Chapter 10

  I believe it was Viktor Frankl who once said When we are no longer able to change a situation we are challenged to change ourselves. These powerful words resonated deep in my soul as I looked at the task in front of me. There was no possible way for me to avoid the situation I had been forced to face. Therefore...

  Oh who the fuck am I kidding?! I'm going to die at least a thousand times over. Even my Pathfinder ability was unable to see a path forward and that's literally all it does. If an absolute ability like that couldn't find a solution, how the hell was a severely flawed person like me supposed to? It was like that scene in that huge Avengers movie where Benedict Cumberbatch said something about seeing a crazy number of scenarios and they only succeeded in one of them, except this was worse. Benedict Cumberbatch made a decent Sherlock Holmes, though. Out of the literal interpretations of the work, he was one of my favorite portrayals. Instead of trying to force the idea that Holmes was a high level genius, he embraced the nuance of...

  Suddenly, I realized just how much I missed Joan. Even in a situation like this, my mind would focus on everything except for the problem right in front of me. I could use a stern Focus! from her mouth right about now. Instead, I was trapped in some sort of subterranean Deep One settlement without a single ally. I couldn't even rely on myself to focus on the task of staying alive. I really was the worst.

  It wasn't like having any allies would have helped the situation. Unless if Raif or Tara were hiding some epically powerful fighting abilities or stats, we weren't equipped for something like this.

  But that didn't make sense. In this prologue scenario that was set up by that god, the players were expected to tackle this investigation with no less than four people. So why was there something like this in the middle of it? What was I missing?

  Come on, Clay, think!

  I needed more time!

  My hand extended, summoning my newest acquired item from my inventory. That morning before going anywhere else, Joan and I had looked for some sort of weapon I could use. Sadly, we were limited by funds and selection. Whatever I had picked would need to compliment my fighting style. Something too bulky or dangerous to use while performing acrobatic feats would only lower my combat ability. As much as I wanted a bo staff like Donatello, something that bulky would trip me up in battle. I definitely couldn't use something bladed like a katana since I'd be more likely to self-amputate than harm my opponent. Sai's would result in me poking out my eyeball. Nunchaku would be too difficult to use while moving in a parkour style, besides they likely had a pretty massive learning curve to not inflict self-harm on the user. That ruled out all of the Ninja Turtles, what the heck was I supposed to do? Mourning the death of my childhood dream to be an adolescent mutated amphibian assassin, I settled for the only weapon that I felt I could use effectively without hurting myself too badly.

  The tonfa appeared in my right hand, and for the slightest moment, I felt remotely like a badass. That immediately changed when I shifted my grip and I dropped the damn thing on the ground.

  Bending down to pick it up might have been the luckiest moment of my life. The moment I bent to pick up my trusty-tonfa, the first of the Deep Ones leapt to attack. Almost as if I had a slight amount of fighting experience, my action made it look like I purposefully ducked the attack. You know what, yes, let's go with that. I definitely knew what I was doing.

  The Deep One collided with a rock wall directly behind me in a sickening thud which brought my precarious attention back to the matter at hand. I felt like that scene from Mars Attacks! where the former boxer guy was surrounded by a ton of those tiny Martians, except my opponents were definitely not tiny. And I really doubted I had some sort of deus ex machina awaiting my future.

  I didn't realize just how much I had grown dependent on Pathfinder during combat. The only two battles I'd faced, I had used that ability to aid every attack. Without the yellow line to guide me, I might as well have been a complete novice at fighting (which I was). How did such a bottom-tier character like myself get myself into a situation like this. This was the hero moment, not the sacrifice of the goofy sidekick. But here I was, the goofy sidekick, with no hero in sight.

  If I could just avoid dying long enough to thoroughly think through the situation. I didn't believe a dead end like this would be placed in the middle of the investigation, so there had to be something I was missing, right? Then again, following that train of thought required the belief that that god was able to run a campaign without an obvious total-party-kill scenario.

  There was no point in thinking only of the negative possibilities. If I had any chance of making it out of this alive, I needed to be remotely optimistic... One of my biggest weaknesses.

  One of the Deep Ones charged at me. With its arms spread wide, I was able to see a slight opening, leaping and using its shoulder as a spring board. In the dark space, it would have normally been impossible for me to see my opponents well enough to navigate, but luckily my Read the Room ability was still functioning. The red outline of the constantly increasing number of opponents gave me a guide as I tried to navigate to a safer location.

  I know that I might have exaggerated in the past about some of the things that I've done. That alone might make it difficult to believe when I tell you what happened next. Seeing the outline of my opponents and using the magnificent art of Parkour, I ran across the top of my opponents, using their heads as footholds. I was fairly certain that for anyone watching, the sight had to look more like a cartoon than an actual real life combat strategy, but I'm a level one guy with high dexterity and no direct offensive abilities. Unlike last night, when I had the aid of Joan's ramen ability, I was lacking the +5 boost to my physical abilities. Even without it, my dexterity was still nearly super-human but the drop in ability from last night weighed heavily on me with every Deep One head I stepped on.

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  With a moment of reprieve as I performed the highly unrealistic maneuver, I returned my focus to the matter at hand. Why did this scenario exist? Was it truly just a dead end trap? And if so, where did I go wrong?

  Shit!

  One of the Deep Ones was slightly taller than the others, causing me to trip over its forehead. Tumbling forward, I threw my tonfa-wielding hand in front of me to brace for impact. The resulting situation felt more like being a human bowling ball than an actual combat technique. I was actually grateful that my dexterity was lower than the night before, because the impact only resulted in disorienting me instead of breaking every bone in my body. The memories of my badly injured shoulder from a single head-on attack the night before made me realize just how much of a glass cannon I was... Well, a glass cannon with almost no strong offensive ability... So just glass. I was Glass Joe, the first opponent in Punch-Out!

  I didn't have time to relax after my body tumbled to the ground amidst toppled fish dudes. If any of them had reached out and grabbed me, my time would come to a very quick and painful end. If my entire situation wasn't a death flag itself, I could at least say that I was surrounded by millions of death flags waiting to happen. I used the forward momentum I hadn't lost in the collision to land in a rolling motion, immediately righting myself and vaulting over a Deep One directly in front of me like some really weird version of backwards leap frog. Luckily my vault was successful and I didn't wind up with a crotch full of eldritch fish face. I could only imagine their sharp teeth would not feel so great when smashing into certain parts of my anatomy, and I really didn't ever want to find out.

  After the vault, I planted my feet on the faces of two Deep Ones directly behind the one that I had vaulted. With a foot on each of their faces, I rode the momentum as they fell backwards, springing up as soon as the back of their heads smashed against the ground. Making my body fully horizontal, I had enough height to clear the next row of creatures. I was, however, still on a collision course with a particularly ugly aquatic foe directly behind the one I had cleared. I reached my hands forward, gripping its shoulders and using my forward momentum to push off and flip into the air.

  With a little height above the mob of foes, I could finally survey the surroundings. Directly to my left, I noticed a narrow space between two houses. There didn't appear to be any red outlines if I was able to get between the two buildings, so I would at least be able to navigate without constant fear of attack. I finished off my impressive flip by slamming both of my feet into the side of one of my attackers' heads, launching me in the direction of the gap between buildings.

  Landing with a roll, I quickly righted myself and looked at the dim alley. I knew exactly what I needed to do. Running up the wall to my right, I pushed off, launching myself to the opposite wall. After repeating the process a few times, I was able to grip a ledge above, pulling myself up and over onto the roof of the building.

  I took the following moments to catch my breath while I tried to return to my analysis of the situation.

  Obviously there was no possibility of me successfully defeating the hundreds of Deep Ones in this area. So the intended solution had to be something other than straight-forward combat.

  With the space being nearly pitch black, there was no realistic way of me locating an exit. If I had entered through the door instead of being teleported in, I would have at least had the ability to turn around and flee once I realized this was a death trap. But it wasn't helpful to think about that since it wasn't an option for me at this moment. Maybe there was a way to find and open the door?

  I peaked over the top of the building, seeing the sea of red highlights searching for me. I could barely make out the walls bordering the settlement, but they all looked like solid rock. With more light, I might be able to make out the door, but like this it was impossible. If I decided to try and locate the door, I would need to either create a light source or blindly trace the walls surrounding the settlement.

  If I find a light source:

  I would possibly be able to see the exit.

  It would alert everyone to my exact location again.

  Even if I found the door I'd need to find a way to open it before getting caught.

  If I traced the border to search for the door:

  I would be able to feel the difference between the door and the regular walls.

  Any Deep Ones who spotted me would have an easy way of cornering me.

  And like the other option, I had no way of knowing if I could even open the door.

  Neither option was good. There had to be something else. Some clue.

  Hearing the pursuing foes trying to climb my building, I took a break from my thought process to find a new hiding spot. Most of the red highlights were along the wall that I had initially climbed, so my safest bet was leaping from the opposite side. Sadly there wasn't another roof that I could simply leap to, so I would have to find another hiding spot after landing on the ground below. Without drawing attention, I poked my head over the ledge enough to scan the surroundings. The best option I could find was an area about 25 yards away where boxes of supplies here stacked. If I could make it over there unseen, I might be able to hide behind one of the stacks of boxes. Taking a deep breath, I leapt over the side, hoping for the best.

  I managed to minimize my impact with the ground, rolling and regaining my footing. I couldn't hear any of those disturbing croaking noises turning my direction, so I was able to remain hopeful. I tried to keep my footfall as silent as possible as I sprinted toward my new hiding place. As soon as I reached the boxes, I ducked behind a stack and peered out. I no longer saw any red outlines, but that only meant that there were no pursuers within five meters, which wasn't overly promising. Still, I had a little more time to think.

  Were there any clues? Anything that I missed that might give me a hint...

  I had already ruled out direct conflict as the solution. Possibly the opposite was the answer? Was there a way to deal with this situation peacefully?

  When I first arrived, I had been notified that the enemies were alerted to my presence. The action immediately turned them hostile against me. If they weren't automatically aggressive to me, then there would have been at least some of the Deep Ones who didn't turn hostile immediately. Last night when I faced down the Deep One in the alley outside The Gene, it had not initially been hostile. It only turned hostile after I cornered it. It wasn't innately hostile. It just acted in...

  Self defense!

  The realization hit me immediately. I had pushed it aside as a hallucination since everyone had emphatically told me that Deep Ones were incapable of using language. And since the words I thought I had heard seemed nonsensical it was easy to dismiss the notion. But they weren't nonsensical.

  Suddenly, it all made sense. Everything about this investigation clicked into place.

  The disappearances.

  The mayor's connection.

  The pile of skin.

  The Deep One in the alley.

  The words that were spoken that I shouldn't have been able to understand.

  The existence of this settlement.

  I could see my path forward.

  Standing tall, I stepped out from behind the stack of boxes, moving out into the open. Red highlighted forms appeared everywhere around me. I only had a few moments to act before it was all over.

  If I was wrong, this would be the end for me. But I wasn't wrong. I understood.

  I raised my hands in the air in a sign of surrender.

  "I acted in self defense. I mean no harm."

  The horde continued to close in around me. I had been so sure. I had figured it out, right? Why? What did I do wrong?

  Congratulations!

  +h3 /\/u11 has unlocked a new ability!

  Eldritch Whisperer (Level MAX)

  Passive ability

  User can communicate with eldritch creatures.

  In cases where target is intelligent, language barriers will disappear.

  In cases where target is not intelligent, creature will respond to user's emotions

  A figure emerged from the mob, positioning itself between the group and myself. Its back faced me as it extended its webbed hands wide to each side to create a barrier. In the dim light, I could make out tell-tale signs of fresh stab wounds around its neck. This was the one I had faced the night before.

  "Stop unless you want to want to violate the treaty."

  The Deep One turned its head to face me.

  "The name's Deep Juan. It looks like we should probably have a little chat. Especially before your stabby little friend shows up."