I wandered around for over an hour without encountering much of interest, listening to the sounds of the forest and its animals. I sat at the foot of one of the taller trees to rest and admired the beautiful colors of the flowers. While sitting there, hunger began to gnaw at me and I stood to see if there was anything that looked, or smelled, close to edible nearby. A squirrel sat on a low branch munching on a large walnut. The creature had not been there a second ago, but that was as far as that train of thought went; all I could think about was food.

I hoped if I would be fast enough to catch myself a meal. I transformed my coin and crept closer to the branch. I stepped on a twig and the squirrel looked my way. It jumped off the branch and onto the ground. I gave chase. My hunger melted away in the adrenaline rush of chasing the squirrel. The trees thinned until they gave way to a long oval shaped clearing. In the center of the large clearing was a huge tree, different from the rest of the forest.

It was tall, with numerous vines dropping down from its canopy. The trunk was easily three times as wide as its nearest neighbor, suggesting it was ancient compared to the short trees at the edge of the clearing. I stopped and stared at the tree, its knotted trunk seemed to shimmered, as if radiating energy.

Mesmerized by the tree, I had lost the squirrel.

A different squirrel jumped out at me from the grass. I reflexively slashed it with my sword before it got closer. I felt a tug on my blade, but then the animal was gone. Instead of leaving behind squirrel gore, it disintegrated just like the tentacle had done in the Hall. I heard loud rustling behind me and I turned to see hundreds of beady little eyes staring at me from the treeline. When I noticed the small bushes at the edge of the clearing start to shake a sense of dread filled me.

I had definitely not gotten lucky with this particular door. I started running towards the huge tree a couple dozen feet away. As I ran, the grass around me was flattened as more squirrels jumped down from the treeline and gave chase. The things following me were not regular squirrels any more. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw their limbs elongated, and their fur, snouts and teeth began to thicken. The once light red-brown fur became a dirty maroon.They chased me as their contorting bodies hobbled on the grass.

Combat! You have engaged in combat, passive Regen is reduced by half!

One of them landed on my back, still not fully transformed, and bit into my shoulder. A burning sting ran from my shoulder and warm blood dripped when I smacked the monster away with the pommel of the sword. Not stopping to admire my attacker, I scrambled forward. I saw one of the squirrels start to climb up the tree. Another concerning thought crossed my mind: it was a trap. There were now waves of the monstrous creatures converging on the clearing. I had followed so easily and was now surrounded; I had been dead the moment I started chasing that damn squirrel. The creatures that had been pursuing me leaped into the air and landed among the branches of the shorter trees on the periphery of the ancient one. I felt the stare of hundreds of bloodthirsty eyes on me.

Setting my jaw, I raised my sword and hoped for a miracle. While I had no real memories to speak of, a primal instinct told me to fight, to survive. The wind picked up as it blew through the clearing and it whistled in my ears as I tensed for the attack. I felt the earth tremble; my sword vibrated in tone with the positioning squirrels. A piercing screech split the air, and a torrent of monsters rained down on me, nearly knocking me to the ground. I slashed and dodged on the defensive, using the swings of my swords to propel me around the clearing.

Congratulations! You have received the skill Swordsmanship!

“How swift is the blade you carry?”

Proficiency in this skill affects damage and speed with sword weapons

A new notification popped up in my field of vision, but I dismissed it with a thought as I focused back on the monsters rushing me. I advanced towards the tree. When the fight started I had felt a calm energy coming from it, growing stronger the closer I got, and I hoped it would be my salvation. Swinging wildly as I went, the only thing I felt was the quaking sword in my hand and the desperate beating of my heart. The only thing that mattered was reaching the tree. I ignored the pain from the cuts and bites of the monstrous squirrels as I pushed through the horde.

I heard a new wave of chittering come from around me, the closest squirrels making way for a fresh group. With the surge in their numbers my will faltered slightly. The new monstrosities jumped all over me, tearing my shirt to shreds and almost pulling me off course.When the mass of fur pushed me back, a flashing prompt stating that I had 50% health and 20% stamina remaining appeared in my vision.

After frantic seconds of struggling I slashed the air where I thought the next monstrosity was, but suddenly there were none of the creatures in front of me. The squirrels ran to surround the tree. None went closer than the edge of a patch of darkened grass that surrounded it. The creatures that were perched on the branches remained still and stared intently at me.

Almost as soon as I stepped on the darkened grass, I hear branches breaking. I spun to find the whole tree was shifting, forming an arch that was almost fifteen feet tall and ten at its base. Moans and wails of pain came from the center of the tree inside the arch.. The whole forest was eerily quiet. A dark body appeared inside the arch, slowly exiting the gate. A bear as tall as I was, and nearly three times as long, padded slowly forward. The black-brown fur along its body shone in the sunlight, the barred teeth and the drool dripping onto the grass only heightened my fear.

Almost as if it wanted to make my fear official, the creature roared, louder than I could have ever imagined. I was pushed back by the shockwave, but it was more than just sound that moved me. The monster squirrels that had been behind me disintegrated, their bodies tossed in the air for mere seconds.

You have received 15 damage from Intimidating Roar. You have resisted the fear effect by sheer Luck.

As usual, I had no plan. I rushed forward, using my momentum to swing my sword over my head. My sword managed to make a tiny gash in its fur before it lifted its paw and slapped me towards the tree. I hit the tree with a bone crunching thump, and my hand spasmed. I dropped the blade and it fell back to the ground, turning into a coin once more. All the adrenaline left my body at once, and I writhed on the ground, struck by the pain of my wounds with the adrenaline fading.

Cracked Ribs (3)! Stamina Regen decreased by 40% and breathing is reduced.

Cracked Radius ! Stamina decreased by 5% and battle speed is reduced.

A very angry red warning told me I was at 10% health and suffered from reduced Stamina due to some broken bones. Lying there broken, death felt like a very good idea. I would not have to worry about who I had been, or what I would be, only the comfort of darkness.

However, my mind could not give up the idea of living to see another day. I fought to catch my breath, fighting against the ache of broken ribs and the fear that choked my throat. I muttered to myself, hoping for salvation, as I struggled to rise as the ground trembled with the force of the bear’s heavy footsteps. Hearing a familiar shifting sound, and hoping I was not delusional, I scanned around me. A red drawer had appeared on the surface of the tree.

I crawled towards the drawer, and reached above my head to open it with the last of my strength. As I plunged my hand into the drawer, I felt something small, cold, and hard. I pulled it out and a notification flashed up.

You have acquired Unidentified Magic Coin.

I flipped the red coin and caught it midair. A handgun formed in my hand. This was no ordinary handgun; it was just under three feet long and had a trigger grip. The safety was built into the grip and all I had to do to fire the oversized gun was pull with my index finger on the trigger. With difficulty, I raised the barrel and aimed it at the creature. The bear, having noticed my continued struggle, turned its slow approach into a sprint. The bear came close enough that I could feel his hot breath on my face, but I steadied the gun and aimed it directly at its head. I pulled the trigger.

A fireball of molten lead shot into its mouth, tearing through it like water. The flash of the gun and the roar of the bullet leaving the barrel momentarily blinded and stunned me, but a notification popped up behind my eyes anyway.

Congratulations! You have received the skill Marksmanship!

“The best fighters are not bloodied by their enemies. What better way to accomplish this than from afar!"

Proficiency in this skill affects damage with small projectile weapons as well as reloading speed.

Dead, the massive creature lay there while the archway it had come through became a dark swirling mass in an instant. A cutting wind began to blow towards the darkened hole as though it were a massive vacuum. Bark peeled off trees and the remaining monster squirrels squealed as the archway sucked them into the unknown. I set down the gun and just like the sword it turned back into a red coin, which I stashed in my pocket.

I clung to the grass on the ground as the wind sped up, trying to stop myself from being pulled in with everything else. The “room” was being sucked into the void, and I searched frantically for my sword coin. I saw it, gleaming on the ground, somehow not sucked into the archway along with everything else. When my hand touched its smooth coin surface I felt almost complete, and I morphed the coin. It transformed into its blade form, and I stabbed the ground just as the suction force of the hole began to tear the very trees from the ground. Hanging on for dear life my breaths came short and fast until consciousness started to slip from my grasp; then darkness.

You have Died.

You must think on your actions as the astral energy of your soul is given shape. As you are not yet significant enough, your level and skill progression will not be affected.

My consciousness returned slowly. It was beyond an out of body experience; I could feel my body and the boundaries that separated it from all the things that were. Apart from the memory of the pain from the squirrel attacks, the actual experience had been almost painless. I didn’t know how long I swam in that pool of curious energy, but I felt a hard floor beneath me. I turned my head gingerly and looked around at the familiar white walls of the Hall. I breathed a sigh of relief. There were no horror squirrels around.

Gathering myself, I felt around my pockets and noticed that I still had both my sword coin and the red coin gun. I attempted to stand, but the moment I pushed up with my arms, a splitting headache brought me to the ground again. While I laid there holding my head as it throbbed, I heard the soft click of shoes behind me. I flipped over as quickly as I could, pulling one of the coins from my pockets. I looked up and saw that it was just Nara, watching me as I rolled around on the floor. She seemed amused.

“Yeah, go ahead and laugh… but I died, how is that possible?” I asked, hoping she would be able to explain the crazy events of the past few hours.

“The great Beyond is kind to us,” Nara replied matter of factly.

“Yeah… that doesn’t really clarify anything… What is the deal with the floating table, the prompts and descriptions… What is going on Nara?!” The desperation cracked my voice.

“Nothing. You are a part of this world, but it won't be long before your magnificent luck runs out,” she said with a deadpan expression. Did she know about my Universal Favor Trait? Probably not. She must just think I had been getting regularly lucky in the Hall.

Impatient, Nara said, “You need to grow stronger, we must head deeper into the Kigata and find what the Beyond chose you for.” She walked away from me, still laying on the floor. I couldn’t just let my only source of information get away from me, so I wobbled to my feet despite the pain and struggled after her.

We walked for a while, maybe ten minutes. I struggled to keep up with her frantic pace, and often fell behind and had to catch up. She ignored me the whole time. I heard a familiar and frightening chiterring coming from behind us. Nara and I turned and saw a wall of the monster squirrels running towards us at a breakneck pace. The triple jointed squirrel monsters paled in comparison to the bear and my death via vacuum, but seeing them again brought the memory of their bites back to the forefront of my mind. I almost squealed as I began to run, tripping over my own feet.

Combat! You have engaged in combat, passive Regen is reduced by half!

Nara was far ahead of me already. She ran up to the wall as though she was going to phase through them as I had seen her do before, but they failed to accept her. The young woman tried to push against the whiteness, but her arms only met solid walls. She roared in anger. It must have been because we were in combat. The warning had popped up just as I saw the furry mob.

Nara punched the wall, clearly frustrated that her escape had been foiled, and continued to flee along the Hall. I ran towards her, but my stamina was quickly running out. A new tidal wave of squirrels, with wolves and rabbits mixed amongst them materialized some way in front of us. Now surrounded on both sides and with the numerical disadvantage, we locked eyes and an entire conversation seemed to pass between us. I knew our best course of action was to mow down enough of the furry creatures to hopefully send the rest scurrying away in fear.

As Nara and I stood back to back, I heard her grip tighten on her short blades. I lashed out with my blade, stumbling slightly from the pain in my head, but Nara spun around me to cover me from an attacking wolf. As the main mass of squirrels crashed into her and I, we did our best to flow to the less concentrated pockets of enemies. I swung my sword wildly, my lack of training evident, but I always managed to hit something. There seemed to be more squirrels than an entire forest would ever need. I saw we were making slow progress in clearing the woodland creatures around us, there always seemed to be more reinforcements.

What I heard next chilled my blood.

With another Intimidating Roar, a bear only slightly smaller than his humongous cousin, this one with dark brown fur, began to make its way towards us after emerging from the walls. I pulled the red coin out of my pocket, dropping my sword coin in order to hold the massive gun that appeared when I flipped it. I unsteadily took aim towards the hulking beast.

“Nara! Cover me!” I shouted over the animal yelps and growls. While the red-dressed girl warded and slashed at the monster squirrels that got the closest, I pulled my grip tight on the handle to release the safety and pulled with my index, releasing the hammer.

Just as I was about to fire, one of the woodland wolves landed on my back. Nara had left an opening and it had gotten through, its claws digging into my back and hot drool splashing onto my neck from its teeth. My fingers twitched on the trigger and the gun went off, with the same furious flash and roar as before.

“Nara!” I cried, struggling as the wolf clamped down on my shoulder. Nara spun around and stabbed the wolf, preventing it from tearing my spinal cord out.

My panicked shot had gone wide, missing the bear and only vaporizing a few squirrels. The bear roared again, and it leaped about fifteen feet, an impossible distance, reaching out its massive paw to swipe at Nara. It hit her shoulder, leaving claw marks and sending her sailing through the air. She hit the wall with a distant thump. , and it leaped the remaining fifteen feet, knocking Nara through the air.

I stared helplessly at the bear. A 50% health warning flashed angry red in my vision; that wolf must have done more damage than I realized. The bear slowly circled me. My hands shook as I held up the gun. I fired two quick shots at the bear. They didn’t hit, and served more as warning shots and distractions rather than deterrent. I looked for Nara. She was slowly getting up, just outside the current ring of woodland creatures surrounding me. Another wave was appearing from empty space, their outlines filling in like a coloring book, just like Nara did but in reverse.

If I didn’t do something, Nara and I were both dead meat. Or vapor. Whatever usually happened to people’s bodies in the Hall. I decided to take a risk. Knowing that it could end badly, I wished for safety from the monsters. I felt a sudden rush of wind as I kept firing shots into the creatures around me, barely preventing the bear from pouncing.

I glanced over my shoulder as a swirling mass of green colored mist about the size of a manhole cover erupted from the ground. Seeing the vortex sent a chill down my spine, but I knew my options were limited. I fired another shot at the bear then scrambled for the vortex. Nara desperately fought her way to the green energy. She reached it before I did, but nothing happened.

“No! It was his wish! Let me go!” she shouted in dismay.

I was only ten feet from the vortex, but the bear caught up to me and swiped me with its large paw, which sent me rolling into the wall. Successive warnings for 30%, 20% and 15% health flashed across my vision as the pain from the impact clouded my thoughts. The squirrels gave me a wide berth as they’d done the bear. I didn’t know how long I could keep them at bay with the red gun.

Nara, recovered from her panic, silently looked between the vortex and me. Her face was still. She raised her hands in the air and shouted.

“Asbru!”

A new swirling vortex of red mist began to surround and then mix with the green vortex. Overcoming the green, a growing mass of yellow-tinged red mist began to fill up the Hall space. Several of the squirrels were sucked in. The moment a tendril of mist touched them, they vanished in a blink. As Nara held her hands in the air, the mist continued to expand. It was about the reach me and the bear.

“Go! I cannot leave this place! Go!” Nara cried as sweat began to pour down her frowning face. I crawled towards the swirling mass. The bear, which had been distracted by the swirl of colors in the magical vortex, refocused his attention on me.

I scrambled to my feet once again, aching all over, but needing to escape the bear and enter the vortex. I tried not to look behind me as I broke into a run, but the vibrations through my shoes told me it was almost in striking distance. As I reached the mist I heard a familiar voice scream

“Survive!” Nara yelled as I reached the mist. I looked up to see Nara swarmed by a pack of wolves, each chomping on a different limb. She had a smirk on her face, even as she was torn to pieces.

She raised her arms higher. The mist swelled and covered my arm and chest. It sucked me in and I felt like I was tumbling in darkness, my earlier meals threatening to surface from the vertigo.