*Warp* Eden had appeared in a similar-looking area as he was once in, but instead of three pathways, there are only two. Other than that though, there is no real difference in style of the area at first glance. But, upon closer inspection, there are hints of disarmed traps, with many cut wires laid about and trapdoors that were hastily glued shut. It would seem as though someone ran through and tried to disable all the traps in the room, albeit very poorly.
“Wow, they sure did put a lot of effort into making the disarming natural.” Eden sarcastically opines; walking through the passage on the right, which has notably fewer traps on its path. Along with that, it was a rather uneventful short walk, and after a right turn, it had led to a door with a neon sign. This sign reads “Welcome to Steve Morality’s shop: shop with great cause!” This does not impede Eden’s stride, as he walks up the dirtied door.
He opens the door, and what is revealed to him is an abandoned shop. Cobwebs coat the corners of the room and every shelf that once contained goods; covered with a thick layer of dust, along with being cracked apart. Multiple shelves have been completely broken, and wooden planks, most likely from the shelves that broke, sit about in the minuscule store. He looks to the right of the shop, seeing a fireplace, covered in smoke residue from constant burning. On Eden’s left is a pile of gold glistening nearby the webbed corner, appearing to have not been infested by the spider’s conquering of this forgotten land. In the far back contains the small desk of a shop clerk and a wheeled office chair that looks as cheap as they come. Clearly, the former owner had no care for this place. But something that sticks out with a sore thumb, adjacent to the desk, are two high quality beer kegs the size of an elephant; they are labelled as imperial Stem for the left one and Barry Steam on the right one respectively.
“Well this is better than nothing I guess.” Eden says hopefully, while a shelf falls when he closes the door, killing off the hope he once had. But having no other ideas, he begins to scavenge around the place whilst walking towards the gold. But he Finds nothing of use along the way. Eden sighs from the lack of anything, and lends down to grab the gold before stopping himself to think this through.
Could this be a trap? The system said all the traps were disarmed, but that could have been a trap in of itself to lower my guard. But the system has not truly lied to me yet, just talk weirdly. Though who really knows, surely not me at the very least. Eden contemplates, before deciding to leave this act up to god, and pulls out his silver coin. Heads, he takes the gold; tails, he leaves it there.
*Flip* The coin spins in the air like in slow motion, as a bit of light shines in Eden’s eye, reflecting off the unknown light source inside the room. But it slowly falls to the ground, where it bounces outside of Eden’s view, and ends up falling through a loose part of the floor, still stony like the rest of the area. However, Eden quickly finds the coin. But when he looks at the coin, he sees that it had not landed on heads, but also not tails. The coin had ended up perfectly on its side.
Well fuck. Eden thinks, not knowing what to do. Do I flip it again? No, wait no. This could be a sign from god to meet in the middle here, and only take half. I mean, if it was trapped it would most likely only activate if you are too greedy, and it is not like the store owner needs it. Eden justifies, taking exactly half of the gold. But as he walks away, he feels a coolness in his heart, and looks back on the dusty store, lost from its owner, and all who care about it. He recognizes that he and the store are much alike, forgotten tools who used to shine brightly, but he is not quite sure of why he feels this way, as he still lies in dental of this true fate. It has been too long since the takeover of the chickens that Eden forgot who he originally was, living like the cog the chickens made him to be. But one of the few things he knows is that what he is doing is not that much different compared to them, conceptually anyway.
The chickens stole the supplies of humanity, as they believed we did not require such resources to survive. We were seen as the property of the chickens, and property did not need excess, or even their own needs to their eyes. If I take from this old store, how am I doing anything different from what they did? Eden thinks, believing in his unguided truth. His steps have a great weight behind him as he takes the gold and walks over to the desk, now noticing a jar that says tip on it. After looking at it for a moment, he places all the gold he grabbed inside the jar, along with 5 extra from his inventory. When he does this, a system message is sent to him and the jar disappears.
Notice! User has shown unexpected kindness to an unknown entity.
Notice! An entity that will go unnamed smiles at you.
You have gained the special skill “Honest”
Honest- (G) Passive
(You are a relatively honest man, just trying to live his life and enjoy the world. This honesty is well respected by some and hated by others. You will have +1 charm with those who are of good alignment, but -2 charm to those who are of evil alignment. You will also deal +1 with all holy attacks.)
Notice! User has also completed the hidden quest, “You get what you pay for”
User will be given the item, “Chilled beer cup”
Chilled Beer Cup- (G+)
(A 24 oz cup meant for holding beer. This cup has been infused with low level ice magic and will keep drinks colder for a much greater amount of time. The taste of all alcoholic drinks that are poured into this cup will also taste 5% better.)
It was the right thing to do, at least I think so. But it would seem that the system agrees with me, or wants to reward foolishness. No matter, this is my choice, even if I get nothing out of it. Eden thinks, holding his beer cup, knowing what to do with it, but he is ever grateful for just about anything from this place.
“Thank you for the cup! I will be sure to use it.” Eden says, going towards the kegs labelled Barry Steam and pours himself a cup of beer, not wanting to waste the fine alcohol, or at least assumed fine to Eden. The drink bubbles loudly as he pours it, and once filled he jugs it in one gulp, and feels a delicious burn down his throat, and goes to get another drink.
*two hours of drinking later*
Notice! User has been poisoned!
Poison resistance automatically activates in response
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
1...
2...
3...
Failure...
User will face some negative drawbacks of the drink.
Notice! Poison resistance has slightly increased
Notice! Status effect, “Drunk” has been reapplied to users.
Drunk: You are buzzed drunk, greatly lowering your resistance towards mental attacks and your sight and control over your body has been diminished.
Hiccup “Whatttt? I’m Hiccup not dr-falls over” Eden mumbles as he face plants on the ground. He then crawls over to the two kegs and pulls on their taps, but nothing comes out. “Come onnnn! Gimme more! Hiccup more beer!” Eden childishly screeches out.
Notice! User has reapplied the drunken effect numerous times.
Notice! User has gained the special skill, “Alcoholic”
Alcoholic- (H+)
(You are an avid drinker of all alcohol and have been drunk many times. Because of this, you have gained some resistance to the effects of being drunk and have gained some minor positives from your drunkenness. When drunk, all memory blocks will be weakened, and you will have small visions of any forgotten or blocked memories while drunk.)
“Huh? What Hiccup is the sys-Hiccup-tom on about?” Eden wails out before blacking out. But as he blacks out, some memories flow out like water out of a broken dam, but that water is beer and the dam is his mind. Once Eden blacks out, he starts to see visions of a much more simple time, a time before the chickens finished their takeover of earth, a time when his family was alive.
He sees his dad, sitting at a fancy wooden desk, frantically looking through papers like his life depended on it. But after a short while, a young woman, who looked to be a secretary, walked in.
“Sir! The CIA has just informed me that the chickens are taking Egypt! They are asking for support and when the Flame Shooter mk2 will be made in order to fight off the chickens.” The panicked secretary said. This gave Eden’s father an angered look on his face before responding to the women.
“Well tell them to fight with what they have! Ever since most of the Middle East fell with the rest of Asia, gas and oil supplies have lowered far too much for the manufacturing of the MK 2 to be realistic at this stage. How do they expect me to build gasoline based weapons without gas!” Father yells at the lady, who was clearly not ready for his anger. But she still advocates for doing something
“But sir, we can’t lose Egypt like this! It’s one of 3 countries left on that half of the world that has not been fully conquered by the chickens. Plus, we can’t afford to lose the Chicken Slayer, and you should know better than I do that he will never leave Egypt till the day he dies.” The woman replies, almost begging Eden’s father to do something. As this happens he feels his mouth opening, and he says something to the two of them.
“Father, can’t we send some soldiers to back up Egypt?” Younger him asks. “I don’t want Musan to die, please dad.” his father looks at Eden with a hint of disappointment before beginning to speak with him in a polite tone.
“It’s not that simple, son. Listen, I don’t want Musan to die more than anyone else, but we simply don’t have the firepower to spare to support them. The Chickens have only been here for 3 months and have already taken over all of Asia, Australia, most of Africa, and even parts of Europe and South America. They rip through planes and tanks like tissue paper, no bullet will work on them, and not even the Russians kamikaze attack with all their nuclear bombs could kill them. The only thing that could harm them is themselves and the Flame Shooter. Sadly, much to your knowledge I assume, not only has the MK 1 for the Flame Shooter shown numerous problems such as being a 1 round gun with over 90 seconds of reload and the lack of any ability to aim it. We need to focus on making a better version of the Flame Shooter, only then can we take down the chickens. And has the Flameshooter’s inventor, I can’t spend any more resources till I make the MK 2” Eden’s father monologues. But the woman still wishes to help one of the world's last countries.
“Forgive my rudeness, sir, but what would be the point of making a new weapon if all the skilled fighters and the vast majority of humanity has already died out? If we don’t strike soon then even the Chicken Slayer, Musan, will fall, and he is the only person to have killed an adolescent chicken, as opposed to the infants we normally fight. He has also killed 37 infant chickens and was the one who made the chicken-beaked weapons. We must at least save him, if nothing better. The secretary says with confidence.
“Maria, Believe me, I would if I could. But like you said, knowing Musan, he isn’t ever leaving Egypt till it falls, and even if he would, the amount of lives needed in order to save him would be astronomical. I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror if I send the thousands of men required to save him to their graves, all for one man. I can’t make such a choice as a leader.” Eden’s father tells the secretary named Maria. “Why did they elect someone like me?” he mumbles to himself, unheard by Mara, but Eden was able to pick up on it. But then he feels a sharp pain in his head and everything goes blurry, giving great panic to his father as he rushes over to him.
“Eden! No, No this can’t be happening! Maria, get the medication; we will continue this later.” Eden’s fathers yells out in a panic. But as he does this Eden fully passes out and is rendered unconscious.
“Wah!” Eden yells out, rising from the dusty floor. He is covered in beer stains, with no part of his body being an exception.
Was that a dream? No, it was too realistic to be a simple dream. Maybe a flashback? Now that I think about it, my memories before the complete takeover are mostly gone. All I know is who my father is, but I cannot remember his name, or even what he did before the apocalypse. Eden realises, now undrunk. He gets up and then starts to walk out of the old, dusty shop. He then goes through the pathway he had skipped. The path was short and uneventful, with numerous traps that were supposed to be there being disarmed. But out of Eden’s curiosity, he decides to check out the disarmed traps. There are a few stone dispenser, with arrows stored inside. Connected to the dispenser is a wire, assumed by Eden to be used for powering the machine to fire at others. But something not found by Eden is a power source. But in the walls, there are a few glowing jewels inside the walls.
What are these crystals? And how the hell did they power the dispenser? Wait, now that I think about it, Loki did teleport, along with me from the pyramid. Magic is by any means not out of the realm of possibility. Eden concludes, walking away from the traps that have lost his interests, and regains his movement down the short, narrow hallway. Once Eden reaches the end of the hallway, the first thing that he sees is an old, wooden doorway, but it is missing the door that is meant to lay there. Once Eden looks through the invisible door, he notices that inside the room are 3 different targets and a plastic sun, right at high noon. As he walks into the room, getting about a 2 ft (0.61 m) in, the dusty stone in front of him rises, blocking any further advancement throughout the room.
So what do I do now? I have this bow and 3 arrows that are unlisted for some reason, but maybe I fire at the targets? I guess there is no harm in it. Eden questions, not really trusting his own idea. But, right before firing at the target’s, Eden remembers the haunting rhyme, and realises what he must do. He draws the bow, which has been loaded with all three arrows, firing them in quick succession. But when he fires the bow, he does not hit the targets, nor is he aiming for them in the first place. He instead aims at the one other thing in this room, pardon the dusty walls of course, and hits the sun, shooting up the day. After he does so, the bow and arrows vanishes out of thin air, and a notification is sent to him.
Notice! User has completed floor 1!
Notice! User has cleared floor 1 in the proper way! Users will be given a reward!
+200 gold
Notice! User will be given reward from effect ???, which is the item ‘Pandora’s Bag’!
User shall be sent to the second floor.
We pray for the success of the player “Eden”.
Eden Status report-
Special abilities-
Honest- (G) Passive
(You are a relatively honest man, just trying to live his life and enjoy the world. This honesty is well respected by some and hated by others. You will have +1 charm with those who are of good alignment, but -2 charm to those who are of evil alignment. You will also deal +1 with all holy attacks.)
Alcoholic- (H+)
(You are an avid drinker of all alcohol and have been drunk many times. Because of this, you have gained some resistance to the effects of being drunk and have gained some minor positives from your drunkenness. When drunk, all memory blocks will be weakened, and you will have small visions of any forgotten or blocked memories while drunk.)
Inventory-
Money-
300 gold
