Breakfast came and went, but the strange dreams still lingered in my thoughts. With nothing left to do inside the apartment, it felt like the right time to head out and start hunting.
The Mini Map showed a scatter of Kobolds nearby—mostly Level 1s and 3s. But it was the Level 2s I was after; they were just tough enough to sharpen my skills without getting me killed.
An electronics store caught my eye, and a glance through the window was enough to draw me in. Inside, shelves were still packed with electronics—phones, tablets, even a few laptops. The sight made me frown—especially when I compared it to the stripped clothing store.
That’s when a thought hit: if synthetic clothing was taken but electronics—arguably worse—were left behind, maybe they weren’t meant to transformed.
My hand was already reaching for a phone when I remembered my own phone next to my bed. I will try and transform it when I got back. I could try my computer, or my watch.
A quick check of the Mini Map revealed a lone Level 2 Kobold wandering nearby. It didn’t take much effort to take it down, and the loot included food and water packages—enough to stay stocked for now.
Feeling confident, I set off in search of another target.
While keeping an eye on the Mini Map, I walked straight into something—a wall. Or rather, some kind of barrier: completely invisible, yet oddly elastic. It stretched under the pressure I put on it but refused to break.
I followed it along, probably looking like a crazy mime feeling my way through the air, and discovered the barrier extended from the house on the left, across the street, all the way to the building on the right.
Backtracking, I tried a parallel street, only to find the same kind of invisible barrier waiting there too.
On my way to the next street, I came across two more Level 2 Kobolds. Taking them down and looting them was almost routine by now, though it still left me breathing hard.
With each fight, confidence grew. Maybe I was finally ready to face a single Level 3 Kobold—though the idea still made my stomach twist. But before I could even think about testing myself like that, there was the mystery of the invisible barrier to solve.
After a few more streets, I felt that I needed a more permanent and visible way to track the barrier. I was walking past a stationary shop and went inside looking for a map.
I had my Mini Map, but it was not interactive, and it did not have a feature to go back to pervious areas if you want to see other parts of your surroundings.
The store did not have any maps, but I had an idea. I picked up a pen and a notebook with my t-shirt.
Yeah, I took it off and walked around bare chested, but nobody was there to see me. Thank goodness.
I returned to the electronic store. I knew the internet was not working anymore but hoped the system would use the intended use of the device to make a new item.
There was not many, but I did find a few GPS Devices in the store.
I placed the book and pen with the device together and took out a Transformation Shard and touched it.
I was a bit more expensive than the lights, but this is a bit more involved.
Yes
A small crystal hovered before me. When I touched it a map of the area around the store opened in front of me. I moved the map with my finder to the streets where I found the barrier.
With my finger I drew a line across the street where I found the first barrier and then the other streets.
Okay that will do.
I dismissed the Map and checked my inventory. It was lying there waiting to be used. I made sure to check my Mini Map and went to look at the barrier again, while keeping an eye out for Kobolds.
After some time spent mapping, it became clear it was time to call it quits for the day. Home was the next stop, with a fresh start planned for tomorrow—and the goal of finally testing my skills against a Level 3 Kobold.
While working to map the barrier, it hit me that the Kobolds’ levels were rising alongside mine—and that each time I leveled up, they seemed to grow even stronger than I did. At lower levels, the gap wasn’t too bad, but the higher things went, the bigger that difference was likely to become.
I must maintain the same level as the highest Kobold, or I would become prey…
Fate was however not on my side. I knew I checked the Mini Map, but I turned a corner, and a Kobold level 3 was looking right at me. It was not close to me, but I knew how fast Kobolds were.
I did think about fighting the Kobold, but I was not ready yet.
Cautiously, I cast Stun, locking the Kobold in place. It didn’t drop, but staggered where it stood, claws flexing as it struggled to regain its footing.
A follow-up with Mana Slash was the obvious move. Two rapid strikes ripped into its chest and shoulder, slowing it down—but not finishing it off.
When it lunged forward again, I stepped back and cast Freeze. Icy mana wrapped around it, holding it completely still for a few precious seconds.
Not wasting the opening, I unleashed Arc Lash. A whip of lightning shot from my staff and cracked into the Kobold, then arced back to strike it again, finding no other targets on the empty street.
But as the ice shattered and fell away, the Kobold started moving again, staggering but still pressing forward. I hesitated just long enough for my mana to recover, then cast Arc Lash a second time. Lightning seared across its scales, leaving it smoldering—but somehow it kept coming.
My mana was draining fast. I forced myself to wait a couple of seconds, catching my breath and letting a trickle of mana regenerate before casting Arc Lash one final time. The whip of energy slammed into the Kobold’s chest, crackling with raw power.
Yet the spell faded—and the Kobold lunged.
Before I could raise a shield, its crude sword slashed deep into my upper leg. Pain exploded through me. The second strike I barely managed to deflect with the staff, deflecting the blade away from me.
Gritting my teeth, I shoved the creature back with every bit of strength I had left and unleashed a final Mana Slash. The blade of mana swept across its throat—and this time, the Kobold finally went still and fell to the ground.
I retrieved a Health Package and again silently gave thanks to the miracle salve. The deep gash in my leg closed over. After being injured a few times, it became less scary and just part of surviving.
I looted the Kobold and left, quickly but cautiously making my way to my apartment. I did not want to face a Kobold again that day, not even a Level 1. I wanted to shower and just relax.
After a shower, I felt a lot cleaner—and a little more human again. I snacked on the food left from my package, then finally used a Repair Token to fix my shredded pants. No sense heading out looking like I’d wrestled a Kobold and lost.
“Inventory.”
Wow, my inventory is full.
There was not anything special, except for the Advance Health Package. I had never opened a health package if not needed, but if a food package can be opened and stored, then…
I retrieved the package and opened it. It had a tin of salve and a crystal bottle with potion in it.
I used Identify on it and was impressed.
Nice
I pondered a bit on the fact that my skill described the package in detail, but not the Transformation Shard. I realised that there must be some rules I am not yet understanding. I shrugged and dismissed the package to my inventory. Thankfully it appeared there without any trouble
I had another expansion shard and decided to use it. I took up a space in my inventory and as it was full… I could just as well use it.
Yes.
Yes.
Relief flooded through me. None of my neighbors were dead. I still didn’t know where they were, but according to the Home Base extension, they were hopefully still alive.
Glancing over my inventory, I shrugged it off—until I remembered I’d been meaning to transform my phone. It was still sitting on my bedside table.
I pulled a shard from my inventory and pressed it against the phone.
Yes
A square crystal appeared in my hand — glowing an intense blue with diamond-like facets and faint runes shimmering across its translucent surface, radiating a soft light that seemed alive with hidden energy.
“Okay, voice activated. Contact … Dad.”
I took an upgrade shard out and touched the Crystal. It took four Shards to unlock.
“Contact Dad.”
A soft melodic voice seemed to come from the crystal.
‘Contact, Dad, out of bounds.’
I tried all my contact and only got the same response. An inspiration suddenly made me take out an upgrade shard again.
It’s not what I wanted but … Yes
Let’s try again. I touched the Chrystal again.
Again, very nice and I wanted message feature so … Yes. It was not what I needed. I decided to try one more time and then go to bed. I needed my sleep.
“Yes.”
Eventually, I gave up and turned in for the night, figuring I’d try again in the morning.
****
The next day started with me feeling groggy. Day seven. A whole week had passed, and it felt like I was stuck on a hamster wheel—running nonstop but getting nowhere.
I opened my inventory to grab some breakfast, then decided to try a few more upgrades on the Communication Crystal before heading out.
Yes…
Yes…
Yes…
Yes… Wait what? Oh, yeah… The shard does have a basic value… Basic…
I decided to head out again, hoping to find more advanced shards—and maybe some clue about whether my family and friends were okay.
The plan was to walk the length of the barrier and figure out how big it really was. But I also aimed to hunt Level 2 and 3 Kobolds. Level 3s were preferable for better loot and XP, but I wasn’t about to get myself killed trying.
Using my Mini-Map and Interactive Map, I made my way back to the area I last marked the barrier. I passed a lot of Level 1 Kobolds and a few Level 2 Kobolds. I had to backtrack a bit to avoid them and even hit in a store once.
I reached the street I suspected the barrier would be in according to my map and found it. I walked into it again to be honest and cursed myself for not paying more attention. The pliable barrier was a godsend as I would have bruised my broken nose from the previous day if not.
I marked it on my map and walked back again to the next street, after checking if it was straight across the street, but throwing rocks at it.
Yeah, not very scientific but I am not going to continue playing mime with an invisible barrier.
A few streets later, a Level 3 Kobold popped up on my Mini-Map. I hesitated, remembering my run-in with one the day before, but eventually decided to go for it.
I needed to get stronger. Sticking to safer fights with Level 1 and 2 Kobolds wouldn’t prepare me for the Level 4s I was sure I’d have to face soon enough.
Careful not to rush in, I hid inside a store and waited for the Kobold to pass so I could approach from behind. I needed every advantage I could get.
I cast Stun first, keeping Freeze in reserve in case it got too close. This time, I decided to open with Arc Lash. The spell hurled the Kobold to the ground, the lightning arcing back to it with a crackle.
The Spell had two more charges left, but instead of utilising them, I chose to follow up with a Mana Slash. The Kobold staggered toward me, slower than normal — the lightning must have fried it a bit — but still far too fast for my liking.
I cast Freeze, locking it in place, and unleashed another Arc Lash. The crackling force brought the Kobold to its knees, and I finished it with a final Mana Slash.
I looted the Kobold and groaned in disappointment. No new Shards but then again, my inventory was full so maybe it was better in the long run.
I kept mapping the barrier and eventually ran across another Level 3. I killed it a lot like the other one, but it got very close at one stage. It was more luck than skill that kept it from cutting me with its sword.
I need to get stronger… Loot.
Inventory full – loot will be kept in stasis until inventory spot opens and 50% of loot will be transferred (50% penalty)
Son of a bitch
I wasn’t happy. Losing hard-earned loot just because I didn’t have enough Inventory space felt like a slap in the face.
Scanning through my inventory, my eyes landed on the Interactive Map. None of the new loot would go in until I made room.
It wasn’t as simple as it sounded.
I set the map crystal on the ground and stepped back a bit, just in case. Nothing happened. Even outside my inventory, the system still counted it as “mine.”
With a bitter taste in my mouth, I picked it up again and started walking toward the next street to continue mapping the barrier… muttering curses under my breath.
Maybe if I paid more attention to my Mini Map and less to the feelings of unfairness, the Level 3 Kobold would not have caught me unawares.
The sharp bite of a sword slicing into my stomach was the only warning I got. Luckily, the blade didn’t go too deep. The Kobold had to stretch to reach me, which took a lot of power out of the strike.
I knew I’d been lucky—and that luck wouldn’t last forever.
Gripping my staff, I swung hard, catching the shorter Kobold square on the head and knocking it sideways.
I used Freeze and followed up with an Arc Lash. The Kobold wrung in agony. The lightning pulled its muscles in spasm. I cast another one and began stepping back, putting some space between us.
When the spell began wearing off, I stopped the Arch Lash and just as it bolted forward, I used Mana Slash and ended its life.
The blue dome came up and I knew I was leveling up.
I decided to hold off on assigning the free points for now. I wasn’t sure where they would be best utilized, so I’d leave that for later.
The choice of what to do with the inventory was also a tough decision, so I pushed it aside for the moment and focused on selecting a spell. I scanned through the available options and settled on Fleet Step. It seemed like a smart choice—if I ever found myself in a situation I couldn’t handle, this spell would give me a quick way to escape. Better to be prepared.
I also placed one point on my Mana Pool and the other to Wisdom. I was just done when the dome dissipated.
Shit, I still had to loot the Kobold and figure out what to do with my inventory. Should I take a chance, or just stick with the six available slots?
I knew I had to decide on the inventory first, then loot the Kobold, or I risked losing more of what I’d already gathered. My gut told me that if I took a chance on the inventory, my luck would run out. I’d had a good streak with the dice so far, and pushing my luck any further seemed like a bad idea. Better to play it safe this time.
I chose to stick with six slots and looted the Kobold. It was a bit depressing to lose some of the loot, but thankfully, it wasn’t as bad as I had feared.
I checked my Mini-Map and let out a sigh of relief—there were no Kobolds nearby. For a moment, I considered heading back to my apartment to test out the new upgraded shards on my Communication Crystal, but I decided against it. I needed to keep mapping the barrier.
There was also the fact that a Level 4 Kobold was bound to appear soon, and I needed to get a look at one before it caught me off guard. The barrier was vast, but I was making steady progress, one step at a time.
I had seen Kobolds beyond the barrier so a movement from the other side did not startle me. I was busy carefully drawing the barrier onto the map. I checked my Mini Map before I began to map the barrier.
The Map does not show anything beyond the barrier, but that was not something that bothered me. The Kobolds on my side gave me enough problems.
A face suddenly appeared before me, popping up behind my Map. It wasn’t the face of a Kobold. In fact, it was the face of a very blonde, very pretty human female. I stood there, stunned for a moment, unsure of what to make of it.
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first Royal Road chapter of each pair. The second one won’t have pictures. If you want to see all the art together (or earlier), it’s on Patreon with the combined chapters!