a failure¡­¡± Then a visible change came over him. He seemed to stand up taller, puff out his chest a bit more, lifted his chin, even his eyes had a strange sense of determination in them. ¡°The failure that I was dies today!¡± ¡°I shall show the universe that I am more than just some failed nobo-¡± *Slash* *Thunk*
-Death counter: 2-
The AI stated.
-You have died-
-Life length 55 minutes and 37 seconds-
¡°That was my head¡±
-New passive acquired: rank 1 slashing damage resistance-
Isla didn¡¯t know how to respond. The universe clearly didn¡¯t seem to agree with his previous statements.
-Beginning resurrection sequence-
The AI stated in the midst of Isla¡¯s silence. His previous spirit was completely broken, he felt as though he had been cursed by the entire universe.
-Stats gained in world shall not be translated over into next life-
-To keep any stats permanently gain passives which give stats-
-Rank 1 slashing damage resistance added to permanent defensive passive list-
-Resurrection sequence initiating in 10¡­ 9¡­ 8¡­ -
Finally Isla said something to himself. ¡°The way I died must have been a coincidence right? Right AI?!¡±
-3¡­ 2¡­-
¡°Right AI?!¡±
-1¡­-
*SILENCE* ¡°AI!!¡± *BADABOOM*
-Welcome back to the world of the living¡­ Isla McCall-
... 2. -Pain- *pitter* *patter*
-Humidity detected to be at 95.63%-
-Host may experience some particular difficulty in breathing-
*Wheeze* Trouble in breathing seemed to be an understatement in the eyes of Isla. ¡°No shit!¡± As Isla looked around he was greeted with a collage dark greens and browns, he didn¡¯t recognise a single plant that entered his field of vision.
-Death 2 analysis complete-
The AI reported.
-Decapitation by [Orc]-
-Death duration¡­ 1.2 seconds-
¡°Great! Thanks¡­ for the¡­ especially useful¡­ information¡­ in this¡­ situation¡­ AI.¡± It¡¯s was getting extremely hard for Isla to speak while staying conscious. *HISSSSS* ¡°Ahh¡­ Fuck¡­ me¡­¡±
-Host has been bitten by a snake-like creature-
¡°AAAAAAGH!!!¡±
-Determined to be highly poisonous-
¡°MY LEEEG¡±
-Poison Analysed-
Isla passed out, oxygen was not reaching his brain fast enough to cater for his screams and thrashing.
-Poison: Extremely Lethal-
-Approximate time till death: 56 seconds-
There was no response from Isla.
-No help can be given to host-
-Beginning analysis of surroundings-
...
-Death counter: 3-
-You have died-
-Life length 2 minutes and 56 seconds-
-New passive acquired: rank 1 poison resistance-
¡°At least these deaths technically make stronger, even if by a bit¡­¡± *sigh*
-Beginning resurrection sequence-
¡°I guess I can¡¯t get lower than three minutes¡­ Bring it on universe!¡± There was now some old confidence in Isla¡¯s voice.
-Rank 1 poison resistance added to permanent defensive passive list-
-Resurrection sequence initiating in 10¡­ 9¡­ 8¡­ 7¡­ 6¡­ 5¡­-
¡°Bring¡­ It ¡­ ON!¡±
-1¡­-
*SILENCE* *BADABOOM*
-Welcome back to the world of the living¡­ Isla McCall-
...
-Death counter: 4-
-You have died-
-Life length 0.2 seconds-
-New passive acquired: rank 1 disintegration resistance-
-Rank 1 disintegration resistance added to permanent defensive passive list-Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
*SILENCE*
-Resurrection sequence initiating in 10¡­ 9¡­ 8¡­ 7¡­ 6¡­ 5¡­-
-3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­-
*BADABOOM*
-Welcome back to the world of the living¡­ Isla McCall-
... Isla opened his eyes and instantly started to struggle. He was suspended in a body of water and so couldn¡¯t say anything. *mmmm* ¡®AI¡¯ He tried to communicate with the AI through thought.
-Host surrounded by water-
''Fuck you''
-Time until oxygen in body reaches critical point: 2 minutes 34 seconds-
¡®Shit¡¯ Isla¡¯s thoughts were whirring as he vision started to go black.
-Time until oxygen in body reaches critical point: 1 minute 7 seconds-
The AI communicated. As he started to black out, out of nowhere he saw a glimpse of light.
-Time until oxygen in body reaches critical point: 21 seconds-
He had too little oxygen to keep up his vision. Darkness. *cough* *cough* Isla threw up. *BLECH* Not daring to say a word as he opened his eyes, he thought to the AI. ¡®AI where am I¡¯
-Analysing situation-
After around 10 seconds of silence the AI¡¯s voice sounded in his mind.
-Situation analysed-
-Currently residing inside huge fishlike creature-
*BLECH* Isla realized why he had thrown up in the first place, the stomach of the creature that he was currently in smelt like a poor village fish market on a hot summer day. ¡®AI how can I breathe here?¡¯
-Surroundings analysed-
-The inside of this fish has an environment with enough oxygen for human survival-
-Usually would be used to suffocate bigger swallowed fish to help with digestion-
¡°DIGESTION?!¡± Isla yelled. ¡°You¡¯ve got to be fucking kidding me.¡±
-Analysing digestion fluids-
-Estimated death upon engulfment: 13.6 seconds-
Isla fell onto his knees and then face planted the flesh that he had been standing on. He had given himself up to his fate. And he knew that he was about to go through unimaginable pain. All of his previous deaths had been quick and comparably painless to what was about to happen. ¡­ Minutes ticked by, but still the digestive fluid didn¡¯t come. Isla started to shake and laugh maniacally, he was completely broken. But then the AI said.
-Fish creatures digestive cycle analysed-
-Time until host gets flooded by digestive juices: 1 hour 23 minutes 36 seconds-
Minutes ticked by as he sat there shivering, *PLIP* *PLIP* Some leftover digestive residue was dripping off of the creatures stomach ceiling. A seemingly insane thought flashed through Isla¡¯s mind. To see if he could gain some resistance to the liquid by placing his body underneath the drip. *PLIP* *PLIP**PLIP* *SSSSS* ¡°AAAAARGH!!¡± Isla¡¯s screams riveted through the fish monsters insides. ¡°FU-FUUUUCK!!!¡± *ssss* Although quieter his skin continued to sizzle under the effect of the stomach acid, the pain not letting up. Yet after the initial scream he decided to silently endure. *Mmmmmm* His arm continued to spasm as the pain faded. To Isla the process seemed to take a lifetime. *PLIP* *PLIP* ¡­
-Time until host gets flooded by digestive juices: 59 minutes 46 seconds-
The pain had finally, mostly subsided, a disgustingly festering wound the size of a plate was burnt into Isla¡¯s left arm.
-New passive acquired: rank 1 acid resistance-
-New passive acquired: rank 1 pain resistance-
The AI pinged. ¡°Oh come on. AI?¡±
-Yes Host-
¡°Is this the only way to get passives in my current situation?¡±
-Yes Host-
-No new methods found-
¡­ *SSSSS* ¡°AAAAARGH!!¡±
-Time until host gets flooded by digestive juices: 8 minutes 16 seconds-
-Passive upgraded: rank 5 acid resistance-
-Passive upgraded: rank 5 pain resistance-
Isla hadn¡¯t let up on this sick ¡®training¡¯, his arms looked like a peperoni pizza drawn by a five year old. Not a single peperoni the same size.
-Analysis of Host¡¯s body complete-
-Estimated death upon engulfment: 23.7 seconds-
Isla didn¡¯t know whether to be happy with this achievement, or to be completely horrified. He would have to endure nearly half a minute of constant mind bending pain, and this time not just on his arms, but on his entire body. ¡­ *SSSSS*
-Time until host gets flooded by digestive juices: 0 minutes 14 seconds-
-Passive upgraded: rank 7 acid resistance-
-Passive upgraded: rank 7 pain resistance-
No sounds escaped Isla¡¯s lips the only thing left on his face was cold determination. He let out a long sigh in preparation.
-Estimated death upon engulfment: 23.7 seconds-
-Time until host gets flooded by digestive juices: 2 seconds-
¡­ 3. -Agony-
-Time until host gets flooded by digestive juices: 0.2 seconds-
Isla loosened his muscles and let out all the air in his lungs.
-Digestive cycle commencing-
He took a deep breath as the fluid started to fill the fish creatures stomach. *HHHHH* He closed his eyes. Then it all came at him like a wave.
-Host engulfed-
The old tattered shirt and jeans that he had always resurrected with where the first to go. ¡®AAAAAA¡­FUUCK!!¡¯ The only thoughts that filled his mind were those of pain. His hair was next.
-Passive upgraded: rank 8 acid resistance-
-Passive upgraded: rank 8 pain resistance-
Agony. Isla felt a blistering throbbing pain all over, but he knew not to scream. That would only let out all the air in his lungs and lead to a quick and comparably painless death to what he was experiencing.
-Passive upgraded: rank 9 acid resistance-
-Passive upgraded: rank 9 pain resistance-
Yet this wasn¡¯t his goal. He was determined to survive as long as possible. So that all his previous and current pains wouldn¡¯t be in vain.
-New auxiliary passive acquired: Mental fortitude-
-Will to live increased. Fear of death decreased. Spirit + 0.1-
After those thoughts something inside him clicked, he stopped moving completely to save every last ounce of air in his body.
-Passive upgraded: rank 10 acid resistance-
-Passive upgraded: rank 10 pain resistance-
¡­ His eyelids burnt through. Shortly after his eyes. He lost his vision completely.
-Passive upgraded: rank 12 acid resistance-
-Passive upgraded: rank 12 pain resistance-
This was a completely new experience to him, but just as he was about to panic he steeled his resolve and chanted in his mind. ¡®I¡­ Need¡­ To¡­ Get¡­ Stronger¡­¡¯The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡­ Although the pain had lessened since his first contact with the acidic fluid he had been under its influence for nearly a full minute and so his body looked like something out of a horror movie. Flesh was coming off of him in chunks and in certain places you could see bone. He resembled a zombie. Not one of those ¡®I turned recently and still resemble a human¡¯ kind of zombies. But a ¡®I turned due to being hit by nuclear weapon and tons o radiation¡¯ kind of zombie, something that looked like hell-spawn, a demon of the plague god.
-Passive upgraded: rank 16 acid resistance-
-Passive upgraded: rank 16 pain resistance-
He was slowly starting to lose consciousness. The pain stopped. In an instant his soft brain tissue was vaporised by the acid.
-Death counter: 5-
-You have died-
-Life length 1 hour 43 minutes and 27 seconds-
-Rank 9 acid resistance added to permanent defensive passive list-
-Rank 9 pain resistance added to permanent defensive passive list-
-Mental fortitude added to permanent auxiliary passive list-
If Isla could throw up in his soul form his stomach juices would have already left his body. The view of his semi-liquified corpse and the immense torture his body had experienced left him with PTSD. Yet this feeling was gradually pushed into the back of his mind as the Mental Fortitude passive started to work it¡¯s magic. It was slowly nullifying the pain and filling his very being with a sprout of determination and hope. ¡°Wow¡­ that was¡­ something¡­ else¡­¡±
-Resurrection sequence initiating in 10¡­ 9¡­ 8¡­ 7¡­ 6¡­ 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ -
*SILENCE* *BADABOOM*
-Welcome back to the world of the living¡­ Isla McCall-
¡­ A chilling breeze blew through the air. It was dark. Very dark. And cold. The tattered suit that Isla was wearing did little to keep the cold from seeking into his body. He was laying what he deemed to be a cold rocky surface. He was extremely uncomfortable. The outcrops in the ground digging into his back, but he couldn¡¯t get up. He didn¡¯t know where he was and it was so dark that when he put his hand in front of his eyes he couldn¡¯t even see a faint outline.
-Death¡¯s betrayal AI shutting down-
The AI chimed. ¡®You have got to be fucking kidding me¡¯ ¡®Actually¡­ I don¡¯t need you, all you have done hasn¡¯t actually helped me much anywa-¡¯ Isla started to badmouth the AI but was interrupted by it¡¯s sudden report.
-Death¡¯s betrayal AI shut down until further notice-
¡°Great I heard you the first ti-!¡­¡± Isla quickly clasped his hands over his mouth and stilled his breathing, listening out for any sounds that might signify a predator that had heard him. He realised the mistake he made by shouting. Even after he waited for what felt like an hour the darkness didn¡¯t produce a single sound but that of the soft wind. His muscle¡¯s relaxed as he released a soft sigh. He then shivered uncontrollably, while he had been trying to listen out for danger his body had produce a reasonable amount of sweat that now covered his whole body. Yet he still couldn¡¯t do anything about his predicament, so he just laid there shivering and twitching every few seconds, waiting for something to change. ¡­ Change came in the form of a faint light coming from his far left. Isla could now barely make out his surroundings. He got up and started making his way towards the light¡¯s source. He discerned that he was in what appeared to be a natural cave, with grey blue walls and a ceiling that measured about two Isla¡¯s (yes I shall now be using Isla as a unit of measurement, he is around 5¡¯11 just like me :) .) in height. The light got brighter the closer he got to it. ¡°wow¡­¡± He looked out of the cave¡¯s mouth and was greeted with a breath-taking view. His vision was filled with trees and meadows, he heard the chirps of birds and the faint sound of a babbling brook some distance away. It was any hiker¡¯s version of heaven. The nature around so vibrant that it looked like living, breathing organism. ¡­ 4. -New weapon acquired?- When Isla had been young he had been part of the boy-scout organisation that had been popular around his age back in the day. When he snapped out of his nature-induced trance due to a sudden burst of thirst his old training from his childhood kicked in. He picked up a rock off the ground. After striking it on a boulder by the cave entrance he created a makeshift stone knife. He then paused. Waiting. Then said with a tinge of disappointment. ¡°I guess there¡¯s no achievement for making my first weapon?¡± Once again he paused. But his question was left unanswered by the universe. The gamer inside of him was thoroughly disappointed. After a shake of his head to make him forget this slight setback he proceeded to a recently fallen tree. After a quick look around he decided upon a branch that was about his height. He then started to hack away at it¡¯s base that connected it to the tree, and after a few hard smacks he had loosened it enough to twist it off the dead tree. Isla went back to the boulder with his newly acquired 1 Isla long stick. He set it on the boulder with it¡¯s base in front of him. He whacked it a few times and shaped the end to not have any of the frilly pieces of bark that would be of nuisance to him. ¡°Now for my favourite part¡± He flipped the stick so that it¡¯s pointy, slimmer end was facing away from him, and proceeded to sit down on the boulder, it¡¯s smooth surface a much better alternative to the ground he had laid on throughout the night. The proceeded to do a ritual that every person that had been a boy-scout at some point had enjoyed. He proceeded to make a spear. The process started with him cutting off any excess twigs that covered the main branch with his stone knife. He then shortened the spear¡¯s tip by about an inch to make sure that it didn¡¯t snap after it¡¯s first use.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Then for the next 20 minutes he sharpened and shaped it, creating a stick spear that any boy-scout would be jealous of. ¡°New weapon acquired¡­ wooden spear!¡± He had decided to fill in for the AI due to its absence. The wave of thirst hit him once again. Due to his distraction he had forgotten about his significant need to drink. He went silent and listened for the sound of the brook that he had heard previously. *burble* *burble* There it was. He had heard the sound coming from his left, after picking up his wooden spear and putting his stone knife in his pocket he picked up all of his wood shavings and put them in his cave. ¡®I¡¯ll need those later¡¯ And started making his way over to the origin of the sound. As he went deeper into the woods his sense of smell was flooded with the scent of the earth. Having experienced the horrors of being swallowed by a huge stinking fish this really was akin to heaven for Isla. ¡°This is nice¡± The sound of the brook gradually got louder and after about five minutes of walking it came into Isla¡¯s view. It was a cascading miniature waterfall, it¡¯s water crystal clear and uncontaminated. Isla¡¯s thirst got the better of him as he dived down to his knees and dropped his spear to scoop up handfuls of the gleaming water. *mmmm* He moaned softly. It was cool and extremely refreshing. Once his thirst was quenched he looked up and surveyed his surroundings. Between the normal forest trees he spotted an anomalie, it was a tree with spherical fruit. Seeing it set off hunger pangs in his stomach. It resembled a coconut. Isla couldn¡¯t believe his luck, so without a second thought he went and got his spear and proceeded to knock the fruit down. *Thunk* When it hit the ground it made a that greatly resembled that of a coconut. He picked it up, sat on the ground and after sharpening a small stick he used his rock knife to beat it, creating a small hole. When he felt that the stick had gone in far enough he put down his knife next to the spear and proceeded to pull out the stick to drink out it¡¯s contents. *squeak* *pop* It came out like a cork. Isla dropped the fruit and immediately started retching. He had nothing in his gut so all he could do was dry heave. ¡°What the Fuck!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a fucking coconut!¡± This was followed by more retching. ¡­ After Isla¡¯s fit of dry heaving and retching ended and he had gotten somewhat used to the smell that was excreting from the ¡®fruit¡¯ he went and picked it up. He turned it upside down spilling out it¡¯s contents into the grass. *gulp* ¡°That looks just like throw up, to think that I was about to drink that.¡± He shook his head as he commented on the bullet that he had dodged. ¡°My pathetic Rank 1 poison resistance wouldn¡¯t have made a dent in the amount of damage that would have caused to my insides.¡± Having dumped out all of it''s contents Isla took a peak inside the hole he had made. "Now that I think about it... I could use this as a water gourd if I cleaned it out..." He went back to the brook to put it under the water. He made sure to do it more ''downstream'' so as to not contaminate his water source. Once again he poured out the contents after giving the no hollow fruit a good shake. *sniff* *sniff* "Damn that still doesn''t smell too good" As Isla looked around he couldn''t really see anything he could use to solve his predicament. Then an old memory kicked in. Sand. He could use sand to scour the inside of the fruit to rid it of any extra pulp, successfully cleaning out the shell. He muttered a prayer. "Thank god for my scout leader" He grabbed two handfuls of sand and slowly started to pour it into sphere. He then filled it up halfway with water and once again plugged the hole with the small stick. *shake* *shake *shake* ¡­ 5. -Fire and Water- He shook the ''coconut'' up and down for about 5 minutes. Then he poured out the contents once again, and repeated this process 4 times. After he stopped and poured out the sand-water smoothie one last time the now empty ''coconut¡¯ was squeaky clean. With a final rinse he filled it up and put in the stick he used to make the hole as a stopper to keep the water from leaking. "New item acquired... Water gourd" ... Isla had made his way back to the cave. He had been tracking the position of the sun as he was walking around. A lighter coloured rock lay on the cave floor, he picked it up and started drawing a map of his surroundings on the wall. First he scribbled on a compass, he then marked down position of the brook, it was situated about 5 minutes north-east of his cave. "Now that I think about it... I don''t really have anything else to write down... I really need to scout out the terrain more" Isla had no knowledge of this world¡¯s flora and fauna, so getting something to eat that wouldn¡¯t kill him was going to be tricky. And as he didn¡¯t want to play berry roulette his options were limited. He made up his mind. Hunting. He had previously seen some rabbit-like creatures flitting between the trees, their population seemed to be quite large as wherever Isla went he saw their raisin shaped droppings. ¡°Trapping these small bastards will allow me to get a meal¡± He recalled some of his old memories on how to create a pitfall trap and started to gather the needed items. Sticks, branches and leaves. But he still needed something that he could use to dig the pit. More memories flooded into his mind. He had to make two specific sticks.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. One a half sharpened stake which he would place into the ground. Two a club that he would us to beat the other stick to lodge it into the ground. ¡­ After about half an hour Isla was kneeling on the ground about 2 minutes away from the cave, around him he had his makeshift tools and other items needed to make the pitfall trap. He grabbed the stake lodged it into the ground and started beating away at its flat end with the club. With every hit it went in a few centimetres deeper, after it was about 20 centimetres in the ground he stopped banging and push down hard on the stake, it dislodged a good amount of dirt which he pushed away with his hand. This continued on until he had a pit about one third of an Isla in height and a fourth of an Isla in diameter. ¡°That should do¡­¡± He said under his breath as he started covering the hole with twigs and leaves. As for bait he had seen the creatures eat a yellow berry that grew scarcely near the ground but more higher up, this meant that he could gather them easily while the ¡®rabbits¡¯ had to make do with what was left near the ground. So he decided to pick some. He picked up a rock that was conveniently shaped a bit like a bowl and after going to wash his hands and the ¡®bowl¡¯ at the brook he started picking. ¡­ Once his ¡®bowl¡¯ was full of the yellow berries he went and placed a handful on his trap as the bait and quickly left for his cave. He knew there was no point in sticking around as the creatures had previously scrambled away from him when he had approached. With him he brought his new tools and the ¡®bowl¡¯ full of berries. He remarked. ¡°If the rabbit things are eating these berries then how bad can they be?¡± He plopped one into his mouth. Chewed. And waited. Waited. Still nothing. He hadn¡¯t died. ¡°Well that¡¯s new¡± A taste similar to that of a citric nectarine filled his mouth. The berries were really sweet. His hunger got the better of him and he started shoving handfuls of them into his open mouth, stopping only to chew when his mouth was full. In the blink of an eye the bowl-stone was completely empty. With his hunger temporarily satiated Isla sat down on a boulder and took a sip of water out of his gourd. ¡°Finally I have food, water and I still haven¡¯t di-¡± He grabbed his stomach. Although the berries hadn¡¯t been poisonous it didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t get stomach pains from eating too fast. He got hit with a bout of nausea. But he kept the food down, barely. ¡­ It was starting to get dark as his stomach pain went away. Isla said to himself as he shivered slightly. ¡°I need to get a fire going¡­ it gets way too cold at night¡­¡± He picked up 2 rocks and after banging them together they created a spark. ¡°These¡¯ll do¡­¡± He then went and gathered some relatively dry wood to use as firewood. The branch shavings from before had been drying in the sun for the entire day and would make great kindling. After checking the direction of the wind and clearing out a spot for his fire place he started to make a teepee out of sticks and branches around the kindling.(Classic) ¡°Now the hard part¡­¡± Isla murmured. ¡­ The night was visibly about to start when the sparks coming from the stones finally lit up the kindling. Quickly Isla got down on his knees, his previously bored face painted with a look of desperation, and started to blow onto the kindling urging on the tiny flames. Then. Success. The fire had spread out towards the twigs and was slowly making its way to the thicker branches. Isla took out a stick that he would use as a poker to adjust the fire with and used it to place and adjust the position of some logs that he put on the now blazing fire. *Squeal* ¡­ 6. -Lemon chicken?- Isla perked up as he heard a distinct rabbit-like squeal coming from behind his back. ¡°The trap¡­ I completely forgot!¡± He scrambled around and picked up his spear, knife and club. He was ready for battle. ¡­ ¡°Stop fucking moving you little bastard!¡± Isla cursed the ¡®rabbit¡¯ as it skilfully dodged another spear strike. It resembled a rabbit in every way, except for the two small horns growing out of its temples, it was also a bit bigger. Isla wasn¡¯t good with the spear, spear combat was not included in his scout training. So even after 5 minutes of continuously thrusting it at the horned rabbit that was trapped in the pitfall he had gotten nowhere. He was getting tired and frustrated. So he did the only logical thing that a raging gamer would do. He threw something to vent his anger. *Thunk* The rock knife struck the rabbit exactly in between its brows, its brain started to slowly leak out of its punctured skull. *SILENCE* ¡°Huuuu!?¡± Isla looked down at the hand that had launched the stone making a noise of disbelief. ¡°What the fuck¡­ I have aimbot?! He picked up another stone and quickly threw it at a tree about 2 Isla¡¯s away. And missed. By a long shot. He shook his head, thankful that there was no-one there to see him miss. ¡­ Having repaired his trap he made his way back to his cave as night fast approached. The fire he had set up previously was still burning brightly so he added in a log for good measure. He picked out a boulder that he would make his butchering boulder.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. He cleaned it with some water from the gourd and laid down the rabbit. He chopped off its head and strung it up on a stalactite that hung outside of his cave. As his late uncle once told him as he was preparing a rabbit they had caught together on one of their days out, ¡°Raw rabbit¡¯s blood that ain¡¯t prepared properly could kill ya¡± Yeah. He died just like his parents. A car crash. ¡­ It was getting really dark when Isla decided to skin and cook the rabbit over the fire. He took it off the stalactite and brought it over to his butcher spot. Isla started by hacking off its lower legs. ¡°I¡¯m going to keep these¡­ rabbit¡¯s feet are meant to bring good luck¡­¡± After putting the feet away he peeled back the skin on the legs revealing meat. He cut with his knife between the rabbit¡¯s legs. What followed was easy, he just peeled off the rest of the hide, similar to how you would take off a sock. And put it away saying. ¡°This hide is absolutely useless to me, I have no way to tan this¡­ fuck me it¡¯s good hide too¡­¡± It turns out we were lied to by games, rabbit¡¯s don¡¯t drop ready for use rabbit hide. Then very softly and precisely he removed the innards, making sure not to rupture them, if that happened the meat would be ruined. He placed them into a previously prepared hole. He washed his hands and the remaining meat with water from his gourd. ¡°Finally¡­¡± It was now ready to be cooked. ¡°Just plain meat won¡¯t really taste great, hmmm I guess I could stuff it with some of those yellow berries, a bit like lemon chicken.¡± ¡­ A smell akin to honey barbecue, or was it cheesecake(?), filled Isla¡¯s nostrils. The stuffed rabbit was done. Isla placed it down on the bowl-stone giving it a second to cool down. His stomach was rumbling and he was salivating like a rabid dog. He couldn¡¯t resist it. He took the first bite. *SILENCE* Bliss. Tears filled his eyes. He let out a muted sign. ¡°wow¡­¡± Memories of his mother¡¯s cooking engulfed his mind. He took bite after bite through tears and sobs. Then he smiled with juices still rolling down his chin. ¡°Thanks for this mum¡­¡± ¡­ After he finished eating every last scrap of meat he cleaned himself and the bones with the last of the water from his makeshift canteen. He gathered some long grass and leaves and made himself a sleeping spot by the fire, as soon as he laid down Isla.exe shut down and he entered his dream world. ¡­ This was the first time he had slept after his original bodies death. Isla opened his eyes. All around him a light blue, creamy mist. He held his breathe waiting for something to happen. *SILENCE* Nothing did. He breathed out. ¡®Of course¡¯ He thought as the mist quickly vanished. In his view were six corpses. ¡­ ¡°AAA-!¡± Isla woke up with a shout. But then he forgot why he had started shouting. He had just experienced one of his best sleeps in existence. ¡°Wow¡­ that¡­ was so¡­ good¡­ I feel so alive right now¡± He glanced at the fire which had gone out through the night. Then he got an idea. Charcoal. It was perfect. Great for infections, food poisoning, helping stop diarrhoea, as a makeshift deodorant and soap, and for writing. There was a hole in the ground that was about the shape of a human head where he shoved all of the charcoal from the previous nights fire. ¡°Now I just need water and some more berries to make activated charcoal¡± Why activated charcoal you ask? Well it has already been stated above. All but for writing and as deodorant are functions are functions of activated charcoal. Activated charcoal has a lot less impurities and can even be digested without major health problem. So although it is no a universal health potion, it is the closest thing that can be acquired easily. Sadly the effects do seriously lack in comparison. ¡­ Isla made his way over to the brook picking berries and putting them in his mouth along the way, he had decided that the ones that he needed for the charcoal would be collected on his way back. He got to the brook. But this time he went a bit further along and saw¡­ 7. -Finding name used for female dog- A lake. ¡°I¡¯ll be able to wash myself here in the future¡­¡± He filled his water gourd and made his way back, picking berries along the way. ¡­ After Isla poured in the water and berries he started grinding the charcoal into a paste, he then spread it out along the floor leaving it to dry. He took some of the remaining charcoal and after crushing it mixed with some water to make a paste. Then grabbed a twig and cut one end of it a bit, then he placed the paste on it and started brushing his teeth. After he was satisfied with how much he brushed his teeth he poured some water into his mouth and rinsed it, spitting out the black sludge. ¡°Not the best tasting but it¡¯ll do¡­ at least my teeth won¡¯t rot¡­¡± ¡­ Two weeks had gone by peacefully. Isla had made 3 more traps, he was eating fresh meat and berries everyday. His life had become a routine, he got up in the morning, ate breakfast, brushed his teeth, went to wash every two days with his activated charcoal by the lake, checked his traps, prepared any food that he had caught. He had even started storing some of the rabbit meat by smoking it and leaving it in big leaves in his cave to keep them cold. He always made a fire to stay warm at night, using the charcoal the next day to make all he needed for a semi normal life. He upgrade his cave base. Adding a door, some shelves and even a hammock. He filled his days with hard work, giving himself little time to think. His life was starting to become like any normal humans. But after he had made himself comfortable with his lifestyle it started to get monotonous. ¡­ He realised just how lonely he truly was. He also realised that he had forgotten his true purpose. ¡°This isn¡¯t right¡­ I need to get stronger¡­ I was so focused on survival that I forgot to push myself, taking the easy route rather than facing danger¡± The berry stuffed rabbit didn¡¯t reply as it was roasting over his fire, it was now his speciality. ¡®This ends tomorrow¡¯ Isla thought as he ripped into the rabbits tender flesh. ¡­ Bright rays shined through the cracks of the makeshift door, Isla left his hammock after taking off his grass blanket, it was weirdly comfortable. Today wasn¡¯t a wash day. So after a quick breakfast Isla brushed his teeth and made his way over to the traps. He had decided that today was the day that he would fight the horned rabbits in hand to hand combat. ¡­ ¡°You horny- I mean horned mother fucker¡± Isla shouted at the bruised rabbit. He himself wasn¡¯t in great shape, covered in cuts and nicks. Prior to the fight he had removed all of his clothes, wrapping a leaf loincloth around his groin area with some grass rope. The horned beast came at him once again, he threw a punch, it dodged. But then it made a mistake it decided to bite down on Isla¡¯s arm. ¡°You little shit!¡± He screamed as he started to beat down on his head, it¡¯s pained squeals filled the pit, yet Isla didn¡¯t let up. He kept beating away until it¡¯s eyes started flowing out of their sockets and it¡¯s grip on his arm loosened. *pant* *pant* ¡°Damn¡­ it¡± Isla hissed through his teeth. ¡­ The wind blew quietly through the grass around Isla¡¯s cave, home? Cave-home?, as he dragged his feet and the bunny punching bag. He sat down on his favourite sitting-boulder as he tried to pull the skin off of the rabbit carcass. All of the cuts, nicks and bite marks on his body were covered in activated charcoal, it was either smeared on or attached on with grass ropes. *RIIIP* The progress he had made made in preparing the rabbit was non existent, he had ripped up the fur, meat and even the organs during the process. Making the meat unusable. ¡°Fuuuuck¡­¡± He threw the mangled corpse into his waste hole, then made his way back into the cave and after eating half a smoked rabbit got onto his hammock completely exhausted.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. The sleep demons took him under in about 5 seconds. ¡­
-Death¡¯s betrayal AI rebooting-
-Reboot complete-
¡­ Isla woke up just like any other day, with the light rays hitting his face. Just today he was sore all over. It wash a wash day, after taking some activated charcoal he made his way to the lake. He lowered himself into the water after he was fully ¡®lathered up¡¯ in charcoal. As he went under he expected to feel his cuts to burn slightly. Yet. He felt nothing but the refreshing coolness of the lakes water. Glancing down at his body he realised that all of those cuts were gone. ¡°What the fuck is going o-¡±
-Good morning Isla-
*SPLASH* *SPLASH* ¡°AAAA- WHO THE FUCK WAS THAT!? ¡­ SHOW YOURSELF!¡± Isla screamed as he heard a human voice for the first time in three weeks, he got out of the water in his birthday suit holding his spear up in front of him. Rather than standing in a battle position he was trying to hide behind the spear.
-Haa¡­ Haa¡­ Haa¡­ You scream like-
-Calibrating language-
-Finding name used for female dog-
-a bitch-
The AI laughed in it¡¯s robotic voice, yet although it was still monotonous. Wait¡­ laughed? That monotony was laced with a tinge of newly found intelligence Tears poured down Isla¡¯s face as he let go of the spear and started hugging himself. ¡°AAAAIIIIIII¡­¡± *sniff* *sniff* ¡°You''re finally back¡­¡± Completely ignoring Isla¡¯s feelings the AI started reporting without any of the previous intelligence.
-Detected stat and passive backlog-
-Proceeding data dump-
-Loading permanent hosts stats-
Isla McCall Age: 24 Race: Human Male Death counter: 5 Class: Na Strength: 1 Agility: 1 Endurance: 1 Spirit: 0.2 Passives: Offensive: Na Defensive: rank 1 bludgeoning damage resistance, rank 1 slashing damage resistance, rank 1 poison resistance, rank 1 disintegration resistance, rank 9 acid resistance, rank 9 pain resistance Auxiliary : Mental fortitude
-Loading temporary body hosts stats-
Strength: 1.2 Agility: 1.2 Endurance: 1.4 Passives: Defensive: (upgraded) rank 3 slashing damage resistance, rank 11 pain resistance Auxiliary : (acquired) Natures skin
-New auxiliary passive acquired: Natures skin-
-Increase in effectiveness of natural healing on skin. Slightly strengthens skin to prevent new cuts. Endurance + 0.1-
*Plop* Isla fell head first into the lake, he was out cold.
-Detected loss of consciousness in hosts body-
The AI stated.
-Scanning hosts brain-
-Determined to be due to data overload-
-Determined to be due backlog release-
It went quiet for a few seconds.
-Calibrating language-
-Finding suitable apology for mistake that may cause the death of host-
Once again it went quiet.
-My bad-
¡­
-Death counter: 6-
-You have died-
-Life length 22days 4 hours 6 minutes and 29 seconds-
-Natures skin added to permanent auxiliary passive list-
Isla blinked and stopped staring into the void. ¡°You -bleep- -bleep- -bleep- -bleep- -bleep- -bleep- mother -bleep- -bleep- -bleep- -bleep- -bleep- son of a -bleep- -bleep- -bleep- -bleep-¡± Isla recited a weirdly AI targeted wave of profanity. *pant* *pant*
-Resurrection sequence initiating in 10¡­ 9¡­ 8¡­ 7¡­-
The AI started it¡¯s usual countdown while Isla tried to object. ¡°NO, NO don¡¯t you fucking dare BADABOOM my ass to the next word you shitty piece of artificial intel-¡±
-1¡­-
*SILENCE* ¡°Nooo-¡± *BADABOOM*
-Welcome back to the world of the living¡­ Isla McCall-
¡­