Countdown

Ian got plenty of amazing pics, but they had to move on.

[RHINO COBRAS SLAIN: 4/10]

[QUEST PROGRESS: 40%]

This was the next notification he got. He was a bit disappointed by how slow things were going for him, but he had to take what he could get.

The terrain was changing. The trees didn't quite look coniferous, since they were still alien trees, but the vegetation in general did look like it had been snatched from a dinosaur documentary.

The sky could be seen more clearly now. One positive effect of the rapid advance of technology had been that now the air and the atmosphere were in excellent shape. The stars could be seen in the middle of a busy city, and here, out in the open, Ian really looked forward to the night.

"Did she go that way?" Kortock asked Aiden.

Poor Aiden appeared to be completely overworked. He shook his head in desperation, glaring at Ian's mentor from behind what little hair he had left after getting a radical army style cut.

"You're the master of probabilities here. Should you be the one telling me, huh?"

"I am sorry." Kortock shook his head. "I am getting a high chance of someone living out here, but it is certainly not Lilac."

"I am hungry," Ian announced. Since he had the coolest system, he also had some social power, or so he thought.

Kortock scratched his chin. He was developing a five o'clock shadow and it seemed to bother him a lot. He was always fidgeting, touching the beginnings of a mighty beard.

"Maybe we all need a little break. Let's eat what we have. I know it isn't exactly gourmet food, but it will have to do."

While munching on his lunch, Ian got a notification.

[CONSTITUTION IS NOW 9]

Another window appeared shortly after.

[SYSTEM HAS DETECTED SLOW GROWTH OF THE CONSTITUTION STAT]

[TO OPEN THE CONSTITUTION MANUAL, USE COMMAND: OPEN CONSTITUTION MANUAL]

"Open constitution manual."

[STAT NAME: CONSTITUTION]

[CONSTITUTION IS INCREASED BY REGULAR AND ENERGY-RICH MEALS, CORE STRENGTH TRAINING AND CERTAIN HYPNOTIC PRACTICES THAT ENABLE THE USER OF THE SYSTEM TO ACCESS THEIR MENTAL STRENGTH AND TURN IT INTO PHYSICAL ENDURANCE]

"System, tell me about these hypnosis…things."

[SEARCH RUNNING]

[1 AVAILABLE HYPNOSIS FOUND]

[WOULD YOU LIKE TO BEGIN THE HYPNOSIS?]

Ian glanced around.

His friends would surely keep him safe from all harm, but he went to Kortock, having become more cautious over the last few days.

"Sure, there's always a moment for that. I've done those exercises before. You just…you don't want to go too deep. You will know what I mean."

Ian got down in a comfortable position and commanded the system to run the first hypnosis.

[HYPNOSIS 1 RUNNING]

[FOLLOW THE COMMANDS EXACTLY AS THEY ARE PRESENTED TO YOU]

[DO NOT OPEN YOUR EYES UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO]

[HYPNOSIS STARTING IN 10, 9, 8, 7]

"This doesn't feel like anything," Ian thought, but he still kept his eyes closed and followed the numbers.

[6, 5, 4, 2]

"Wait!" Ian exclaimed inside his mind. "You missed 3!"

[1, 0]

A wobbling spiral of pink and turquoise appeared in front of him, taking him inside the swirl and engulfing him completely. He had trouble concentrating on the very center, but he did so nonetheless, and a strange, sinking sensation began to take over his body.

[YOU ARE NOW WALKING DOWN THE STAIRS THAT LEAD TO YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND]

He saw a staircase with ten steps, leading down into a place that, technically speaking, should have been in front of him, but it felt like he was going down instead. He took one careful step, and the system told him where he was.

[10]

Another step. This time he was sure that this would work. It was the easiest thing he had ever done.

[9]

This was even easier than raising his intelligence.

[8]

Now he was being sucked into the depths of the staircase. It truly felt tempting to descend even further.

[7]

He heard some sounds from the world outside. He didn't let anything bother him, though.

[6]

Now, there was only silence and a blissful peace spreading into his every cell.

[5]

[4]

[3]

Ian was so deep that he had sort of forgotten the existence of his bod entirely. He loved floating down the stairs, light as a feather, yet descending anyway, going deeper because it was so relaxing to be free.

[2]

Ian had never thought of himself as open to suggestions. Perhaps this new discovery would also boost his intelligence.

[1]

[0]

He arrived into a little dark room that looked a lot like the room he had spent his childhood in. It was a place of fun, a place for all of his nerdy class clown needs, with posters of stand-up comedians patterning the walls along with pictures from his favorite movies.

He didn't get to stay there for long. A new notification appeared.

[HYPNOSIS WILL CONTINUE UNLESS YOU OPEN YOUR EYES]

[IF YOU WISH TO OPEN YOUR EYES AND WAKE UP, YOU CAN DO IT NOW]

Ian remembered what Kortock had said and tried to open his eyes.

At first, he thought they had been glued shut while he had been in the trance-like state. Then he realized he just felt extremely tired.

His sluggish eyelids slid open with considerable effort.

He saw the sky again.

He heard shouting and screaming, and someone was shaking him.

It was Aiden.

"A crazy beast is attacking us and there might be a krobinnuti somewhere near!" Aiden was panicking.

Ian had never been this tired in his entire life. He had to do something, but even his arms felt like they weighed tons. He forced himself to sit upright and squinted his eyes, looking at the flurry of scales and feather-like fur spiraling around Kortock.

It was a hawkdog.

Much like some extinct earthly beasts, the hawkdog resembled a huge hyaena, except that it had longer fur, and two snouts that were actually more like beaks, which was unacceptable for Ian in his current state. He was upset about being disturbed like this, but he still tried to give the command.

The words didn't come out of his mouth. Even with all his effort, it felt like an impossibility to even think of the words.

Target…something. Fire.