A Miscalculation

Chapter 139: A Miscalculation

/Once the Thing was becoming more aware of its surroundings, it questioned a lot of what it saw. Why did so many of the creatures it ate attempt to escape, when clearly there was no hope there? Did it perhaps inspire the same terror in them, which it had felt at the Hunter's hands?

If so, was that right?

The Thing never finished that thought any further, too preoccupied with devouring its prey. It still was dominated by instinct and emotion, but it was growing smarter. With every bite, it could feel itself growing stronger, faster, and more durable, but most of all, it could notice its thoughts clearing.

It was as though the act of eating removed a fog in its head it never knew was there. And the clearer its head got, the more efficient its hunts became. Rather than simply charge at something or flee from it, the Thing began going after prey it usually would rather avoid. When there were multiple things, it would spring ambushes, picking them off. If the prey was fast, it could wear it out.

Somehow, that process sparked joy in the Thing, of discovering more and more as it ate, and ate, and ate. Its hunger pangs subsided only for short periods after each meal, and it began chasing that desire. It even went so far as to restrain itself and begin rationing its food, to never have its thoughts numbed by true hunger anymore.

Life was good for a while, until eventually, it was suddenly out of things to hunt.

The forest was thoroughly empty, and the Thing knew it had to move again, but when it did so, all it found was an endless expanse of blue. Water, as far as the eye could reach. The Thing, parched as it always was, drank some of it, and found the taste pleasantly salty.

With only voracity remaining, the Thing plunged into this new frontier, chasing after the shades in it, and with that, found itself crossing the oceans to another continent./

(Legends: The Thing - 6; Mindful Journey)

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Finally being free of the fog felt strange in a way. Like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Mercury gazed at the crystal again, finally seeing it without the fog in the way. Now, it looked... smaller than he'd expected. Not something you could easily hold in one hand, of course, but if you were to try and wrap your arms around it, you'd be left with plenty room to spare.

Something like a soccer ball? Around that size, he'd guess.

Of course, it was still shaped like a diamond overall, except it looked that way no matter from where in the clearing he looked, its surface very smooth. Like two cones with their bases together.

Mercury shook his head a bit. Before he let himself be entranced by the thing, he'd have to actually make it up there, and so he set about that. With some dexterity, he grabbed onto one of the chains, and began putting weight on it.

The feeling was strange. The force pulling the nexus upwards was strong, but not overpowering, so Mercury could feel the chain give slightly when he stepped, and the red star shifted in the air. When he took that first step, a tremor went through the floor, and cracks opened up in the mud, as if trying to swallow him up.

Luckily, with him standing on the chain, nothing happened. After another step, the world rumbled slightly again, the nexus swaying back and forth with the give of the chain. The ground shook as the unstable equilibrium was broken, periodically cracking and refilling.

Undeterred, the mopaaw continued his ascent. The angles were steep, but he was strong by now, and while the chains had been smooth once upon a time, they were aged by now. He found plenty purchase to make his way up towards the star.

As the world shook underneath him, Mercury had some time to think. If so little movement could make this whole place shake, the protections made so much more sense. There were chains in place to prevent the nexus from simply fizzing out by itself already, fed by the minds of those that perished in here.

He shook his head again at that thought. It was a very cruel system, to draw things in from another world, then trap them in their dreams. Knowing all of that, the shaking seemed less troublesome, to a degree. Even if this place fell apart, no one would miss it much. Well, maybe whoever or whatever was sustained by it, but they could go frick themselves.

The ascent went slowly, with Mercury carefully treading up the chain link by link, wrapping his legs around them, and occasionally digging his claws in. The distance was further than it looked from below, and further than he would have expected, even knowing that the nexus hung in the sky.

As he got higher, the ground began to slowly grow smaller, and soon the clearing was looking more like an island in an endless ocean of white. He could see indistinct shapes move in there, some faster, some less. Occasionally, a black dot would rear its ugly head above the fog, stalkers looking around for prey, and a few of those even turned to look at him.

Their yellow beams looked so insignificant from up there. Even as he was panting from the exertion, Mercury couldn't help but give a sly grin and stick out his tongue to them. He knew it was childish, but knowing that the creatures he'd been terrified off for so long were now but insignificant blips, was freeing.

Looking up at the red star, most of what he saw was the patchwork sky. A tapestry of purple, red, black and blue spreading all the way until the horizon, stitched together by different means. Some of them were connected by what looked like white threads, which drifted as though they were clouds, others by links of chain so large he could make out the holes even from down below.

If the chains for the nexus went high enough, or he could fly, perhaps he could actually reach that sky, peel some of it away and see what was beyond? He shook his head. That was a silly idea. If space travel taught him anything, it was to not damage the thing you were in.

Sure, maybe he'd just land back in his own dreamrealm, but what was the chance he'd be whisked away into the endless abyss of the nothingness in between? That wouldn't be very fun.

[<Daydream> has levelled up! <Daydream lv. 7 -> 8>]

Right, right, he got it. Back on track for now.

Still, Mercury enjoyed the freedom being so high up gave him. Of course, a part of him was afraid of falling, but another part of him knew that if he died from that, it surely wouldn't be worse than impalement. The thought brought a wry smile onto his face.

Eventually, when Mercury was up so high he couldn't even make out the clearing underneath anymore against the fog, he saw the chains converging. There was the one he stood on, which moved underneath him like the deck of a ship, making all the others sway, and 7 more links.

It made for a fairly stable arrangement when undisturbed, but now that he was here, well, it hopefully wouldn't last for long anyway.

And finally, Mercury reached the last link of the chain.

From up close, he saw that the sides of the nexus weren't smooth at all, actually, just filled with dozens, maybe hundreds, of little flat surfaces, each of them pulsing occasionally. Some sides emitted more of a glow, as if trying to push it back into the center, but the entire construction remained illuminated to some degree.

He hesitated for just a second, before taking a deep breath and reaching out to the crystal, carefully tapping it with a claw. The crystal rang with a clear, high pitch noise, that was... actually quite pleasant, and nothing else happened for a moment. Then, the ringing faded out, and Mercury felt the sky tremble.

"Well, nothing to it but to do it," he muttered, then smacked his claw into the crystal full force.

Immediately, there was the sound of shattering glass as he dug into it, though rather than the cracks spreading, the crystal deformed and grew soft around Mercury's paw.

[The nexus is resisting your attempts to destroy. The nexus is attacking back. Willpower battle initiated.]

An instant after Mercury comprehended the notification, the world around him twisted in on itself and broke apart. He got an intense feeling of nausea, almost immediately wanting to throw up, but while he could feel his stomach churn, nothing else happened.

Moments later, the vertigo set in, and Mercury could feel himself go off balance, his senses of left and right mixing up as he stumbled for a moment, before catching himself on the chain. As quickly as he trusted himself to, Mercury sat down and closed his eyes, focusing on the strange sensations.

When he no longer saw the world around him falling apart, it all grew weaker, then slowly subsided as he focused on his breath, in and out. He processed his thoughts in the background, recognizing what had happened. The nexus had attacked his mind, his actual thoughts, sending him spiraling.

It almost made him grin. If battles of will and attacks on his mind were its only way of harming him, it had chosen a poor, poor battleground to duke it out with him.

Feeling hesitantly confident, Mercury settled down further, controlling his breathing as he waited for the nausea to subside fully. But it never really came to that. Before the sensations could ebb away, he began feeling something else, a gentle bit of wind brushing against his fur.

Opening his eyes again, he found that the nexus was entirely gone, and rather than on top a chain, he was on a... beach? <Appraisal>?

[The battle of wills has been initiated. The nexus will now be putting the individual through tests, attempting to make them bend and give in. You are encouraged to make it through to the other side.]

[Warning. Any damage to your body in the tests may accumulate and carry over to your mind or physical self. You are encouraged to be careful.]

After a quick glance at the notifications, Mercury took stock of his surroundings. The beach he found himself on wasn't made from sand, but small, round rocks, carved away at by the tides. There was a line of seaweed where most of the tide came in, and waves carrying more of the substance crashed in from an emerald ocean.

For a moment, he felt compelled to take a dip in it, before shaking off the thought. It... felt like that one hadn't come from inside his own head. Maybe it was the nexus pitting its will against his to get him to make stupid decisions.

In any case, he could consider that more after making sure he was safe for the immediate future. The island he stood on seemed fairly large, judging by the curve of the beach. It was also covered in thick stalks of what looked like bamboo if you went further in.

The sky above was still a strange patchwork, though mostly of a more purplish colour, and a crimson sun hung between ashen clouds. He could hear a distant crack of thunder.

Since there were no monsters immediately near him, Mercury thought about this test a little more. The nexus was pitting its mind against his, and could clearly influence his thoughts with some effort. Now, the question was, how intelligent is the nexus? Could it try and give good advice on what to do, in hopes of making him do the opposite? Could it hear his thoughts right now?

Mercury was dragged out of his thoughts by a hint of movement and a snarling sound from within the island. Between two stalks of the bamboo, there was something that looked like a crossbreed of a lemur and a sword, with sharp blades sticking out its joints, and rough scales draped over its back.

It was hopping from branch to branch, staring at Mercury, snarling each time it moved, except after a while, it wasn't alone anymore. Another one of the creatures appeared, then a third.

Pulling in some air through his teeth, Mercury grimaced. This would be a little tough. Could he access his inventory?

When he tried accessing it, there was some form of resistance, but he quickly snapped it in two with the force of his mind. Good, it was all still there.

Immediately, he pulled out the bag of rocks, then eyed his foes again. A few more of the lemurs had joined, and their snarling had begun to turn into howls. The things seemed completely frenzied, but they weren't attacking yet.

Determined to at least get the first strike, Mercury only took another moment to survey the place for other things he could use. Between the bamboo, tall stalks of yellow reeds grew. For a moment he thought whether or not they responded to his <Grass> or not, but when he gazed over the landscaped, he could feel them leaning slightly towards him, resisting the wind. A small smile found its way onto his face.

With the count of lemurs having increased to close to a dozen, and their eyes beginning to turn bloodshot, Mercury waited no longer. He split his mind into two zejyn, the stronger of which solidified to rijn. He slammed the loudest of the lemurs, the one closest to lunging at him, with it at the same time as he launched a rock at another.

Strangely, his actions seemed to have more power than usual, as <Unrestrained> howled into action. This "test" apparently counted as him being trapped somewhere, and the Skill would have none of it, amplifying his attacks.

The rock ended up piercing the lemur's stomach as it hardly had any time to react, and his rijn struck hard enough to knock the lemur a few meter back, sending it tumbling into the reeds, which almost immediately wrapped around it in a stranglehold.

For a moment the creatures remained silent, then all howled as one, a cacophony of fury welcoming him. Almost all of them lunged, though a few began clambering down the stalks instead. Those were lucky, since the ones trapped in the air were slowed down and sent tumbling into the reeds one after another, as Mercury pushed on them with <Telekinesis> and the raw force of his mind.

When the other monkeys reached the ground, the reeds tried to ensnare them, too, but with their greater control, they slashed through with the blades, and began making their way towards Mercury. Except, when they reached the beach, he was no longer there.

Instead, the screams of their fellows rang out in the reeds. They were tall enough to hide Mercury if he crouched, and his <Sneak> Skill was higher than ever after so much practice. He could feel it was on the cusp of a level, and he was exploiting it now.

The grass was pointing him in the direction of the nearest enemies, parting ever so gently to reveal the lemurs struggling against it with all their might.

For a moment, Mercury's thoughts were rattled with the desire to spare them, giving the monkey enough time to recognize him and thrash even harder, cutting itself in its fury. But somehow, the plants held fast, unperturbed, and Mercury soon shook off the foreign desire, drawing a quick claw over the lemur's throat and leaving it to bleed out.

[Killed a Blademur (test). Get: 200 Exp.]

Behind him, Mercury could hear the remaining primates cry and slash through the grass, but his path was much, much easier than theirs. Soon, he had found a few more of the creatures, and quickly dispatched them, before some of the pursuers finally managed to catch up with him.

Their eyes were even more frenzied now, their comradery obvious. One of them pointed at him and screeched, as all of them charged at once. Immediately, one of them was flung into the air by his rijn, and another impaled by a stone. Unfortunately, that meant three of them sill reached him, launching into a furious assault of claws and blades.

Strangely, even with all their anger, the creatures were strangely skillful about their fights. Their teamwork was smooths, attacks flowing into each other, and if he didn't have the very assistance of the terrain, he was sure he would have gotten cut a few times by them.

The creatures struck out with their fists and feet, as well as their elbows and knees, in what some may recognize as a very crude recreation of muay thai. Of course, Mercury had no idea of that, and instead simply focused on evading them as his breath coursed through his lungs.

But once more, the creatures proved intelligent. When he attempted to wear them out, they would retreat and let the other take over more of the fighting. They had reached a sort of stalemate, and Mercury didn't want to exactly wait for more of them to arrive.

Quickly, he used a burst of stamina to activate <Bloodlust>, making the creatures seize up for a moment as he lashed out, biting one to death and raking his claws across another, hoping to sever muscles and tendons.

[<Bite> has levelled up! <Bite lv. 2 -> 3>]

Pushing the advantage, Mercury relied on <Intuition> and <Footwork> to let him avoid any vital strikes, and while he was accumulating some smaller injuries, he was hitting the lemurs much harder. His rijn would whip out and send one flying whenever they teamed up, and <Telekinesis> combined with <Grass> and <Thread> to slow them down.

Then, when he saw weakness, he would push his body full of stamina and mana, activate <Reinforcement Dash>, and deal much greater wounds than he had any right to.

The feeling was exhilarating to him. Juggling all of his Skills was strangely freeing and fun, especially with him feeling so strangely empowered by <Unrestrained>.

But he didn't allow that feeling to consume him either. Vigilance was key, here, and he remained keenly aware of his surroundings. It paid of, when he heard a quiet howl in the distance. More of the creatures were coming.

Those who'd been in direct contact with Mercury were bloodied by now, and a couple had died, but more had also reached him and freed themselves from the grass. He was winning, but too slowly.

Frowning slightly, Mercury quickly spun a full web of <Thread>, before focusing his attention on the reeds and the desire for the creatures to be trapped. As the yellowed stalks wrapped around their bladed limbs, Mercury put his many cuts in the back of his mind, and ran off, fighting through the underbrush.

After a few moments, he slowed down again, focusing on stealth instead. He listened to the surroundings, and the grass itself, hoping to notice if anything was moving. There was a small rustle to the left of him, slowly approaching. He readied himself, and once it sped up, immediately rolled to the side, watching a yellow snake lunge at the air where he'd just been.

Its landing went more poorly, being tied down by the reeds as Mercury's rijn crashed into its head at full force.

[Killed a Savanna Viper (Test). Get: 125 Exp.]

Using a tool he'd developed for smithing this way still felt strange, but he pushed it to the side of his mind.

Another headache assaulted him, this time with the desire to stay in place and rest. Mercury pushed back harder than he had before, and then took it a step further. He felt the lingering connection to his mind, where the battle of willpower was happening, and instead pushed back to the other side, forcing the nexus to feel the desire to give up.

He felt what sounded like a screech in his head, as it roared to defend itself against him, and Mercury quickly shifted his attack to a less frontal approach when he could tell it strained his mind more than he could bear. Instead, he probed the nexus on why it wanted him to stay.

For just a short second, he could read the desires of the thing, and it desperately wanted him to stay away from the middle of the island. Mercury could make it out through the bamboo shoots, and through the connection he could also tell it was apparently a volcano.

"So that's where you're hiding," he grinned to himself.

While the irony of needing to get to the middle of the illusional island in the middle of a bog in a dream in the middle of an ashen wasteland in another plane slash dimension wasn't lost on him, Mercury still couldn't help but feel good about this.

He was going to make this nexus regret its choice of contest, very, very dearly.