His gaze drifted around the space until it eventually landed on a wide black brick. How had he not noticed that before?
If he had to guess, it was at least four meters wide and half a meter long, just lying there on the white floor. Pressing his hands against the ground, Lucas clambered to his feet; he then walked over to the brick.
“What am I meant to do here? Do I just step on it?” He looked around the void and then back at the six-minute timer. “Well, probably.”
Lucas raised his foot and placed it on the black brick. A soft ripple then moved through the stone and washed out from his feet and over the brick’s edges. A second, equally long brick popped up just above the first, the two edges meeting. Frowning at this, Lucas’s gaze then shifted to the timer floating at his side. It was counting down.
So, I just have to step on these things.
He lifted his other leg and took another step, more ripples forming as another black step materialised. “Alright, just one step at a time.”
With that guiding principle, he then spent the remaining time he had on the clock climbing the black steps. At first, it was easy enough—walking up, getting higher and higher in the white expanse. He’d looked over the edge a few times, his heart tightening with every glance. While he was fairly certain this was all taking place in his head, falling from a height probably wouldn’t be a pleasant experience.
But keeping his eye on the prize—whatever that was—he focused. Eventually, as he climbed higher and higher, the difficulty of taking the next step increased. And it wasn’t just the difficulty that came with his body being exhausted.
He’d climbed steps—tall steps—before, when he’d gone to see his auntie in the tower block she lived in. The elevator had been out a few times over the years, and it was always hell. But that feeling wasn’t this.
This was as if someone had placed a brick, or maybe several, on his back, and then forced him to climb the steps with them. Glancing over his shoulder, he peered down at the black steps he’d struggled up so far. Had this place somehow added them to him? But it was strange; there wasn’t anything real on him. It was more of a pressure than anything else.
A pressure he was struggling to fight against. Sighing, Lucas steeled himself and got back to walking. As he pushed, he checked the time again, and there were a few seconds remaining on the clock. It was as if it were taunting him, goading him into taking a few more steps.
“I at least have to make this a round number,” Lucas said through gritted teeth.
With a grunt, he heaved his leg up and climbed with all his might. One step, two steps, three steps, four. Each brick was a gruelling test of exertion. When he hit the sixtieth step, a wave of accomplishment washed through him.
But the next thing he knew, his vision blanked, and he woke gasping with his head slumped against the wall of the bedroom.
Pressing his hand against the rough wallpaper, Lucas blinked with some confusion. His eyes moved to the primary concern, and a sense of relief washed through him.
The dog, thankfully, still rested by its dead master, its eyes flicking to him with what seemed to be confusion. Lucas frowned. Was he seeing things?
A system screen then popped up before him.
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SYSTEM MESSAGE
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| Congratulations, you have completed your first few steps. You may now summon the provided starter equipment. Whilst this is not anything groundbreaking, it is enough to allow you to defend yourself against the starting hordes of the Blightkin. The system wishes you luck.
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The panel then blinked out, and a word bubbled into Lucas’s mind and then passed through his lips.
“Summon armament,” he whispered.
The air before him rippled, distorting as if a black hole were sucking in reality. In the next instant, a large capsule slightly taller than him appeared in the air and then softly landed. Its metal cover gleamed in the afternoon light coming through the window, and the front glass view panel displayed a comfortable-looking seat within. On the back of the capsule, a humanoid head poked out.
Lucas raised a hand, placed it on his knee, and got to his feet, a wave of awe washing through him as he stared at the metal coffin that was his classes starting equipment.
He stepped closer to the capsule, his hand gliding across the metal and then catching on the glass, as a smile slipped onto his lips. It was a beautiful thing of sorts—sure; it was definitely a coffin, but a futuristic and unique one at that.
Lucas’s gaze shifted from it to the dog in the corner, who eyed the capsule with a wary look. This caused Lucas to raise an eyebrow.
The creature had lost its owner and probably suffered the most traumatic fight of its life. But it didn’t act as you’d expect a normal dog would; whimpering in the corner, perhaps shaken and curled in on itself.
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He’d accept that; that would make sense. But when he’d woken up, the look it gave him and now this... this thing was intelligent, which brought the question back to mind: did it gain a class?
Lucas’s gaze lingered on it for a moment before it shifted back to the capsule. He could deal with questions like that later. For now, he had to see what this puppet was about.
He stepped around the capsule and moved to its back, where the construct in question hung from a thick rod against which the capsule leaned.
It was like a clothing rack, and the puppet was a coat. He raised a hand and brushed it across the featureless face of the puppet, similar to many of the robots he’d seen online, just with a lot more wires.
It had normal, human-like hands, and its frame was not that thick—average, really. If he had to guess, when it was standing at its proper height, it’d probably be roughly as tall as him, maybe a tad shorter.
Lucas pressed his hand against his forehead and dragged it back, combing his fingers through his hair. His breath hitched, and his gaze flickered to the window. What was going on today? None of this made any sense, yet part of it felt right—felt almost inevitable.
The world had been going to the dumps before any of this happened, the blue blight sickness taking out millions within a few years. It felt like the countries were going to collapse, and the rest of the world with them. And now this?
His head lolled, and he looked back at the puppet. First things first, though—he had to use this to take care of that wolf downstairs, because from the looks of it, it was a lot sturdier than he was. Using his fist, he rapped his knuckles against the metal making up the puppet. Yeah, it was a lot sturdier.
As he moved away from it, a caw split the air and slithered through the window. The crow—the thing that had chased him into this building and allowed a horde of wolves to attack him—was back.
Reacting to the sound, the dog began barking, growling at the bird it couldn’t see. The dog knew it was dangerous, but had no way to get at it. And worst of all, the dog’s barking no doubt alerted the wolf below.
Heart racing, Lucas’s gaze snapped to the door, and he cursed. What he could only describe as thunderous, heavy steps came from below—the Flameback wolf was coming upstairs.
Lucas scrambled towards the capsule. “How do I open it? How do I open it?” he panicked, resting his hand on the glass. As if hearing his will, the glass panel on the front hissed and opened up, revealing the seat within.
Lucas then leapt inside, slamming his back against the foam—not even taking a moment to feel the softness—and settled in.
“Come on, come on,” he said as the glass panel hissed again and closed on him, sealing him inside the capsule.
Before he could consider what to do next, his vision blanked.
The next thing he knew, he was slipping off a hook and landing on the soft carpet with a thud. His mind blanked as he raised his hands—hands that weren’t his—and marvelled.
Made of metal, his fingers clinked as he tapped them against each other, marvelling at the texture he could somehow feel. What was it made of?
He brought his hand up, its edges glinting in the light that came from the window. Lucas’s gaze shifted to the side. There, the dog tilted its head at him, looking more confused; a low growl rumbled from its throat, and Lucas backed up.
“Calm down, boy. It’s me, see?” He pointed at the capsule and then gestured to himself. “I’m controlling this!”
The dog frowned like a human—another strange behaviour—and then looked at the capsule as if considering it. Its gaze then shifted back to him, and it took a step back, sitting down and watching him, tail wagging from side to side.
“I guess it believes me?” Lucas muttered in an oddly distant voice, as if it hadn’t come from him.
Before Lucas could fully digest that he’d had some sort of conversation with the animal, the door to the room slammed. Behind it, scraping and scratching sounded, claws tearing into wood. The Flameback had made it upstairs.
Lucas peered past his capsule, eyeing the door on the other side, and quickly made his way towards it. He spared a glance at the glass panel and almost did a double-take as he saw himself inside, eyes closed as if asleep. It was strange to see yourself when you weren’t in your body.
The door slammed again, and his head snapped towards it. “Alright, I just have to take this thing out.”
In the corner of his vision, another screen popped up.
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SYSTEM MESSAGE
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| Name: Spike Puppet - Novice 1 (Puppet)
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| Armour: 3
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| Weapon Familiarity: 26
| Strength: 25
| Endurance: 29(39)*
| Perception: 33
| Willpower: 33
| Agility: 20(40)*
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| Word Sequence (1/4)
- Spike
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It detailed several stats, with the key one sticking out to him being a specific word. “Spike,” he muttered.
From his arms, a pointed metal rod shot out like he was some kind of mutant from those TV shows. He marvelled at the tip of the spike that glinted in the sunlight. “How is this even real?” he said, adjusting his arm and placing a finger on the tip.
It didn’t feel sharp, but then again, his sense of touch wasn’t exactly what it was when he was in his normal body.
He retracted it and almost chuckled. Normal body? What did that even mean anymore?
The door slammed again, the lock groaning, several pops coming from it. Lucas lowered his hands and squared himself in front of his capsule. He couldn’t let the Flameback get past him. He wouldn’t.
But then what would he do? Fight it? Sure, he was now in a body made of metal. But that didn’t mean he felt no pain. He tapped his metallic leg, soft clinks filling the air. The sensation wasn’t normal, per se. It was as if something dulled it, almost muted it. Though that meant he’d feel pain, even if somewhat faint.
He hesitated, taking a step back, as the door slammed again, the wood popping and creaking. The dog barked, and Lucas’s head snapped towards it, raising a hand.
“Calm, boy, calm. It’s gonna be okay.”
The dog let out a groan and fell silent.
Alright, I just have to fight. I’ve been in fights before. Not with a wolf, but I’m sure it can’t be too hard.
His mind went back to the playground in year six, back to when Millen had bullied him. He’d been forced to defend himself then, and now he was being forced to defend himself again.
Before he could fully dwell on the thoughts, the wood exploded, and chunks of it flew across the room. Bits of them bounced off his armour, some clinking against the glass of the capsule behind him. The wolf slammed the remaining pieces of the door away and padded in, letting out a low growl as its eyes fixed on him. Its mane flickered on its back, its teeth bared as saliva dripped from its jaw.
Alright, here we go.
The wolf leapt at him, and he raised his arm, blocking his face. A dull pain spiked through his limb as it clamped onto it, growling and scratching at his chest with its paws.
“Get off me!” he yelled, punching at the creature’s side.
It didn’t budge, each thud just a low impact as its grip continued to tighten.
