Alex took a deep breath, the sound resembling the death rattle of an old man's final breath. Or the first gasp of a newborn baby, air rushing into lungs filled with fluid. The stinging sensation of smoke and freezing air filled his chest, burning his throat on the way down. With a jolt, he sat up, his consciousness finally rising above the waterline. His eyes darted around in panic, hastily taking note of his surroundings, attempting to identify any immediate threats. Flashes of a white vehicle and glowing red lines teased his subconscious like a forgotten dream.
Alex rose into a low crouch, turning in a tight circle, ready to flee if necessary. Not seeing any danger, he released a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. Steam puffed out in front of him as he exhaled, breaking his concentration. He looked down, realizing for the first time that he was naked. Goosebumps rippled across his skin, and he cupped himself with a yelp.
Why was he naked? Furthermore... Why was he hairless?
Alex lifted a hand and stared at his groin, nonplussed.
Did someone... shave me?
In horror, he raised his hand and tentatively touched the top of his head. He felt nothing but smooth skin. Alex knew it said something about him that he was more annoyed by a stranger shaving his head than his pubic area, but he dismissed it when he noticed something far, far worse.
Right after he completed basic training for the Army, he went to the local tattoo parlor with a group of his friends and got his first tattoo. In the intervening years, he added dozens more to his body. He stared, horror-struck at his arm. His clean, unmarked arm.
"No, no, no." He whispered. His brain refusing to process what he was seeing into a coherent thought. His pale skin was practically glowing in the moon light, mocking him.
In a rush, he checked the rest of his body. Not even caring how ridiculous he must look as he craned his neck, spinning in a tight circle, as he tried to look at the skin on his back.
They were all gone.
His skin was perfect. Unblemished. There were no wounds or signs of scarring, so they weren’t surgically removed. In fact, he didn’t have any scars.
When he was growing up, he used to ride his bike to a nearby forest preserve and explore.One time, he found the perfect stick to use as a sword to save the world from the evil overlord threatening to destroy the woods and drive all its animal inhabitants from their homes. During an epic fight with an evil tree to save the world, his hand slipped and he punched the hard, sharp bark of the tree, giving him a nasty gash on the bottom of his palm that snaked halfway up his thumb.
Shamefully, he ran away in defeat, hysterically calling for his mom. Despite it being early afternoon, she was already too drunk to drive him to the hospital and she angrily shooed him away, forcing him to ask the neighbors for a ride.After many tears - and far too many stitches - the battle wound ended up leaving an impressive looking scar that quickly became one of his favorite memories.
Alex stared at his hand, taken aback by the feeling of loss that roiled in the pit of his stomach, as if he had just lost a friend.
Idiot. It’s only a scar.
He flexed his fingers, making a fist. If anything, his thumb regained the range of motion he had lost to the scar tissue. Somehow, the thought only made him feel worse.
"I'm dreaming." He said, in a low voice with even less conviction than he felt.
His body shuddered, and he once again realized he was standing naked. Outside, in the snow.
Except - he was standing on grass. Really, really, warm grass.What the hell?
There was snow everywhere, except for the ground within a radius of ten feet around him. Heavy steam and smoke were still rising from the forest floor. He sat down quickly, trying to absorb some of the escaping heat.
Alex’s mind whirled as he tried to reign in his panic.
“That or I am dead, and this heaven." He looked at the dense, dark forest and the undisturbed snow that was at least a foot deep in most places. "Or maybe I'm in hell? I am starting to feel like Sunday Service could have been a little less vague about the afterlife.” Alex started to laugh but it was choked off with a sob.
Calm. Calm down.
He took deep breaths, willing his heart to slow. Breathe in for a four count. Exhale for a four count. He focused on his breathing until he felt his sanity take a more secure foothold. His headache was gone, which was good, but he still felt like something was off. It may have been the cold, but his body seemed to tingle with energy. As Alex's focus sharpened, confused and fragmented memories began to surface in his mind. Vague recollections of a speeding truck and glowing red lines forming a ritualistic-looking circle around him flickered just outside his thoughts. He reached for those memories, but it was like trying to catch wispy tendrils of smoke curling through the air, blowing apart as soon as he touched them with his clumsy fingers.
Tyler.
That was it! He was going to meet up with Tyler. Or... Charlie?
He was crossing the street when... He lost the train of thought.
No, not a train; a truck! A giant white service van was barreling towards him.
His meditative state broke as he opened his eyes.
“Did I just get Isekai'd by fucking Truck-kun?”
He laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of the thought.
Weeb though he may be, he wasn’t delusional enough to believe it was actually possible. Regardless of whatever this was, he had to push that aside for now and focus on more immediate concerns. Like clothes, and shelter.Alex looked up at the sky, trying to gauge the time until sunrise. His attempt to formulate a plan blew apart and scattered like so many leaves in the wind.
He stared dumbstruck, mouth gaping, at the two giant moons sitting in the sky; one a bright, silvery pearl. The second sparkled like a pale icy blue diamond. The streaks of auroral lights shimmered with majestic grace. Alex stared at the night sky, utterly transfixed. For the first time in his life, he felt something akin to a holy moment. Peace washed over him, filling him with wonder, joy, and a terrible sense of being wholly insignificant and powerless, like a child standing before a giant. He could only wait to be passed by as the giant strode past him or crushed him underfoot. Regardless, he would always be unnoticed and inconsequential.
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“Fuuck... mee.” He muttered with a sigh as slow and soft as his words.
Alex shook himself from his daze, not knowing if it had been minutes or hours since he first looked up at the sky.
Still naked, moron. Remember?
Alex pulled himself together and forced himself to stand up.
“Right,” he said aloud, trying to psych himself up. “New quest: Find pants. And a shirt. And shoes...And also a jacket. Maybe a beanie? Some food would be nice too. Wait, do I need to eat? I’m dead. Then why am I cold? Dead people shouldn’t feel cold.”
Alex’s forced chuckle cutoff when a female voice spoke directly into his ear.
Alex whirled. “Who’s there?” He shouted, but there was no one behind him.Alex spun around again. Nothing, he was still alone. Was he going crazy? It almost sounded like the voice was in his own head. Also, was she British?
Imagining a sexy voice? Yep, definitely going crazy.
Man up, Alex.
“W-who are you?” Alex called, cringing at the shrillness in his own voice.
He cleared his throat and tried again, lowering his voice an octave. “I know you’re there. Answer me.”
Silence.
Alex let out a shaky breath, but then she spoke again.
Her voice – it's voice? - for it sounded robotic, with no hint of remorse in its calm, apathetic tone. It was leagues better than the AI voices he had heard recently, but it still felt slightly off, and definitely not human.
"Voice...What now?" He started to get a sinking feeling in his stomach.
The voice was coming from inside his head.
"Umm... Yes?"
Something materialized in front of Alex, making him jump.
What appeared to be a semi-transparent computer screen materialized, hovering in the air at chest level, a foot in front of him. It angled up towards his face so he could see it clearly without straining his neck or eyes but was low enough not to obstruct his vision. He reached out with a tentative finger and poked the window. His hand passed through the screen with no resistance. At the point of contact, the screen became fuzzy, glitching slightly with static, like a television with bad cable reception.
He moved his head side to side, but the screen followed him, staying in the bottom center of his vision. When he focused his sight on the trees of the forest, the screen automatically faded into the background until it was barely noticeable in his peripheral.
“Okay, that’s actually pretty cool.”
He focused on the screen, and it popped into focus again. With a mental thought, he moved the screen to the center of his vision. The screen became opaque, blocking out the forest behind it.
Alex gave a low whistle and looked closer at the window.
Text was displayed on the screen in front of him. The font and layout were reminiscent of an interface you would see in a video game. In fact, the text on the screen was describing his so called “ability” as though he was actually in an RPG.
The more he read, the more he was convinced that he was losing his mind. Or he was dreaming all of this from a hospital bed after being run over by a car - damn that truck-kun! - and his brain trying to create this new reality to shield him from the trauma of the injury. Or dying, whichever. He honestly couldn’t decide which he preferred at the moment.
But what if...
He pushed the thought away and continued to read, curiosity overcoming his fear.
You have enabled the [Codex Projection] function for [Racial Ability]: [Network].
[Racial Ability]: [Network]
[Description]: [Network] Connects you to a vast, multi-faceted network that enables you to interpret and record reality through a recognizable medium. Your knowledge is catalogued and stored in various sections of the [Codex] that can be viewed through the interface or narrated by the Voice Integration System. [Network Codex] can be integrated into your other abilities and grants you the ability [Language Adaptation]
[Effects]:
~ Language adaptation. [*]
~ Allows you to view recorded information through the [Network: Codex] window. information is organized and separated into various tabs.
~ Provides optional integration for all abilities, allowing you to customize certain aspects of your abilities. [*]
~ Additional [Network] effects may be added/lost as your other abilities advance/evolve.
~ Allows you to interact with and recreate certain knowledge you have recorded in your [Codex]. [*] [**]
[*]: Limitations may apply based on rank and/or knowledge level.
[**]: Interacting and recreating previously recorded knowledge may require additional skills as a prerequisite, as well as the appropriate raw materials for creation.
Would you like to initiate the tutorial for using [Racial Ability]: [Network]? Yes / No.
Alex shivered and sat down; soaking up the heat that was still emanating from the ground. He had an intuition on why the ground around him was radiating so much heat, but he was glad it was here. He would not have survived long in this weather without it.
He pushed the thought aside for now. He wanted to find out more about his so-called abilities, but he really, really, wanted clothes. Suddenly, he remembered the voice in his head said something about a quest for clothes as a reward. Another window popped up in front of him and the quest was displayed with more information.
“Damn, that's nice.”
He didn’t know if it was a good thing, but he was starting to enjoy this whole ‘insanity episode’ he was having.
[New Task]: Naked in a Snowstorm.
You awaken, only to find yourself naked and exposed to the elements.
This strange world can offer many things, but first you must survive.
You must grow strong if you want to survive. To grow strong, you need pants.
Reward: Basic Ashaka Outfit [Winter (Black)] 0/4:
- Basic Ashaka Hide Pants [Winter (Black)] 0/1
- Basic Ashaka Hide Boots [Winter (Black)] 0/1
- Basic Ashaka Hide Shirt [Winter (Black)] 0/1
- Basic Ashaka Cloak [Winter (Black)] 0/1
This is a tutorial quest. Simply accept this quest to receive the reward(s).
Would you like to accept this quest? Yes / No.
“I accept the task.” Alex said, tensing slightly.
Would the clothes just appear on his body?
Alex was expecting another window to pop up, but instead, the voice in his head spoke.
“Wait,” Alex practically yelled with excitement. “I have an inventory? And yes, equip the outfit.”
Black mist shrouded his body like squid ink spreading through water, completely obscuring him from sight. After a couple seconds, the mist dissipated, and Alex was standing, fully clothed in a sleek black outfit comprised of black and gray fur that was reinforced with hard dark leather. Numerous pockets, straps, and loops were stitched into the outfit. A voluminous cloak was draped over his shoulders and warmth instantly began to spread through him. The hood of his cloak was up, hiding his face and his wide, goofy grin in the shadows.
“Night gathers, and now my watch begins...”
Maybe insanity wasn’t so bad after all.