As silence settled back over the dungeon, Giuseppe began thinking properly for the first time in a while, and he almost punched himself as he remembered something.
'How the hell did I forget that? It's literally step fucking one.'
He groaned, dragging a hand down his face before slapping his forehead in exasperation.
"You. Absolute. Fucking. Dumbass…."
He then muttered the command like a curse.
"Status."
The moment the word left his lips, a translucent interface appeared before his eyes in the dungeon's dim light, illuminating part of his face.
However, to his surprise, two separate status screens appear. The first was the familiar gold-trimmed and radiant panel, with clean white text and a rather simple UI. It resembled the character creation menu he remembered from the game's prologue.
But the second felt like the complete opposite of that. A jagged, obsidian-black panel hovered beside the first. Silver glyphs writhed along its edges, shifting and reforming like they were alive.
Giuseppe scowled as his gaze locked onto the black panel. His finger hovered just inches from it.
"What the fuck is this?"
{Status}
-Name: Giuseppe Castellano
-Age: 16
-Race: [Human (Type 8)]
-Class: [None]
-Statistics: [Click to expand]
-Traits: [Sage's Divine Instinct (???)(1%)], [Battle Spirit Eyes (EX)(25%)]
{Skills: Assimilation Duel}
Giuseppe stared at the dark interface with growing confusion, particularly the "Type 8" classification on humans. But he momentarily ignored that, turning his attention to the gold panel.
[Status]
Name: Giuseppe Castellano
Username: Bucket
Age-16
Species: Human
Designation: Storywalker [Unranked]
Story: The Edathis Chronicles (Foundational Script) — [Incomplete]
Objectives: [Click to Expand]
May the story guide your steps.
'This is what I expected,' Giuseppe thought, his eyes switching between the gold and black interfaces. 'So what the hell is the other one?'
Before he could think about it further, suddenly, a thin red line ran down the middle of the two panels like a vein bursting under pressure.
Then—
[Notice: The Genesis System has discovered a parasite. Beginning extermination protocols.]
{EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS ENGAGED: DESIGNATION #??? IS UNDER THREAT}
[The Genesis System is experiencing resistance. Beginning secondary protocols.]
{DESIGNATION #???...}
[{…"There is no escape from Genesis"…}]
A flurry of translucent screens consumed Giuseppe's vision like glass mirrors flying around him. Dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of system warnings exploded into view.
Giuseppe glanced around him to briefly see his cellmates stop mid-motion, suspended like puppets with their strings cut. Time seemed to have frozen around him. His vision was then covered by the growing number of system alerts, he couldn't even see his cell anymore.
Everything held still—trapped in a single, unblinking moment.
Suddenly—
[Notice: The Genesis System has consumed the foreign parasite]
[Notice: The Genesis System is now undergoing a qualitative evolution.]
[Notice: A contribution has been registered under [Storywalker (Unranked)]: Bucket (Giuseppe Castellano). Reward dispensation in progress.]
The storm of panels slowed. One by one, they faded into static and vanished.
One final screen remained—it was a single status screen, but unlike any Giuseppe had seen before. A panel that was obsidian dark with beautiful gold glyphs at the edges, along with the text in the same colour. A strange in between. Neither the Genesis System nor the parasite. Something else entirely.
Giuseppe blinked in pure confusion.
"…The fuck did I just do?"
The world seemed to un-pause as his cellmates regained their motion, simply continuing their actions as if nothing happened, but Giuseppe couldn't take his eyes off the screen in front of him.
[Status]
-Name: Giuseppe Castellano
-Age: 16
-Species: [Human (Type 8)]
Designation: [Storywalker (Unranked)]
Story: The Edathis Chronicles – Foundational Script [Incomplete]
-Title: [None]
Traits: Sage's Divine Instinct (???) — 1%
(Effect: A remnant of a higher thought-form. Grants: extreme battle instincts, increase chance of attaining enlightenment, extreme combat adaptability, extreme increase in all combat-related talents.) [Progression: 1% Awakened]
Battle Spirit Eyes (EX) – 25%
(Effect: Enables one to see into the depths of another's soul, translating it into a "Battle Spirit" for the user to read and gain insights into their fighting style and individuality. Allows predictive combat perception based on aura and intention. Can "see" through the "lies" within a fighting style.) [Progression: 25% Awakened]
[Skills: Assimilation Duel]
(Effect: The challenger may issue a duel to another. If victorious, they absorb everything the opponent possesses – skills, knowledge, powers, karma, even their destiny.)
(Notice: This skill cannot be activated at will. Activation conditions: Unknown)
[Techniques: None]
[Power Systems Learned: None]
[Active Objectives]
[Main Quest: Complete The Story: The Edathis Chronicles]
(Quest Description: This story is a Foundational Script, an incomplete story without a true ending. All stories must have an ending, or they shall be terminated by The Akashic Library. You must complete the story and create a true ending.)
[Reward: ??? (Will be calculated based on achievements after completion)]
[Current Objective: Escape The Blackstone Dungeon]
(Quest Description: A true Storywalker cannot allow themselves to live the rest of their days imprisoned, how would they complete the story? Escape the Blackstone Dungeon through whatever means necessary.)
[Reward: Fictional Intuition, Bloodweaver's Primer – Elementary Edition, World Map Fragment]
[Hidden Objective: Conquer the Black Arena]
(Quest Description: Due to your actions, you have earned the ire of Princess Jocelynne Kaor, who has decided to have you publicly killed as a gladiator slave within the Black Arena. However, a Storywalker cannot allow themselves to be humiliated and defeated in such a way. Win at least ten matches in the Black Arena.)
[Reward: Black Arena Sigil – Vel'kharin Brand, Hint]
Giuseppe stared at the screen in silence, a thousand thoughts raced through his mind. He had so many questions, but so few answers.
Eventually, he let out a low sigh.
"Tch… enough," he muttered, rubbing his glabella, 'Enough about the weird shit. I need to think about more pressing events,' Giuseppe decided to refocus his mind onto his current issues.
With a flick of his will, the status panel dims and vanishes.
He shifted, adjusting his position, leaning his back against the cold stone walls. The rough brick was dirtying his white garments.
Giuseppe's eyes close as he thinks back to his fight against the king's guards, back when he first arrived in this world.
The memory replayed itself over and over again behind his eyelids.
'Those knights… I kept hitting them, but no matter how many times I did, nothing seemed to work. But when I switched tactics, and grabbed one of their weapons, I managed to get it rather easily in comparison.'
'It must be the metal. Some sort of impact absorbing alloy…' Giuseppe concluded.
He glanced around the dimly lit cell. "Hey," he said, his voice grabbing the attention of his cellmates. "Any of you know what kind of metal the guards' armour and weapons are made of? The kind that absorbs impacts."
'When you don't know the answer to something… Get someone else to figure it out for you…'
To Giuseppe's surprise, a low, gravelly voice spoke up. It was Darrow, the Goliath, who was the one to respond. He cracked open a single crimson eye from beneath his hood, his voice like grinding stone.
"Grathium alloy, most likely," Darrow said, voice low and rough. "Hard to come by… even harder to break, unless you're a Weaver. Strange to see it in a place this small."
Giuseppe noted what Darrow said, but then something stuck out. The term "Weaver", he instantly recalled his quest's reward.
Bloodweaver's Primer – Elementary Edition.
"And how does one become a 'Weaver'?" Giuseppe asks, but suddenly, the cell is overtaken by silence.
Even Garvick, who always had something to say, was silent. Marko, conveniently, woke up from his nap, most likely never asleep to begin with.
And the mysterious prisoner in the corner shifted slightly, barely, but Giuseppe noticed.
Then, finally, Darrow spoke again. Giuseppe didn't think it was possible before, but his voice seemed even deeper now.
"You don't want to become a Weaver, boy," Darrow said as he pulled the back of his hood, showing his scarred face.
He looked to be carved from angry marble, with a shaven head and a large bushy beard. But what caught Giuseppe's attention were not the two scarlet eyes that seemed to look past his mortal flesh, but the rune-like markings that crept up from the neck to across his scalp.
Giuseppe stared up silently at Darrow before speaking. "From the looks of it… I don't think I have much choice."
"Ye should listen to 'im, lad," Garvick spoke up after a long silence. "Swing at a few, and when ye spy a fair shot, let the bastard run ye through swift. Becomin' a Weaver's a fate fouler than dyin' clean, it is."
Gradually, Giuseppe stood up; his height was dwarfed by the goliath in front of him, but he met Darrow's gaze boldly.
"I will not die in a shit-hole like this. It doesn't matter what it takes. So tell me…"
__________________________________________________
Author Note
;)