Inside a dilapidated one story house, in what looks like a bedroom, as it's only contents were a mattress and a old night stand, though it could also count as a bathroom as there was a toilet near by , a thin man suddenly sat up grabbing his head while crying out in pain
This continues for an unknown amount of time, as the man unknowingly draws blood by biting down on his lip too hard, while letting out pained whimpers. After feeling the pain subsiding, the man wearily opened his eyes finding himself in a dark room, before he suddenly scrunched up his nose as dingy scent assailed his nostrils
Looking around for the source, the man looked down at himself, finding that he was covered in coarse clothing, hesitantly taking a sniff, only to recoil in disgust, though he no longer had to look for the source as he had found it
" shit, are bath's going out of style?...?wait what's a bath " muttered the man incoherently before he gripped his head as more pain struck him, though he found himself growing more accustomed to it as time passed, though he didn't know if that was a good thing
Dropping his hand from his head, he felt it hit something soft, which gave off warmth, frowning, the man slowly lowered his hand to the thin cloth with covered him and raised it only to suddenly freeze
Under the covers a small, thin figure, he made out to be a child, was curled up beside him, it was to dark for him to spot any other details , though he did notice that they started shivering slightly after he raised the cloth, causing him to unconsciously pull them towards his body which caused the child to hold on to his body as if seeking his warmth, as they continued to sleep
He found himself releasing a sigh of relief after they stopped shivering, only for a frown to find it's way back unto his face as he processed the unconscious act of his body before he shook his head as he found that he didn't find the actions to be forced
Deciding to think about it another time, he raised his head and looked around the room, trying to make out any details in the darkness to try and fill in the blanks in his mind. He had memories of this place and going by how he was finding himself familiar with the items in the room,it seems to be true, though a part of him was feeling like they were seeing it for the first time
Which he found to also be true if he went by the second set of memories, he housed in his mind
Crashing back into his uncomfortable pillow, the man unconsciously hugged the child beside him as he closed his eyes to clear his mind to try and sort out the clutter that filled his mind
After an unknown amount of time, the man opened his eyes once more, though the were still as tired as before, they now had new found clarity, as his hands tightened around the child in his arms
' I died on earth, and my soul some how traveled to this world, taking over the body of this poor sap who succumbed to his wounds in his sleep ' thought the man before he laughed wryly in his mind as he was now that poor sap. Sighing, the man continued to go through the memories in his mind
' the price of this soul travel being all my personal memories though every other memory is completely clear and I can remember it in detail, may be a benefit of 2 souls fusing....wait 2? he only had enough soul left for me to gain some of his memories, which didn't even contain a name ' pondered the man before he shook off the thoughts as it no longer mattered. He was here, and this is him, thought the man before he continued
' damn, this place is fucked up ' cursed the man, as he suddenly wondered if it was truly better if he was alive. This world is called Geme, he thought it was a sick joke as it was only one letter change and it would become game, though if it did it would be really suiting
---
This world is a play ground for gods, every month which ever God has it's turn, sends out a new challenge. Calling it a challenge is putting it to lightly, those sickos create a one week survival death game in the shape of invading creatures. All we have to do is survive. Seems simple enough correct?
Wrong. This has been going on for a century now, those who are strong created families and then created cities. The stronger the people the larger the cities. This was just a back water city ruled by people who would rather be a large fish in a small pond than someone elses lackey
A benefit of this being, the strength of the wave is dependent on the strength of the city, so while numerous people will still die, people can still survive
The upside is? those who survived and made any contributions, gain power, whether it be a increase in personal strength, a skill or a weapon, anyone could get it. Those sickos encourage it, it makes their game more interesting to see their playthings fighting back
The downside is, you can never plan, because you won't know which God has their turn, which creatures is next, how strong they'll be, nothing, you can only pray you gained enough in the previous month
---
The man's first thought was to just hide it out, live a normal life under the protection of the strong of this city. But the injuries that caused the death of the previous owner of this body says otherwise. This world is built on strength, when you're strong you survive, when you're strong you can eat your fill, when you're strong you can protect those dear to you
Especially in these slums. He has several memories of the wives of his neighbors being taken and raped, she'd be lucky if she came back alive, many deciding to stay with their rapist instead of returning to their families as it was a better life
Many families survive by prostituting their daughters and sons to the strong in the inner city, for a full meal or a lousy weapon, just for a better chance to survive, it's even more hectic this week
Why?
The next challenge is a week from now, and the previous owner of this body got into a fist fight with a group for a dagger. He was beaten within an inch of his life, the members of that group survive by kidnapping women and selling to those in the inner city, so they're much stronger than anyone else who calls these slums home. Practically recreating slavery
And going by the memories in his head, the child in his arms is a girl....his daughter, so ,if he's to protect her, he must find a chance to gain strength in the next challenge
---
Thinking up to her, the man's determination grew, though people would find his actions strange, as his survival would be assured if he sold off the girl to the inner city as he was sure they were those with those particular taste, as the girl was the child of the previous owner of the body, not his own
But he didn't think like that, this was now his body, this was now his life, this was now his future and she was now his child
' I need to prepare, something.... anything that could help ' thought the man as he went through his memories before he paused on a certain one
He used to work as a garbage collector, he and any others were paid to clean up any destruction caused during the Challenge, and they were several pieces of wood and metal fragments which he could somehow fashion together to make a weapon
Though anything he could make would be far from useable against even the weakest of mobs in the challenge.....but he didn't create then for that.....they were for protection against that group of slavers or anyone else in these slums. All he had to do now, is make it towards the junk yard and he'd be in the clear
After creating his plan, he decided to go now, even though it was the dead of night . There were several reasons for this, one it was close by and unguarded and it was seen as unimportant, as anything useful never made it there, 3 if he doesn't go now, he would have to collect pieces while working and for that he might be killed
Which he found ridiculous, no one wants anything from in it , to the point where they don't guard it ,but if you're caught taking anything, you'll be punished
The woes of the powerless
Shaking away the stray thoughts, the man pan carefully released his child from his arms and carefully rest her on his pillow, covering her over with the cloth, after making sure she was still asleep the man, easily made his way through the house in darkness, making it towards his door
Easing open the door slowly, the man peeped outside to see if there was anyone around, releasing a sigh of relief as he found the streets to be empty, and all the surrounding houses were pitch black. From his memories, he remembers that when the God's first showed up, they rendered anything electric useless, plunging the world into the dark ages
Something he was glad for, because if you wanted to rob someone you'd have to use a torch which could be spotted from a distance so most people stayed in at night, which was ironically the safer time of the day
Still he quietly, closed his door before he made his way to the junk yard, stopping every so often to make sure he wasn't caught and didn't attract attention
It took 30 minutes to reach his destination, and boy was he tired, though he took his time, his lack of meals and water still showed as his body was soaked in sweat as he panted heavily. Gritting his teeth his unsteadily made his way through the gate into the junkyard, hiding between several piles before he collapsed to the floor to catch his breath
After resting for a while, he made his way over to the pile where the wood was thrown before he started digging through it for any proper pieces he could use, having to stop several times and pull splinters from his hands. Finding a decent peice, about 1 meter long and 3 inches thick, he stated to pull it out only to freeze
[ Wood piece ×1 ]
' wait, now frigging way ' thought the mad before he took up a piece of wood that was slightly bigger than his fist and focused on it
[ Wood fragment ×1 ]
The man would have burst into laughter had he not been keeping himself from drawing attention to himself, but he couldn't help the broad smile that found it's way unto his face, only to be snapped out of his thoughts by a ding
[ New recipes added ]
[ Wooden Spear : Mortal Tier ]
Requirements= 10 Wood pieces
[ Wood Pieces ]
Requirements= 8 Wood Fragments
...
Several recipes popped into his mind, from wooden weapons to tables and cheers but he started grinning like a fool after he read the description of the wooden spear
From the pieces of information he heard around the slums, the weakest mobs in a challenge were in the Mortal Tier, meaning this weapon could hurt them and kill them if he was good enough
Wasting no time, the man took several fragments and made them into to Wood pieces, before he selected the option to craft the wooden spear. He watch in fascination as a 2 meter spear materialized before his before he reached out and caught it, stumbling slightly at it's weight which caused him to frown
' this is at least 10 kgs, I don't think I could thrust this more than 5 times before I run of stamina ' thought the man as he dropped the spear as he was getting tired holding it, only to freeze as the spear head disappeared completely into the soil
' This could work.... ' thought the man with a smile