The Eternal: A Boxed Set (World of Ga'em Book 6) Read online

  A surge of red and blue lights flashed around me. The wolves emerged from them, and just like that, I was surrounded. I gritted my teeth. They’re too fast. I was so outmatched it was almost funny.

  Almost.

  The large wolf stepped up to me, a glint in its eye. The beast charged, and its long strides quickly ate up the mere footsteps between us. The wolf’s image flickered for a second, and then it disappeared.

  Too fast. My eyes darted through the air, trying to trace its movement. Come on, where did you go?

  A low growl rumbled right behind me, and the bass tone shook the air around my head. I jerked around and found myself staring right into the red eyes of the giant wolf.

  My body froze, and my thoughts all came to a crashing halt. Don’t freeze up, you idiot! I thought. Think!

  I was staring into death, and yet my subconscious was still urging me on, as though I could come up with a plan for this, as though I could escape somehow. There was hope left in my heart, but I knew it was a hope greatly misplaced.

  The wolf lunged, a murderous look in its eyes. Its sharp claws slashed at me, sinking deep into my body and tearing it apart.

  One second I was breathing.

  And the next, I was dead.

  ***

  CHAPTER TWO

  I sat up, my eyes bloodshot, my breathing rapid and irregular.

  What’s going on? I ran my fingers along my body. My eyes widened. No wounds.

  I squinted, utterly confused. I remembered the wolves from before. I remembered the pain of sharp fangs tearing into my body. And yet here I was, alive and breathing, as if none of that had even happened.

  What is this? I stood up. The skies were cloudy, hiding the sun from view. Puffy white clouds floated about, but specks of dark gray were splattered across the blue canvas as well.

  The scent of mud and dust hung thick in the air. Coarse sand crunched under my feet as I shifted around. A long line of trees stood to my right, but they were too short and thin to be a part of the forest I’d been in before. This was a different place.

  DING!

  A translucent white screen faded into my vision.

  You have been Resurrected. As a Resurrection penalty, you have lost 3000XP. Please be careful in the future.

  My Ga’em prompts, I thought. But this time I knew exactly what that phrase meant. What? I blinked. New information processed in my brain, and the things I’d been confused about before became clearer. I don’t know how, but it seemed like parts of my memory had come back to me, as though this resurrection had reset some of my lost knowledge.

  I still didn’t know who I was, or where I came from, but I could recall bits and pieces of information about the world around me. It was as though I’d still lost my identity, but I’d regained my knowledge. I could now confidently tell that these translucent screens I was seeing were part of something that I intrinsically knew as the Ga’em.

  The Ga’em was a hidden entity that helped everyone interact with the world. It was an invisible power that forged a connection between people and everything that they could do. The health bar and the prompts I had seen before were all examples of how the Ga’em interacted with living things and gave them information about the world.

  Now there was something else called the Ga’em menu. This menu was a powerful interface that existed between an individual and the Ga’em and helped them customize themselves completely.

  This is so weird, I thought. How do I know all this?

  I still wasn’t entirely sure how to open this Ga’em menu, though, so I let my instincts do the rest. I calmed myself down and focused on my thoughts, letting them lead me to where I was supposed to go.

  I pointed my index finger in the air and unfocused my eyes, giving my subconscious total power. I imagined a rope pulling up my finger and felt a faint sensation, as though something really was tugging at it. I waited a second and then flicked my finger downward, going against the tug.

  TRING!

  A vertical row of five icons slid out of nowhere, the circular shapes of translucent white fading into my vision. Yes! I punched the air. I looked to the first circle on the list, an icon with the dark gray silhouette of a person’s upper body.

  My Player menu. At this point I wasn’t even surprised that I knew what these things were called. It felt like my brain was reteaching me things that I should have known anyway. And so, all I could do now was patiently listen.

  I tapped on the icon. Two screens slid out, expanding from behind the circle and taking space on either side of it.

  The screen on the left was quite tall and contained the 3-D full-body image of a young man in his early twenties. His body was toned, but not especially muscular. He had high cheekbones, a chiseled jaw, and a skin tone that was a shade between tan and pale. His hair was a radiant silver-gray, and the locks fell softly onto his forehead. His eyes were a shade paler than his hair and had flecks of gray in them, as if spirits and ghosts were trapped within.

  I could immediately tell that I was looking at a caricature of myself. I grinned. Pretty good looking, I thought. Even if I say so myself.

  I pulled my gaze away from the 3-D model and looked down at my actual self. I was wearing a full-sleeve tunic of misty gray along with a pair of pants that was of a shade nearly black. The clothes were rough, as though they were well worn out, but I felt comforted by them, like I’d been wearing them for a long time.

  I turned to the screen on my right. It contained a menu that displayed four different options, each one separated by a thin transparent bezel.

  Stats

  Items

  Equipment

  Skills

  I selected Stats and another tall screen of translucent white opened to the right of the menu. I looked at the new screen, at all the information that was on it.

  Name

  Zoran

  Level

  2

  Health

  10

  Constitution

  1

  Mana

  10

  Intelligence

  1

  Stamina

  10

  Endurance

  1

  Strength

  3

  Wisdom

  3

  Agility

  4

  Dexterity

  2

  Charisma

  4

  Luck

  9

  “Zoran,” I said, hearing my own name for what felt like the first time. That was the first piece of my identity that I’d found so far. Hopefully it isn’t the last, I thought.

  I looked at the rest of the screen and read all my stats. I figured that I’d been around Level 4 before I’d been resurrected. That had to be the case, since I was Level 2 now after a 3000XP Resurrection penalty.

  I felt the urge to flick the screen, and so I did, putting my finger to the Stats screen and swiping it to the left. The text and numbers slid away, making way for a new set of information. My gaze turned to the next section of data that had slid in.

  Name

  Zoran

  Race

  Human

  Abilities

  Resurrection

  Resistances

  None

  Class

  None

  Alignment

  Neutral

  Titles

  None

  Reputation

  Level 1 – “Do I know you?”

  I looked through the screen, paying attention to all the information on it. I tapped on the word Resurrection, and a small prompt opened.

  RESURRECTION

  Upon death, you will be respawned to a randomized location. You will lose XP every time you respawn. Other effects unknown.

  “That’s why I’m still alive.” I blinked.

  It wasn’t that the wolves hadn’t killed me. It was just that I hadn’t stayed dead even after. “This ability is powerful.” I grinned. Although, there are some things to be concerned abo
ut as well, I thought.

  The “other effects unknown” part especially bothered me. What kind of effects are unknown? I wondered. All I could do was hope they weren’t too consequential. The “randomized” part of the respawn location made me feel uneasy as well, but not by too much. I knew that even if I was respawned into a dangerous location and got myself killed, I’d still Resurrect back to life.

  It’s almost like I’m immortal, I chuckled.

  I was a little curious, though, about how I’d obtained this ability in the first place. I remembered that one could gain abilities either by being born with them or by obtaining them as blessings and rewards. But I didn’t know the first thing about how I had gotten my Resurrection ability.

  I sighed and added that to my list of “Things I need to find out about myself.” It had been just a few hours since I’d first woken up in that forest with the wolves, but my list was already growing fast. I was weirdly calm in between all of this, though. I hadn’t felt panicked or lost given the situation I was in.

  Maybe I’m some kind of peaceful, meditative monk, I chuckled.

  My thoughts slowly shifted, focusing on the mystery of my current location instead. But unlike my other mysteries, this one was something I knew how to solve. And pretty easily at that.

  Good thing I remember how to use most of the basic stuff. I closed my Stats screen and tapped the fourth icon on my Ga’em menu—the one that had a scroll illustrated on it in dark gray. A new screen slid out.

  Dungeon Map

  Quests

  Field Map

  The Map Menu.

  I tapped on Field Map and a larger screen opened, displaying the image of a map in front of me.

  I blinked. Is it supposed to be nearly blank?

  The map was basically empty. There weren’t any landscape features like mountains or rivers or anything of the sort. There were only two significant pieces of information on the screen.

  The words Kingdom of Aingard were written in the center in a shade of faded gray. A clump of trees lay at the bottom-left corner, with the phrase Kurc Woods written next to them in bold black lettering. And right below them was a glowing blue dot that pulsated slowly—an indicator of my position in the map.

  The Kurc Woods. I looked up from the screen, at the cluster of trees ahead of me. I didn’t know anything about the place. Or if I had, the information was lost with my memories of who I was.

  Can’t expect to remember everything about this world, I thought. I didn’t remember much about the Kingdom of Aingard either. The name seemed vaguely familiar, but that was all.

  I gazed at the trees, watching them sway in the gentle wind. My top priority was to discover a civilization. I needed to find someone that could help me out with my amnesia, and that wasn’t happening unless I came upon a village or a town.

  I didn’t remember anything about the geography of these lands. So, after a bit of contemplating, I decided to play into luck’s hand and see what happened. I walked toward the trees, and navigated through the Ga’em menu as I did. I tapped on my first icon again, bringing up my Player menu once more.

  Stats

  Items

  Equipment

  Skills

  I tapped on Equipment and a new screen emerged. It had the words Equipment Inventory written at the top in large letters, and right below that, aligned to the left, was a line of text.

  Sol: 50,000

  “Whoa,” I gasped.

  I remembered exactly what Sol were—the currency that was used in this world. But I also remembered that fifty thousand Sol wasn’t the kind of money a Level 2 had with them. Why do I have this much money? Another mystery added to the list.

  My eyes wandered beneath the text, to the rest of my Equipment Inventory screen. Empty, it said in large letters of faded black.

  Damn it, I cursed. I hadn’t expected to see any weapons or armor in my inventory, but I’d hoped there was at least something I could use. At the moment, a squirrel could attack me and I’d have nothing to defend myself with.

  I stopped myself at the edge of the woods and stared up at the trees in front of me. The wind ruffled the leaves for a moment and then quietened. Is this really a good idea? I wondered.

  There was nothing telling me that there was a city somewhere on the other side of the woods. But I knew any other route would have been just as questionable. I was trusting luck on this one, and all I could do was hope that trust was rewarded.

  I took my first step into the woods and a chilling breeze blew on the back of my bare neck. Unease swirled within me as I walked deeper inside. A whole minute of silence later, I calmed down.

  My gaze picked out a stray branch on the ground and I grabbed it.

  DING!

  You have found a new item:

  Broken Branch!

  A broken fragment from a dead tree. Can be processed to obtain more useful raw materials. Would you like to transfer it to your Item Inventory until further use?

  Yes

  No

  I tapped No and the prompt closed. I glanced at the piece of wood in my hand. It was neither weapon nor armor, nor anything useful in general. I smiled. At least I have something to defend myself with if a squirrel attack happens.

  The trees around me enlarged the deeper I went into the woods. The dull sunlight turned even duller, with the warm rays now blocked by the thickening branches and leaves. Patches of the sky showed through the rare gaps in the canopy. The puffy clouds of white had slowly disappeared from the blue, and in their place were more clouds of dark gray.

  My gaze turned back down to the dense greenery around me. A knot formed inside my stomach, and I felt for my shoulder.

  These woods had turned dense enough to remind me of the forest I had been in, and of the wolves I’d faced before. I could almost see their red eyes, shining brightly behind the bushes. A shiver ran down my spine, and my fingers shook.

  I do NOT want to go through that again. I clenched my fists.

  A loud thud came from close by, and the mud around me shook with the beat. Squeaks and yelps followed right after, high-pitched and frantic.

  What was that? I inched forward and scanned my surroundings.

  A growling sounded. That didn’t come from too far away. I peeked through the gaps in the trees and my eyes immediately widened. Fifty yards ahead, a green-skinned giant rampaged through the forest. A massive club of wood rested on its shoulder, and the weapon was covered with faded red stains.

  The knot in my stomach tightened. “An ogre,” I whispered.

  The series of squeaks sounded once more and I peered closer, focusing on the ground around the beast. A small group of miniature beings ran around the ogre, throwing spears and wielding swords.

  They were all short women, with cuts and bruises on their olive-skinned bodies—the signs of a battle. They glared at the ogre with their large eyes, their pupils colored with blues and greens. Mud and dirt stuck to their long hair, dulling its shine. Spears and bows were held firmly in their hands, armed and ready.

  Forest nymphs. A smile curled onto my face.

  The knot in my stomach unclenched, and a sparkle shone in my eyes.

  Sure, this scene should have threatened me. It should have made me want to run away, to take myself as far away as I possibly could. Yet, the fact that the Forest Nymphs were here, and in such a compromising situation at that, made all those feelings dissolve away.

  Finding a weapon in a forest was one of the hardest things to do, as demonstrated by my current choice of wielding a tree branch. However, all of that had changed in the last few seconds. It was time for an upgrade now.

  I grinned. Lucky me.

  ***

  CHAPTER THREE

  I crawled between the bushes. The leaves rustled, but the sound was too faint to give my presence away.

  Growls and squeaks spread into the air and the nymphs took to the ogre, spears lowered and arrows nocked. The pointed weapons went flying into the air, only to bounce harmle
ssly off the ogre’s body. The beast growled and swung its massive club, smacking into two nymphs and sending them flying through the forest. I winced as the bodies struck the trees and dropped to the ground.

  In spite of the horrible sight I beheld, there was no fear within me. No butterflies in my stomach. No thumping in my chest. If anything, I felt excitement.

  I grinned. Pretty sure that isn’t normal.

  “Stand down, beast!” a voice squeaked. A nymph stood before the ogre, and this one carried a long wooden staff in her hand. She looked different from the others, with her jet-black hair and yellow eyes. A tall crown of leaves sat on her head, and around her neck hung a wooden necklace, adorned with a stone pendant.

  The Nymph Mother. That was the title given to the leader of a nymph colony.

  The ogre stared at her for a moment and then growled, sending powerful sound waves through the air. The Nymph Mother, however, didn’t flinch. She lifted her staff and tilted it toward the beast, the wooden weapon glowing with a faint blue tinge.

  My eyes widened. She knows a magical art.

  Magical arts were the types of magic that one specialized in—such as Wind Arts, Fire Arts and so on. There were many different kinds, but the one she was using seemed like a basic elemental art, and going off the hue she was generating, it was probably the Wind Arts.

  The Nymph Mother’s mouth moved, and then she swung her glowing staff. A solid, horizontal circle of light formed before her, facing the ogre. For a second, nothing happened, and then a twister of wind blasted out, smashing into the beast.