Chapter 00110100

I slowly went about the forest. I was practicing my chain swing with my sickles on the end. I had missed at least six snakes trying to learn the swing and strike. They had long learned to avoid me by the time I had actually gotten a grip of my sickles though unfortunately.

I found myself incapable of feeling hunger even though I was practicing for hours. Thirst was a thing but having no hunger was strange. I looked at my boney arms and tried to understand how or why I was thrown into this battleform or how it had chosen me. But I had to say this. It somehow felt like it suited me.

I found my way through the forest and eventually found the mountain range. The rocks seemed realistic and varied in sizes. Going from small at the base to enormous at the peak. I began to think of how to scale it efficiently. I ran into the forest and climbed a tree close to the mountain. I hooked an upper branch with my chain and swung onto a larger rock on the mountain before opening my sickles. I used them like climbing picks and slammed into the rock. They sank in like butter as I climbed.

I could tell that my arms were weaker than if they held muscle that would have accompanied them before. I struggled to move myself upwards but I felt I needed to rest. It was slow going but worth it.

I made it to outcropping where I could rest. While I was sitting there I noticed something. Just a random hole in the mountain side. I don't even know how it caught my interest. It drew my attention like a butterflies colors catch the eyes of wondering people. There was nothing special about it though.

I got down low and inspected it. Inside was a bunch of white things. Puffballs I'll call them. Before I did anything to them I consulted Interface.

"What are these?" I asked as I examined the Puffballs in the hole. "Those are filler viruses. Killing one only amounts to .1 data points. If you raise them on the other hand they can become a strong ally in battle. Anubis like all other battle forms has a storage area where many of them can be stored and trained." She said in response.

I reached out and they huddled further in. I reached further in where they were cornered and caught one. I slowly lifted it out and patted it like a cat. It shivered like a scared animal. It had no face, claws, tail or fangs. Just a ball of fluff. I gently petted it till it calmed down. I then set it down and the others slowly started filing out the hole to check on it.

" For a virus to take this shape... this system is far broader than I imagined." I whispered as one padded onto my hand. I lifted it and petted it like the first. "Interface... How do I store these things?" I asked quietly so I didn't startle them.

" You must open inventory to the virus pen. They can then enter the virus pen and start training based on the environment within. After a few days your first Virus Defense Partner(s) will appear." She stated.

"Open Inventory to Virus Pen." I said. Immediately I was met with a scene that looked like a desert with a sphinx on the right side and a pyramid on the left. My eyes widened slightly at the image but I quickly showed the Puffballs what it was.

I never saw animals move so fast. They shot into the space like a sweet tooth after twinkies. I looked at the image again and saw Puffballs. I quickly counted them. 6 of them in total. Guess all I can do now is wait.

I remained where I was for a half hour or so before I continued onward. I decided on a different tactic than climbing though. I was going to swing. I threw a sickle as far as I could muster. It dug into the mountains surface and I nervously stood on the edge of the rock before steeling my nerves and jumped with my other sickle at the ready.

I swung downwards but my momentum swung me up too. I threw out my other sickle and thankfully found it lodged nicely. I pulled the other one out with a flick and swung onward. I was circling the mountain but I was also slowly ascending. This took less work and felt more fun. I conserved energy as well as got a feel for my chain blades. Needless to say. It was effective.

I rose slowly upward till I finally found another outcropping to catch my breath. My arms were shaking and I needed a rest. I sat down on that ledge. Not a soul was in sight. But as I looked out from the mountain I noticed the view. I could see most of the arena from here. But that wasn't all.

I could see a big blue troll in the forest smashing at things while poofs of data poured out around him. Then suddenly he dissapeared into a cloud of data as well. I held my breath a little at that sight. What could he have been fighting that could have taken him out? Was it coming this way? Or was I safe? The thoughts and questions kept rolling through me as I pondered them.

I got to my feet and swung onward. I reached the peak around midnight I wager. The digital sun had set and a full moon had risen in the sky. The top of the mountain was barren of anything and anyone. It was just a bunch of bowling ball shaped rocks. I turned to the arena again and found that a group of people had gathered at the sea shore to put together a camp and a fire by the looks of it. It didn't feel cold here though. Didn't feel warm even. Which was strange considering my change in altitude.

I suddenly heard a skittering noise behind me and I turned in time to see a spider made of rock running across the ground toward me. I rolled out of the way of its charge and it fell off the mountain unable to stop its momentum. "Interface... what was that?" I asked nervously.

"That was an infection type virus. The snakes from before are a common type. The spiders and others are a rarer form and offer better materials and points. Due to you drawing the spider to charge over the edge you have been allotted 20 points." Interface said in her perky manner.

" What materials can we gather from these ones when all they do is dissapear into data when they die?" I said as a puff of data came up and entered my chest.

" Outside the training zone you can input the points you earn with a vendor who will offer you materials for character improvement. Level will then increase after a sufficient amount of materials have been added and the character sees improvement. Rarely will the virus drop a material directly." Interface described as I saw images of my anubis head icon going to a market stall and handing over points to get a small square that was then inputted into my chest.

I shook my head. " Ok... guess that makes sense." I turned around and started hunting for others. Hey if I wanted to level up fast I needed the points right?

Unfortunately I found no others. Like interface said. The spider was rare. I continued my search still. I found a couple more Puffballs that I added to my group to make 10 in all. I also found a snake that wasn't paying attention. It was a bunch of digits in seconds.

"Interface... show me my points." I said quietly. I saw my screen again except it showed me my point count. I had killed three snakes so far and a spider. The snakes are worth ten points each and the spider was twenty. That brought me up to fifty points.

I nodded and closed the window before I went to see if sleep was actually a thing around here.

Unfortunately it isn't. I found that out after 5 hours of laying on a soft sandy patch for a couple hours. Needless to say it was pointless. I got up and dusted myself off before sheepishly going to hunt for more viruses.

I slowly made my way across the mountain toward the desert region. If my Pet space was a desert that means that this battleform is best suited to that environment was my thinking.

It took a day but I got there. Killed another 3 snakes and gathered 5 more Puffballs in the process. My mind was still clear and I was raring to go by the time I reached the hot sands of the desert. Despite it looking like a barren place I knew the desert was dangerous.

I had read and heard about it during geography and biology lessons. My teachers always found a way to relate things to earth. So It was natural that I got as much info as I could get my hands on to know what kind of place my ancestors managed to live in.

I slowly felt my way into the sands. It was a nice sensation. Feeling the sand flow under my pawed feet. My fingers felt the grittiness of the sand and strangely enough it felt like home. I still made myself venture slowly into this new environment as I searched for dangers.

A shuffle of sand to my right revealed a dark colored tube like being with rows of rotating white teeth. "I'm guessing a worm program. Great." I said under my breath. It was the size of an anaconda and slithered above and below the sand toward me. I pulled out my chains and started rotating my swings slowly. I started letting a flow enter my movements and began to move faster as I focused on my enemy. I couldn't see the head but I knew it was coming. I heard it from behind me and spun swinging out with both my sickles unfurled. A sickening squelch and a squeal echoed out as the things head went flying and it writhed on the ground. Since it wasn't turning to data fast enough and I hate wriggly things I kept swinging at it till it went poof.

"Interface... Mind telling me what that was?" I asked panting a little. " That was indeed a Worm virus as you previously inferred. An organism that seeks to devour all information and data to strengthen itself while destroying everything else. Worth 40 to 80 points for bigger ones. This one is only worth 20 points though." She replied. I cocked an eyebrow. "They get bigger?" I already felt a chill go down my spine as I turned and saw several other worms making their way over. "Crap. Gotta get moving." I said slightly creeped out and panicked at the same time.

I went on all fours and ran across the ground. It felt more natural than expected. I shot across the desert leaving a cloud of sandy dust in my wake. When I reached the deserts edge I slowed to a stop. I could still hear the slithering in the distance. It was as unnerving as ever. I waited there till I saw two of them coming toward me. I pulled out my blades again and found my rhythm. It didn't take long for the worms to reach me.

The first one was very straight forward and dove out of the sands at me. It was alot smaller than my first one so killing it with a swing was easy. The other one was much more cunning and kept circling till it saw my back exposed. I barely managed to evade it but I did manage to get a slash at it before It went back into the sand.

The wriggling it had now was less smooth due to my cut and it seemed that I had agitated it further. It shot out again at my back but I expected it and sent a blade around catching it in the head. My blade sank in like a hook and tore down its side till it turned into nothing but data.

"I guess my strength is my chains and reflexes. If nothing else I think I've proven that much." I said as I sat down with a thump.