Chapter 39 - Sehro's Tutorial (Part Three).

"That could have gone better," Sehro said as he found himself back at the entrance of the Training Grounds after accepting the revive. The two black chitin covered scorpions had reset to their starting positions. He drew his daggers again, determined to figure out a better strategy rather than relying on his preferred style of combat, archery.

As before, the two scorpions split left and right, circling around Sehro on their armored legs. They faced him with their tiny by comparison to their body grasping pincers. The barbed tails that dripped venom swayed menacingly behind the scorpions. Sehro decided to try a similar tactic as before and triggered his leap, aiming for the back of the scorpion on the right. This time he triggered his [Serpent's Fangs] skill before he landed and used the momentum of his leap to add to his attack. Both daggers plunged through the chitin armor of the [Deathstrike Scorpion (Copper II)], dealing a critical hit.

*ding* You have slain a [Deathstrike Scorpion (Copper II)].

Sehro pushed off the corpse and used it as a shield to ward him against retaliation from the other scorpion. As soon as Sehro had triggered his leap, the second scorpion had rushed forward to assist the other, intending to trap Sehro between them. Despite the setback, the living scorpion pushed closer and circled around, its tail slamming into the corpse of the other scorpion as Sehro dodged to its left. The Fuerven Assassin dashed beneath the splayed legs of the angry scorpion and triggered [Serpent's Fangs] again as he passed underneath.

The first blade pierced between two plates of the chitin armor on the scorpion and cut deep into its flesh. The point of the second blade skittered off the thick chitin plate, leaving a small furrow in the scale. The creature screeched and instead of fleeing as he had hoped, it dropped its entire body down on to him. Sehro managed a desperate lunge to the side to evade the bulk of the scorpion and was knocked to the ground roughly. He'd have bruises on his side and thigh for weeks.

The Deathstrike Scorpion, looking fairly haggard after that strike, scrabbled to its feet and charged after Sehro. Sehro used his claws to dig into the rough stone wall nearby and practically ran up the wall. As he was about to lose his footing, he pushed off and flipped over backwards to land behind the scorpion that slammed into the wall, pincers first. Sehro winced as one of the pincers snapped audibly with a disturbing crunch. He used the scorpion's painful crash into the wall to trigger [Serpent's Fangs] again. Both blades dug deep into the creature's body and as the necrotic poison coursed through its flesh, it shuddered and died. A ding sounded inside Sehro's mind.

*ding* You have slain a [Deathstrike Scorpion (Copper II)].

"Congratulations Traveler! You have completed the Copper II Active Combat scenario. As a reward, you have earned 250 TEK. Would you like to increase the difficulty and try again?"

"Not yet, need a breather," Sehro panted. He sheathed his blades and wandered back into the room where he could rest and recuperate, as well as getting a bite to eat. The scenario terrain turned white as it faded away, revealing the scattered primitive solids in the area. The view of the Devourer and Gaia to his left was both awe inspiring and panic inducing. His people had long sought to avoid conflict by hiding. Wide open spaces made it difficult to hide, unless you could change the color of your scales.

Sehro stepped into the room and entered the alcove to his right. The same hidden cubby opened up and another plate of bread appeared, but instead of the bowl of spiced grub pikwari, there was a glass of water and a bowl of mixed fruits. He took the plate of bread in one hand, nestled the glass of water between his forearm and chest, and took the bowl of fruit in his other hand.

He took a seat at the table, facing the window, determined to get used to the view. It was easier here in the small room, with a much, much smaller window. Quietly and without thinking much, Sehro emptied the plate of bread, the bowl of fruit, and the glass of water. His belly full and mind quieted, he turned his attention to the view in front of him.

The Eyes of the Devourer, an ever shifting number of red swirls amidst the turbulent brown and orange bands of clouds, seemed to all be focused on him and him alone. He felt an immense presence dominate the small room, making him feel as tiny as the grubs he had eaten earlier. Pressure built on his mind until something burst and he heard a chorus of voices inside, sounding like a discordant harmony.

Â̴̢͍̠͉̯̥͇̲͂̄͛̋̎͛͝ ̷̢͇̼̰͉̃͌͂ţ̴̛͈̘̱̰̺̩͖̞̹̓̕͝ḧ̴̫̦̪̞͇̥͎̣̼̜̭͓̼̬͓̎̀͋̾̉͂̈̔̄̂͐̀̋̈́͐͋͜ǐ̴͇̣͍͖̗͇̺̺̳͈̘̗͎̇͐̈́̚͝r̴̢̡̻̮͎̜̱͖͚̞͈͈̟͂̂͐͒̿̿̆̒̇͊͂̉̕͝ͅd̴͔̬͖̭͚̖̖̤̲͖͉̙̣̀͐͜ ̴͙̫̺̃̎̒́́T̴̡͉̯̱͇̗͚̳̫̠̮̙̗̲̓͐͑̔̎̋́̏͑̀̈́́̚͝ͅr̷̨͖͔͖̩̻̙̓̄͆͋ǎ̶̧͔̖͇͉̘̥̩̭̼̳͍̓̏v̴̧̥̖͔̭̺͌̚e̴̜̖̠̰̦̼̦̮̼̙̓̔̈́͋͝ĺ̴̬̠̳͖̳̱̯͉̳̯̗̈́ẻ̵̖̠͈̪̯͚͕̖͎̖͖̓r̷̼͓̮̙̩̤̔̎̽͑̈́͠͝.̵̢̨͓̠̼͍̜̥̱̦̩̻̈́̎̀̽̈́̿̓͆̔́̂́͜ͅ ̵̛̮͊̐̀͛̓̊͂́̍͐͐̉͝Ţ̷͚͇̤̙̬͕̠͇̱̻̦̆̈̃̊͑̋͠͝ͅh̸̞̔͒͋̄̓̃͠į̵̭̬̟̳̥̭̹͒͛̊͊̓̀̈͗́̆͋̕͜ṣ̵̨̢̼̫̈̊̿̔ ̴̨̣͓̱̖͇͈̦͎̬̿̃̇i̸̧̟̖̙̟̟̲̮̲͎̝̲͍̜̰͗̇̊͋̕̕͜ș̴̡̧̦̬̙̣̝̞̻̭̝̟͈̑͗͗̊̍͊̑́͗̇̅̀̍̈̚̚͠ͅ ̵̢̨̙͉̝͉̜̰̮̦̜̈́̊̑̑̕a̷̪̩̳̱̦̦̟̣̦̝̞̝̞̎͌́̂͊̐͋͠͝ͅ ̸̨̦͉͓͚̠͉̰̣̠͔͆̅̈̅̋̆̈́̔̔̽̇͛͑̕ç̶̥̜̻͚̪̋̂̃̔̐̀̏̍̀̑̕a̷̡͈̹̼̹̫͒̇̈́̄͛̇͑͆̊͆̕͝ͅt̷̡̗̯͕̞̬̬̪̳̱̲̭̞̆̓̑̍́̎͂̓̽̆̚͠a̶̢̢͔̖͍͈͋̋̈́̄̾̄̍̌́̄̏͌̏͝͠͠ṧ̴̜̩̯̟̀̔͆̓́̈̌́̔̾̒̔́̒̐ṯ̵̺̬̰̩̇͐̈́̎͛̐̽̊̆̌̔͆͒͋̀̚͘r̸̨̛̻̰̬͙͙̟̺̹͓̺͓͙͔̝̗̔̾̇̎̏͒̅̀͋̂̽̈ͅȍ̸̡̡̢͈͙͕̫͙͚͊̍́̎̅̑̋̔̈́ͅp̶͕̪̖̥̖̺̱͉̮͔̱̭͖̂̊͋͆̔͂̒͊̈́͛͛͑͊̈́͆̀͝ͅh̴̛͖̔̏͐̏̋̓̒̄̑͜ǐ̵̢̼̙̼͎͍͓̹͈̽̓͐̿̽̀̚͝ç̷̢͙̙͚̖̗̘͕͇̖̍̾͗͋̀̔̅̑ ̸̨̡̧͇̫̣̹͕̠͒͐͗̑͆͂̋͂̏̎͂̄͌̀͝ͅͅv̸̛̝͚̘̳̓͐̅̀̒̈́̓̑̇͗̇͋̀̋̒̿ͅi̶̬͚̥͆͂̈́̀͋̓͝o̵̗̝͒͆͐̋͛̊̅͆͝͠l̸͚̥̗̳̏̿̇̑͐̄͛̐͒å̵̮̹̮͖̭̫̩̺̤̯̰̖͔̙̣̝͗̓̒̋͆́̎͗͌͗͠ͅt̴̢̛̺͚̤̩͈͗̃͂̓̊͗̓͠ȋ̸̧̖̪̻̫̄̐̈́̏̂͒̏̄͗̔̄͂̚͝͠o̵̟̻̟̬̰̖͔̥̗̲̼͎͎̹̝̩̗̔ņ̷̫̫̦̝͔̤̙̣̜̞͇̲͚̩̊͗͗͋́̎̓͜͠ ̵̢̧̣͇̺̜̲̭̹̳̠̈́͌͗́̈́̀͐͑̉̏̑͘͠ò̷̗͓̱͖̞̪̘͍̜̗̯̪͈̃̆̔̀̈́̈̀͌͆̀f̷͎̥̦̱̜͖̝̘̠͓̣͔̄́̓̈̿̾̈̿͝ ̴͖͓̤̜̖͇͓̬̦́̀̃̈̿̇͊͜͜ͅt̸̢̹̲̼̾̎̌̿̓̇̃͗͑͘͘h̸͙̖̹̙̱̘̦͇̍̑̽̏̄̎̊͋̌̂́́͝͝ę̴̝̹̙͑̄̈͐̃̌̽̇̕͝ ̶̮̬͖̑̈́̅͗́̌R̶͖͓̻̽́̀̅̃̆ͅư̸̢̤̣̖̭̩̲͚̥͖̳̭̐͛̀̑͌̄͆̐͆̒̿́̋͑͝͠ĺ̶̢̧̨̡͇̠̮̻̝̟͍͈̼̥̮̮̾́̈̌ȩ̶̧͉̘̘̣͈̮̼̙̠̣̩́̽̐̎̅̂̓̀̍́͐͘͘͠͝͠ş̶̧̩̟̙̹͍̜̖̤̙͓͉̼͚̤́̆͌͆͌̂̌̐.̷̧̧̝̟̟̰̍̂̉͛̆̓̈̊̀͘͝ ̵̠̩̱̖͙͇͈̗̲͈̏̑̄ͅW̶̢̗͙͙͉̮̬̝̞̠̲͕̫̟̳̓̒̆̔̃͒̓̋̎͛́̀͘͜͠e̶̛̲̳͖̰͉̳͓͖̼̰̫̰͈̘͍͌͛͌̓̎͋͆͝͝ ̷̧̺̻̼̝͈͚̜̗̠̦̲̋̈́͗̋͐́̓͂̽̓̆̈́͗͘ͅw̷̥͎̯̹̲̱̭̹͇͙͂̒͗í̵̺͎̼͎̟͈̹̳͂͐́͘͜l̸̼̗͓̠̦̜̂͠l̸̨̎̾͋̊̄̍̎̓͘͘̕͝ ̸͉̬̱͍͇̫̺̤͆̑̇͂̿̓̐̐͐͛͒̇̋̚g̵̡̥͈̳̪̜͕͍̃ͅį̸̨̧͕̥̬̝̞̗͔̙͓̪̮͌v̷͉͍̰̀͆͊̑̿͜͝e̷͔̗̘͈͕̞̠̫̎͌̽̎̈̈́̽͑̑͌̎͝ͅ ̶̮͕͔̈́̔̓̾́ỷ̵̺̫̬͔̣̰̞̼̪͚͚̼̗̃̓̐͒ơ̵̧͓͚̯͕̝͚̯̔̉̇̇͐̂͝ų̴̢̧̡͉̩̬̠̙̬̝̮̬̯̬̩̽͆̾͛͐̒̓̽̀̑̇͒́̓̒͘ͅ ̶̻͚̾̃̔͊̇͊͐͑͝o̸̘̰͙̪̘͌̍́̀͑͜n̴̛̻̏͋̍̓̂́̓̈̀ȩ̶̜̮̱͕͖̬̩̺͖̼̻̞͒̔ͅ ̸͎̖͗͛̈́́̆͝c̶̥̙͓̒͒̾͛́̂͑͝͠h̷̢͈̻͓̖̽͒̆̍̂̊̄͐͊̈́̃ā̴̧̛̳̖͕̬͎̳̗̦̳̝͙̭̱̈́͒͜͝ň̶̡͔̪̙͈̺͔͙̤̟̭̝̤͌ç̸̡͚̯̭̪̙̬̟̟̟̝͔̪̾̃̽̃̒̏̍̈́̐̄͂̈́̉͘͝e̶̛͕̰͈̼͙͍̳͍̝̥̙̤̦͚̳͕͂̀̓́͋̔͐͝ ̸̻̞̜̞̄̏́́̏͂̏̀͝͠t̴̓̃ͅò̵̮̫̗̙͎͍̬̐̆̀͑͊̀̆̌̅͊̇͛͛ ̶̧̢͓̯̳͉͚̰̭̈̐͂́j̴̘͎͔̾̔̽͂̉̈́̌̔̓̔͋̽̔̋͘͠ȏ̶̡̧̖̝̙̮̮̖̣̩̬͈̖͙̾͂̈̂̃į̵̡̬̬̱̦̩̥̰̰͒̽n̸̰̫̣̪̻͕̱̩̘͉̖̠͚̤̼̞̎͊̎͂͝͠͠ ̴̺̩̘͔͛͌̀͛̽̔́͛̕ͅţ̷̨̮̞̺̲̘̯̦͙̼̬́ḩ̴͙̗̘̞̪̖̍̊̅ȇ̶̫̪͖͉̔̆͝ ̶̧̠̻̺͓͍̩͎̜̳̩̝͗̀̌̾͊͋̂̀͗͠ͅC̷̛̛̪͍͍̫̏͐̈͒̔̓̊̓́͘͝͝ͅḩ̴̨͍͔̯̪̻̺̦̣̎͐͊́̎͗̄͗̇̉͗͋̓͐̔͘͠ô̸͕̟̭̻͔̜͌̎̾̿̄̄̒͊̀̒͒͛̕̕̕͝ͅr̷̨̧̘̜͉͊̍̚u̴̹̣̜̲̗̬̥̎͑s̵̡̧͔̤͒̏̈̀̎͜ ̴̠̰̘͓͕̓̏̀̊͠o̵̥̥̫͖͌͆̂̿͆̓͐̃̄̍̇̒̈́́̕͘͠r̴̡̧̛͉̩̄̽͒̓̋́̊͆͊̌̚͜ͅ ̶̤͖̼̪͍̼̠̬̠̦͙͙̍̔̀̓͘͜ę̴͋̀̐̓̒̽̓̇͗̌͊̊͝͝l̴͖̥̑̑̾̊͊͆̊͊̍̚ṣ̵̢͍̻̖̤̯͎̼̮͔̮͚̺̫̜̀̎̿ê̶̡̛̥̜̘̰̩̞̙̻͔̥̙͎̥͉͑̂̌͛̇̌̇͜ ̴̹̏̽͆̄̾͊̈́̊͒̑̈́̍́͘͝ỷ̵̖̗̯̯͍̈́͛ờ̸̛̪̩͚̰̤̪̺͚̞̻̣̻́̉̈̊͊̀́̕͝u̶̠̖̻̾́ ̶͇̬̪̰̺͚̣̦̣̿̉̃͊̊̃̐̂̈́̀͜ạ̴͍͔̜̌̎̎̐͆͆̂͘n̵̢̡̳̝̟̜͚̝̳̪̭̫̪̠̝͝d̵̨͖̭̪̱̙̗̼̘̰̗͋̍͐͆̅̈̈́̍̂̂̄̓̈́̅̓̋͘ ̸̢̧͈͇̞͎̱͓̪͎͊̉͒̈́̔́͒̉ͅȁ̷̢͕͕͇̫͚̣͉̙̥̜͔͉̺͓̈̾̏̓̈́̌͌̍̍̚ḷ̴̡̹͙̮̝̈́͒̂̋͑̓͌͌̔̓l̵̡̥̙̺̯̰͍̻̭͛̋̈́͑̇̋͐͒̀͗̐͘̕ ̷̢̜̑̎̑͒͑̄͘͝ý̷̡̢̧̢͕̝͓̣͍̯̪̱̎̓͛͂̊̎́͆̓͊̐̚͝o̴̢̡̘̼̟̥̗̳̟̣̘͔͈͓̰͐̏͆̅́̄͜u̵̢̓͒̽̾͌̊̓̾̈́͐̂̄͑r̷̛̺̘͇͕̩̙̟̮̥̙͖̔̉̅ ̵̞͔͈̥̩͔̟͈̘̼̮̮̫̾͗̿͆̄̊̋̀͋̿͒͋̀̇͋̓͝ç̶̢̛͈̗͈̘̭͚͚̞̫͓̿̄̉̑͐̎̈́̅͂͠ͅä̶̡̧̧̹̼̤̹̦̱̖̫́̑͐̈̉́̀͘͝r̶̢͍̳͇̦̾͑͛̍͆̉̏̒̋̓̇́̏̃ͅe̷̡̨̦͕̤̬̼̍ ̴̨̛̻̼̱͓͎̦̟̒̍̌͐͌͆̂͑̃f̶̛̦̳͍̞̺̟̲̤̼̱̳͙͕͒͒̓̈̈̓̐̊̽̋̑͜ơ̸̝̗̲̈́͂̃̌̐̆̋͂̑͗͐̓̉́͘͝ř̷̡̡̦̬̬̻̯͚̻̲̦̱̘̺͈̬̀͐̋͐̃̑̾̍͊͋̍͌́ ̸̖̩̤̟̓̆͆͒̅̉̓̅́͗̃̈̽̒̑̕͝w̵̨̯͇̼͔̙̫̩͍͓̩̘̌̂̀̍̈́̇̆̂į̸̨̥͓̯̬͔̥͚̰̼̤͈̜̳͎͌̽͊̊̑́̈́̕͝͠͠l̵̢̨̡̰̱̤̝̗̭̣̐͋̐͊̓̓́̄͜l̶̡̹̞̳͔̼͉̮͍̰̩̻̗̬̏́͐͐̓̚͘ ̵̭̤͍̯͙̺͕̆̿̌̽̈̈́͝s̸̢͕͎̖̜͔̗̮̄̑u̶̡̥̫̦̝͈̖͙̭͕͊͐̂̂͑͊̒͝f̶̪̩̘̰̪͔͊̃̐̊̓̐̕f̴̨̝̥̤͙̪͇̊̄̀̔͆̅͑͛̃̍̿͑̕͘è̴̢͓͕̣̦̰͙͈͓̻̊ř̶̢̤͕̣̘̼̮̱͇͎̪̮̤͉̣͚̲̇́͛.̶̢̡̡̝̦̪̣̱͍͕̩̟̞͙̗͎͑͑́̏̿͋̒

[A third Traveler. This is a catastrophic violation of the Rules. We will give you one chance to join the Chorus or else you and all you care for will suffer.]

Sehro panicked and ran out of the room towards the Ring Gate. He sped through the Skills and Equipment chamber and pounded on the door that had closed on the other end. He could see the Ring Gate through a small window in the center of the door. The presence in his mind had faded at this point, but the panic that gripped his mind still held tight, stronger than an alligator's bite.

"Greetings Traveler! It seems that you have suffered a mental breakdown due to an inexplicable psychic event approximately forty-two seconds ago. Commencing neural scan."

A cyan circle appeared beneath Sehro, who cowered in the doorway that led to the Ring Gate. Trickles of blood dripped down his scales and onto the floor from his nose and ears. His eyes appeared red as well, blood leaking into the sclera after several blood vessels burst inside. The light beneath Sehro expanded into a column, stretching from floor to ceiling with brighter beams and diamonds of light inside the column appearing as the scan progressed.

"It appears that irreversible physical and mental damage has been done to this Avatar. Commencing termination and restoration."

The Fuerven Assassin froze in place and then his body discorporated into a slurry of flesh, blood, and bone that was wicked away through hidden channels in the floor.

Sehro yawned after finishing off the last piece of honey and oat rolled bread and pushed the empty plate away from him. Half a glass of water rested on the table nearby, alongside a nearly empty bowl of fruit. He turned his head to look out the window and flinched when his eyes fell on the Eyes of the Devourer, the red whorls of clouds ever present at the tops of the brown and orange clouds of the Devourer. Something bad happened or is going to happen, Sehro thought. It wasn't an entirely conscious thought, but wasn't just a gut feeling either. He tore his eyes away from the gas giant and focused on finishing the fruit in front of him. He needed to be well rested and fed for the next training scenario.

He was about to put a round, smooth skinned purple berry the size of a dandelion puffball into his mouth when it struck him.

"How long have I been sitting here?"

As he spoke, a small clock appeared beneath the status window in the upper left corner of his interface, where it had shown a Copper IV icon for many years and the familiar three status bars. He noted the time, but without an additional reference, he couldn't sort that out. Another window appeared as he wondered whether he could find a way to discover when he arrived. The window in the lower left corner of his interface showed a long list of incomprehensible symbols and words, but he could make out the timestamps.

"Seven hours?! What in the Devourer's name? How can it have been seven hours?" he asked himself, near out of breath from the shock. "I just fought the Monarch, an hour ago?" He shook his head and shoved the fruit bowl away. The purple berry bounced from his grasp and fell to the floor. It rolled away from his foot towards the window, stopping against the base of the wall that curved up to meet the window. He abruptly stood up and knocked the chair over with his tail. Sehro scrolled through the chat log several more pages and discovered that the incomprehensible symbols and words became even more chaotic and corrupted with the Fuerven word for ERROR scattered throughout the text.

[Søren Quinn (Shaper / Artificer Copper V)] would like to resurrect you in Caisleán. Accept / Decline

Sehro tapped accept and fought the panic rising in his mind. Out of the corner of his eye, it looked like the Eyes of the Devourer were growing larger and larger, getting closer to the station. He closed his eyes and muttered a fervent prayer to the Lifebringer for her guidance and blessings. A powerful white light surrounded Sehro and he found himself bodiless in a void again. A new window floated in front of him giving him the option to start new as an Assassin or go back as a Hunter. He decided to try out the new Path and was surrounded by the white light again and when he could see, he was standing in front of Søren in the center of the village. The small, previously vine covered Waystone had been replaced by a massive crystal shard floating in the air with bands of rune inscribed crystal flowing around it in an intricate dance. The marbled white platform took up most of the space in what had been the center of the town before it fell into disuse.

"Welcome back Sehro," Søren said.