Mirlnir
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Ragequit Chapter 1
🕑 Added 2024-11-06 23:54:26 +0000 UTCWrote this whole thing in a day lol. I guess I was a lot more excited about this than I thought I was. Probably because I have thousands of hours in Terraria, and it winning the poll motivated me immensely.
Anyway, apparently, the correct term for this type of fic is 'quest,' not CYOA. That's pretty weird, isn't it? CYOA is its own system that has nothing to do with choosing your own adventure. I'm kind of new to this, so I don't really know a lot yet, but in my opinion, some people like to overcomplicate things for the sake of overcomplicating things.
Anyway, I don't wanna talk too much. Enjoy the chapter.
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Edited by: Marethyu, Priapus
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– Marco Bradley (MC) –
I've never considered myself to have a strong memory. In fact, I can be quite forgetful occasionally. I've lost count of the times I forgot to grab my keys before heading out of the apartment. Fortunately, it hasn't caused any major issues. I just tend to be a bit scatterbrained.
But I can say with full confidence that I don't remember anything about coming to this office.
Still in disbelief, I take another look around from the admittedly comfy chair I'm sitting on. It is unlike any other office I've seen before— much, much bigger than the average, seemingly on top of a huge tower with a large window behind the desk in front of me, showing one hell of a metropolis I don't recognize. Billboards with unrecognizable products like 'Ditrus Juice' and skyscrapers stretching as far as my eyes can see, having somewhat of a… futuristic vibe to them. I don't know where I am, but something tells me I'm not in Florida anymore.
What makes this place feel particularly futuristic to me? First and foremost, it's the floating chair I'm sitting in. Call me crazy, but I don't believe we've reached that level of technology yet. Everything here looks unlike anything I've seen in the US or anywhere else on Earth, for that matter.
Obviously, this could just be a dream, but I'm used to dreams being weird as hell. Not… realistic. Because as weird as this might look to me, I'm not clearheaded. I can think as how I normally would.
But besides the floating chair, the desk, and the window showing the city, the office is pretty empty. Mind you, it's still massive, large enough to hold maybe fifty or so people, but that's about it, besides the obvious elevator behind me.
One may wonder why I'm not leaving to find someone who can help and explain what's happening here and where I am, especially since I'm clearly not trapped here. And I have a simple response to that.
I'm petrified with fear.
I don't know about anyone else, but I just randomly woke up and found myself in an office in a city I don't recognize. And to make matters worse, I don't even remember the last few hours. How did I get here? Why am I here? How am I supposed to react?
I don't even know if this is real or not yet. And even if it is, what am I to do? Look for someone? Are you insane? Someone just kidnapped me and put me here, and you think I can just walk away and leave? No, I'm not going to push my luck.
I think I'll hang out here until the person who brought me to this office decides it's time for me to go. It might feel like the strangest nightmare I've ever had, but since it seems so real, I'd rather play it safe. I know what I'm doing. I'm not stupid.
Then again, I don't remember ever angering someone to make them do this to me. I always kept to myself. I woke up, went to work, got back, and used the few hours of free time I had to watch anime or play video games, making sure I didn't even look at the competitive scene.
So I can't have pissed someone off online, either. I mean, being someone who easily rages and is generally bad at most video games makes me want to avoid stress at all costs, especially with college annihilating my ability to relax and an unforgiving job that barely pays me anything worthwhile.
I hate the food service industry.
Maybe I'm just that unlucky and got captured by aliens for some reason. Were all those UFO sightings real? I always believed in aliens and thought they were cool, but I never wanted to be kidnapped by them.
…You know what, if that's the case, then maybe they're peaceful? I mean, they're not probing my asshole right now, so you know…
As soon as that thought crosses my mind, the elevator behind me dings, prompting me to flinch and look at it in immense fear, expecting the most horrifying, incomprehensible creature in existence. But then, as it opens up, I lay my eyes on the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.
Dressed in professional black office attire and stylish heels, the woman's jet-black hair cascades freely, with a few strands gently resting on her chest, just shy of reaching her stomach. Her beauty radiates naturally, showcasing her effortless appeal without a hint of makeup, except for a pop of red lipstick that just made her all the more beautiful and mature. Although, she seems to be only a little older than me.
It's weird. I can tell that she doesn't wear any makeup. It's definitely all-natural. But at the same time, that same natural beauty feels unnatural. Like she'd put every supermodel on suicide watch.
But what truly stands out about her is her unusual eye color. Their unique violet hue captivates me, and honestly, whether they're contact lenses or not doesn't concern me at all— what matters is how irresistibly striking they made her look.
As the woman meets my gaze, she gives me a soft smile that takes my breath away. Wow.
"Good morning, Mr. Bradley." She greets me politely, walking out of the elevator. "I hope I haven't made you wait for too long."
"Er, no, I just uh…" I try to phrase my answer properly, considering the weird situation I'm in. "...got here?"
"You mean woke up?" She says knowingly, making me pause.
She knows? Then, hopefully, she can explain what's going on.
"I understand how you might be feeling." She adds, walking past me and taking a seat on the chair behind the desk. "But rest assured, I'll be explaining everything to you."
"You're not aliens wanting to probe me, right?" I ask with no filter, making me quickly regret it.
Thankfully, the lady takes it as a joke.
"Haha, no. I may technically be an alien to you, but don't worry; I won't hurt you. I promise." She says with a giggle. "First, let me introduce myself. My name is Serika Amamiya, and I'll be your overseer for the foreseeable future."
Serika Amamiya? That name is very clearly Japanese, but she still calls herself an alien. What does that mean? Is she from a different earth or something? But the chances of there being a different earth with another Japan in it are astronomically low, right?
But besides her name, her… 'position' is what intrigues me the most.
"My 'overseer'?" I blink. "Is this a job interview?"
Serika's smile drops at that, making my stomach turn. Oh, I suddenly have a bad feeling about this.
"There's no easy way to say this, Mr. Bradley," She says. "But you died."
…Huh.
"So, is this like, the afterlife?" I ask.
Serika blinks, seemingly surprised at my quick response.
"Technically." She nods.
"Technically?"
"Usually, when someone dies, they go to their universe's afterlife. Whether it's heaven, hell, the void— it all depends on what exists and what doesn't." She clarifies. "However, you were chosen by an omniverse-spanning organization called the Ama Clan to be given a second chance."
"Huh. Like one of those Isekai light novels?"
"Yes." She confirms before pausing. "…You're taking this far better than I thought you would. Most of the time, those chosen rapidly start going through the five stages of grief. Or, well, I stay 'five stages', but they'd be stuck in the first one until we forcefully calm them down."
"Oh, no. I will be panicking soon." I respond. "I'm just in shock right now. Give it about ten minutes or something. Until I fully process it. You should probably tell me everything before that happens, though."
Serika looks at me worriedly before moving on.
"Right. Well, as I said, you were given a second chance at life, and I'll be your overseer." She reiterates. "But, as you can imagine, you won't be sent to the same world you lived in. You will be, as many others put it, 'Isekai'd'. Where that might be, I am not sure."
I nod, gesturing for her to continue.
"Usually, when the organization chooses to transmigrate someone, they send them to a single world, and that's it." She adds. "However, in your particular case, things are different. You're offered the very rare opportunity to visit several different worlds after completing objectives given by the Ama clan."
"Huh." I blink. "What kind of objectives?"
"Related to the world you're in." She answers. "For example, if you were sent to a magical fantasy world, you can be told to take out a dragon before you move on to the next."
"A dragon?" My eyes widen. "How am I supposed to do that?"
"That's where the next part comes in." Serika smiles. "You'll be given a perk before you begin your adventure— a superpower of sorts. And although the powers are usually randomized, as your overseer, I can choose them for you."
"Ah. That makes sense." I nod, feeling relief. "The way you say that makes me think that's not the norm around here, though."
"Correct. Most of the time, others who are chosen don't even have an overseer. They're told to fend for themselves." She confirms. "As I said, your case is special compared to most."
I don't know how to feel about a woman as beautiful as her telling me I'm special, but it's doing things to me.
"Right." I swallow dryly. "So, what perk did you choose for me?"
Serika snaps her fingers, and a black and gold envelope suddenly drops on my lap, startling me slightly. I hesitantly pick it up and open it, and reading what's on it makes my jaw drop.
[True Respawner]
A variant of true immortality, where instead of regenerating or resisting damage, you'll simply come back from death each and every time. Not even destroying your soul or erasing you from existence will put you down. With this perk, you cannot be killed permanently.
Grants complete immunity to all True Death abilities. Negates ALL immortality negation abilities. Negates ALL ability negation abilities. Infinite² times over.
The perk will forcefully kill you if you're sealed to avoid permanent incapacitation.
You respawn back in your spawn point an hour after death. If there's no spawn point set, you'll respawn somewhere randomly in the verse. You can set a spawn point by sleeping on a bed. (The ground and sleeping bags do not count as a bed)
All items will drop upon death. Essentials like clothes will remain to avoid deathly embarrassing situations.
WARNING: DOES NOT NEGATE PAIN
Holy crap…
"So you're making me immortal just like that?" I look at Serika in shock. "How does something like this suit me?"
"I'm sure you'll figure that out yourself soon enough." She gives me a strange smile. "Now then. There are more mechanics to explain, of course, but I believe they won't be relevant until you complete your first objective. So, are you ready?"
"Ready to go to the first world, you mean?" I ask, and she nods. "I guess. But before that, can I ask you one more thing?"
"Of course." Her beautiful smile widens. "I'm happy to answer any question you may have. What do you need to know?"
Well, here goes then…
"Can you tell me how I died?"
"Oh." She blinks, suddenly becoming a little worried. "I can show you, yes, but are you certain you wish to know?"
"I-is it that brutal?"
"Not particularly, but I don't believe it would be good for your mental health." She responds. "It can be a little harrowing to see yourself die."
"Ah, that?" I mutter. "That's true, but I mean, I already know that I died. I think I'd feel better if I knew how. I don't want to overthink it, you know?"
"I suppose I understand where you're coming from. Very well." She nods, taking a remote-like device from under the desk. "But be warned. People usually don't take it too well."
She presses something on the remote, and a holographic screen suddenly shows up, prompting my heartbeat to speed up as I see myself on it. I immediately regret asking her to show me this, but I know that if I don't know how I died, my imagination will run wild, and I'll lose a lot of sleep over it.
I need to know.
I watch the whole thing in silence— seeing myself still in my apartment, getting ready for work. I quickly imagine the worst— thinking that I'd died to a home invader or something, but so far, everything proceeded normally, up until I exited the apartment.
I feel a sudden urge to look away, but I keep watching, and so far, nothing weird has happened. Did I maybe get hit by a car? Did the bus crash? The more this goes on, the faster my heart beats. It's insanely nerve-racking.
Feeling the pit in my stomach growing, I keep imagining the worst ways I could've died while on my way to work, even though I still haven't made it a few steps away from my apartment's door. In fact, the shock from being told that I died had subsided as I began going through the five stages of grief.
This can't be real, right? I can't have— No way I died. Maybe this really is a dream or something? Now that I'm seeing this, I remember hearing something about shoot-out the day before. But I couldn't have been caught in that, right? I was on the opposite side of the state.
I suddenly feel sick, but right before telling Serika that I don't want to see it anymore, something finally happens.
Right before the stairs, my video self trips.
"Whoops," He says, falling down the stairs in a very violent way, sounding out a very sickening 'crack' as soon as he reaches the ground floor.
With that, the video quickly ends, making me feel something… odd. The shock comes back, but the fear and denial are rapidly fading. There is also something that I don't immediately recognize, and it's growing exponentially.
What the hell did I just see?
"And, well, that's it," Serika says as the holographic screen disappears.
"…Is-is this a joke?" I ask her.
"I know it may have been hard to watch, Mr. Bradley." She tries to soothe me. "But know that you still have a chance to live again."
"That's how I died?" I ask again before standing up in outrage, now recognizing that foreign feeling. It's unfathomable anger. "THAT'S how I fucking DIED?!"
"Mr. Bradley—"
"Of ALL ways I could've died, FALLING DOWN THE STAIRS is what does me in?!" I yell in disbelief at what I just witnessed. "ARE YOU FUCKING FOR REAL!?"
"Please calm down—"
"My last word was 'WHOOPS'!"
"Um—"
"This is fucking ridiculous! It's bullshit!" I continue to complain. "Twenty-two years of living— all the soul-crushing grind in college, all the constant suffering I had to endure to pay my student debt, and I died because I tripped?! What the fuck?! I'd rather I got hit by a fucking truck or shot in the face than that!"
"…Are you more angered by how you died than the fact that you have?"
"Yes?! Don't you think it's stupid?!" I respond, momentarily forgetting who I'm talking to.
"Accidents happen, Mr. Bradley." She argues, being the voice of reason. "Whether it's falling down the stairs or getting hit by a truck— does it make a difference? It's still a tragedy regardless, no?"
I don't answer to that as I feel a strange force calming me down. Huh, so that's what she meant…
"Still, I'm a little surprised. When people reach the anger stage after witnessing their own deaths, they sound far more desperate." She adds. "You, however, sound as frustrated as you'd be dying in a video game. I'm impressed."
"This is stupid," I grumble to myself, making her giggle. "Fell down the fucking stairs— What a joke."
Of all the ways I could've died, man. Come on…
"Look on the bright side. You get to live a life of adventure without the risk of permanently dying." She points out, still as nice and polite as she was when she first showed up. "Doesn't that sound more appealing than the everyday life you led prior?"
I can't really argue with that, can I? I'm literally getting everything I could've wished for. Every college student ever thought about getting isekai'd before.
"…I guess." I sigh, relaxing as I start to feel bad. "I'm sorry for yelling. That was uncalled for."
"It's alright. I understand how you feel." She waves it off. "But back to the subject at hand; are you ready?"
I don't think there's anything to do here. And I'm actually pretty happy that I'm getting a second chance. Not having to do with shit like my grades or rent sounds like a dream come true, even if I'm potentially being sent to a death world.
But hey, I can respawn. I'll be fine. Probably.
"Yeah. I think so." I nod. "You said there were more mechanics about this world travel thing, right?"
"Yes, but they're currently not relevant." She says. "I'll explain them to you once you're done with your first objective."
Serika snaps her fingers again, and this time, a door-like portal shows up next to me. I get up from my chair and look at it hesitantly before grabbing the handle.
"Good luck, Mr. Bradley," Serika says, giving me a smile. "I'll be looking forward to our next meeting."
I smile back and give her a nod. And with a deep breath, I open the door and go through, closing my eyes at the extremely bright light.
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After experiencing what seems like the most intense moment of my life, I gasp and open my eyes as the brightness subsides, blinking repeatedly to adjust my sight. Once I can see clearly, I take in my surroundings, realizing I'm in the middle of nowhere, with endless green plains extending as far as I can see, punctuated by scattered groups of trees.
"Huh…" I blink once more. "What is this place?"
I grunt and shield my eyes as the sun hits my face, prompting me to walk to the closest tree for some shade.
While I thought I'd be closer to civilization, the air here is so fresh and invigorating that I don't mind taking a leisurely stroll to the nearest town. Although there aren't any signs of life nearby, I'm sure I'll come across some friendly faces eventually. Hopefully.
As I start to explore the area, getting used to the sun's brightness, I quickly pause and stop in place as I see a green blob hopping toward me. I immediately recognize it as a slime, and as I get ready to escape, seeing that I have nothing to fight it with, it simply jumps past me, ignoring me altogether. Are slimes friendly here?
"Hello there!"
I let out a little yelp of surprise at the unexpected noise, nearly losing my balance and tumbling over. But I quickly regain my composure and glance at the person behind the cheerful greeting. It's a ginger-haired man with warm brown eyes, dressed in a casual pale green tunic and jeans. He seems… well, just as normal as anyone can be.
"You must be Marco Bradley, yes?" The man says.
"Uh, yeah?" I frown in suspicion. "How do you know that, Mr…?"
"I am Zack. Zack the Guide." He answers me. "And I'm here to tell you all about this world we're in."
…Wait a minute. Passive slimes, a ginger guide that knows 'all about the world'...
There's no way.
"…Can I assume that this world is called Terraria?"
"Huh?" Zack blinks in surprise. "How did you know that?"
Oh no, I'm in Terraria. I'm in Terraria. Of all worlds, I get the one place that doesn't know what genre it wants to be. It's an extremely fun game, one of my favorites even, but a place I want to be in? Hell no. Anything but this godforsaken amalgamation of fantasy, sci-fi, and cosmic horror.
Fuuuuuuck…
"Just a random guess." I feel my willpower draining at the revelation.
"Ah, I see. Good guess!" Zack, being none the wiser of the immense terror I'm now feeling, smiles. "Regardless, I was told to give you this when you arrive."
I pause to see him pull a piece of paper from his pocket and give it to me. Unfolding it, I quickly realize that it is a letter from Serika containing additional details about my current circumstances.
Mr. Bradley.
Once again, I wish to remind you that the world you find yourself in is not one I chose for you. Worlds are always selected at random, and if it were in my power, I would've given you a much more comfortable place to acclimate.
However, it's not entirely hopeless. Some worlds, like the one you're in, have additional mechanics. They work on almost identical logic to their origins. Meaning in a world like Terraria, you have certain abilities. Like a limited inventory that you can open up using your thoughts.
I wish I could tell you more, but unfortunately, this is as much information as I'm allowed to share in this letter. Do keep in mind that while the world runs on similar logic to its game version, it's not entirely the same.
Best of luck, and until we meet again.
Yours truly,
Serika Amamiya.
Huh.
Well, okay. That makes things a lot more tolerable. I thought I had to deal with a lot worse for a moment there. Alright. So it's not impossible, but it's still pretty tricky. And thankfully, I can handle tricky.
As I read the letter a second time to make sure I don't forget it, the letter suddenly fades from existence, making me blink, then flinch as a floating blue screen appears in front of me.
[Eye on You] – Mission 1
Objective: Defeat the Eye of Cthulhu
Oh, you've gotta be fucking kidding me. Did you seriously just skip a boss? King Slime is right there, man. Come on.
I shake my head with a sigh. No, I can't complain. The eye isn't really that difficult to handle either, even if this world is on Expert or Master. I just need to find myself some Hermes Boots, break a shadow orb/crimson heart to get a gun, and build a row of platforms.
…Wait, how am I gonna do that last bit? Everything is in 3D— it's real life. How the hell am I supposed to build an arena? But at the same time, assuming not everything runs on the game's logic as Serika's letter said, does that mean that the bosses have collision physics?
If that's the case, I don't think I need an arena to deal with the eye. Just the boots and a gun. And, if possible, Fledgling Wings.
…Okay, you know what? I'm getting kind of excited now. Ignoring the dread I'm feeling at the moment; I always wondered what it's like to play Terraria this way. Like, in real life. And honestly? Early prehardmode is extremely easy to handle if you know what you're doing.
If my only quest is to defeat the Eye, then there's really nothing to worry about.
"Okay, she said I just have to think about it…" I mutter to myself, and as I will it, the same inventory UI I've been used to shows up, pixelated tool icons and everything. "Woah…"
As expected, besides the clothes on my back, I only have the three basic copper tools you start with. As well as the armor/accessory window, HP and MP, map, and the crafting one. And by simply thinking about the tool I wanna hold, a very realistic-looking pickaxe appears in my hand, surprising me with its weight.
"…Scratch that, this is awesome." I grin. "Oh, this is gonna be so cool~"
"I see you're having fun over there," Zack says. "So, what are you planning to do first?"
"I think building a shelter should be my priority right now," I answer, switching to the axe. "Only have a few hours before nightfall."
"Good idea. You'll be swarmed by monsters if you don't." He nods. "Would you like some help?"
"Huh?" I blink in surprise. "You can help?"
"Of course I can." He raises an eyebrow, waving his arms. "I have a functioning body, don't I?"
…Right, he's an actual human being here, not a nuisance that likes to open the door in the middle of the night to let the monsters in. That might be a little hard to get used to. Maybe I shouldn't build prisons for them if they're going to be real people.
"Sure."
"Alright. Then, you gather some wood." He tells me, equipping his bow. "I'll hunt some slimes for our torches."
"Sounds good." I nod.
Zack nods back and walks away, approaching some slimes in the distance.
As for me, I look at the tree next to me and tighten my grip on my axe, swinging it several times. Surprisingly, even though this is the first time I'm cutting down a tree, I don't find it as hard as I thought. I'm not sure if this is part of the mechanics of this world or if I just have a talent for cutting trees, but I won't complain.
The tree falls down in just a dozen or so swings, breaking into several pieces and flowing into my inventory, just like in the game. Though, as surprisingly easy as that was, I still feel the strain slowly building up after my seventh tree.
Okay. Fatigue is still a thing. And I'm assuming so is hunger and thirst. That's good to know early.
Still, chopping down trees doesn't take a lot of time, and I end up with several hundred blocks of wood in just fifteen minutes of working, which should be more than enough to make a shelter for the night.
So that's what I do, switching from the axe to the wood. As I thought, building and crafting are almost exactly the same as in Terraria. The only difference is that the blocks I'm placing are all slightly misshapen cubes of slightly different sizes instead of perfect squares. Fortunately, they still merge together when placed next to each other, or they would be really annoying to build with.
So, with a roof, walls, two chairs, a table, a workbench, and a door, I've built a whole house in less than an hour of my being here.
I… genuinely feel proud of myself.
"Wow, already done?" Zack says, coming back with a satchel filled with gel. "Do you have prior experience in building?"
"Kind of." I snort. About three thousand hours, give or take a few hundred.
"Very impressive." The Guide compliments my work as he opens the door of the house. "So what are you going to do now?"
"Hm?"
"You still have a lot of daylight left." He reminds me as he uses the gel he gathered to make a torch, placing it on the wall. Huh, so there's no risk of our house burning down. Good to know. "Are you going to use that time exploring?"
"Ah…" I put a hand on my chin, frowning in thought. "Hmm…"
I guess… I really only have two decisions here. Either I explore the surface for early-game loot or look for the nearest cave, and both have their own pros and cons.
Unless I stumble on the jungle or either of the evil biomes, the surface should be a much safer place to explore. The loot wouldn't be as good, but a finch staff would be pretty valuable at this stage. Granted, it, climbing claws, and radars are the only things useful, but the risk of dying to things like slimes should be nonexistent. Avoiding them in the game is easy enough if you can time your jumps since they're neutral mobs during the day, and avoiding them when the world is 3D? Yeah, they're not a threat.
Also, finding a desert temple for a sandstorm or a carpet would be a godsend. Surface desert isn't really dangerous outside of a few vultures that can be avoided pretty easily, so it's still pretty low in risk. But desert temples are very rare, and assuming I still need to drink water to survive, going into a desert unprepared and this early might be a bad idea.
But still, caves are a lot more high-risk high-reward. They're filled with traps and much more dangerous mobs, but the loot would be incredible. Besides ores for better armor and tools, getting Hermes Boots this early would be amazing. From what I can recall, I think the boots make you run as fast as 30 miles per hour. Which is fucking insane. That's faster than Usain Bolt.
They would make exploring the surface so, so much easier. That's also not counting on the other treasures I might find there, like a Band of Regeneration, Heart Crystals, Enchanted Boomerangs, Magic Mirrors, and, if deep enough, a Lava Charm. Then again, if I die there, I drop my items, as per my perk's description. I know my Terraria pretty well, but this is still different in the sense that it's 3D, so I might actually just die if I mess up.
Sure, the consequences aren't that bad since I can just get my items back. Unless I die in lava. Because I am NOT sticking my hand in a pool of that stuff to get my shit back.
Should I play it safe for today and stay on the surface, or do I dare to explore a cave for much better loot?
Decisions, decisions…
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Priapus' note: disregard natural caves, begin hellevator.
Mirlnir's note: It's a bit late at the time of posting this chapter (nearly 3 in the morning) so I'll post a poll about what he should be doing next after I wake up.
Comments
ArgoDevilian
Interesting, I wasnt expecting this to be in the Mirlverse tbh. Also, Violet eyes? Is that a hint to who Akane eventually settles with, or is Serika not an immediate child?
