When I woke up there was an awful pain in my right arm. I mean, I know I had gotten a nice flesh wound there from when Pesos, may she rest in peace, tried to kill me, but Holy Cow, this sensation was like somebody was currently plunging a knife into my arm and then filling it with lemon juice alternatively. Not that I had ever been stabbed with a knife, but I had been bit savagly by a dog with long teeth. It was like that repeatedly.

But this thing hurt, like a forget everything and focus your entire being on ending the pain ASAP hurt. Perhaps the feeling can be compared a carrying a plate filled with the most tantalizing food ever but then realizing it is burning your fingers and you drop it all onto the floor. I’ve done that with a pizza, but I don't want to get into it now. It's too soon.

That said, I immediately turn to look at the wound and my left hand crosses over to my right arm to hold the paining limb (I’m not sure why we do that, it seems counter intuitive to me) before I can stop it. I am horrified to see that my wound has festered horribly. What appears to be a white and yellow nasty fungus the size of half a grapefruit is on top of where my wound was. Before I can stop my left hand, it brushes up against the fungus and pain like my right arm is on fire erupts and I abandon my attempt to touch it.

Clearly, this fungus does not want to be disturbed in its ancient ritual of eating me alive. I am beyond horrified.

My first instinct is to try to scrape off the growth as fast as possible and then do the shiver dance for a minute straight but my last experience tells me that is a no go. It’s like a tick, you can’t just pull the bloodsuckers off you once they are connected. And it probably has worse consequences than the horror of lyme disease I am constantly being told ticks can carry,

Breathing hard, I look around the room, vaguely recalling what had happened last night. A cold light was passing through the blinds, letting me see around the room. I was sitting on the floor with my top half laying across the bed. Looks like my attempt to not bang my head against the floor when I passed out was a success. Minor victory.

Then I see Pesos. Or, what is left of Pesos because she seems to be decomposing rather quickly. Disturbingly so, she is completely covered with what looks like the same fungus on my arm as well as more crazy varieties. Mushrooms of every color are sprouting all over her. If I was a child again and didn't know what the mushrooms were growing on I would have enjoyed stomping said mushrooms. As it was, I wanted to cry.

Either I pulled a Rip Van Winckel, or there are armies of spores ready to kill and eat me (not necessarily in that order) for tonight’s dinner. And by the look of my arm, there were well on their way.

Trying to calm down, I look to the top left to see a (1) there. Apparently I had missed a message and the sound didn’t wake me up. I’ll have to really avoid passing out in the future if it will prevent me from being able to react notifications, especially ones that inform me that I’ll die in five minutes. I open it immediately.

Warning! You have been infected by the isntance airborne bacteria!

Negative effects will stack

Huh, it seems to be a recurring problem. I assume I had survived the curse considering I am alive, but it is nice to see the timer gone. I hope it never comes back, that bastard.

And why on earth are they still using the blasted red on blue coloring? Don’t they realize how difficult it is for me to read that? This is discriminatory towards color blind people. Soon, I suspect there will be notifications in colors just like those annoying colorblind tests with the numbers in the middle. I’m sure I’ll miss important data and die.

So, back to the infection on my arm either I hadn’t had enough mana to fully cure the infection when I passed out or I got it again afterwards. I am betting on the latter as I had clearly gotten a second message about it. No time stamp though, that’s annoying. I should speak to the developers.

Taking a deep breath, I hit the ⇛ symbol and open up my info. Nothing has changed and it appears that my mana is back up to full. I’m glad to see that whatever the negative effects of the infection is, it isn’t touching my mana pool. I am having a hard time moving my body though. I don't think I can get up.

Well, here’s nothing, I’m obviously going to use Cleanse again. Hopefully it won’t use all my mp again otherwise there would be a good chance I’d be starting a downward spiral where I’ll never get enough mana points to fully clear my body before the infection takes me again and I’ll die. If I have spare mana points afterwards, I’ll use it to try to heal my wounds too. Looks like the open wound is only accelerating the infection rate.

After a quick prayer, I say softly, “Cleanse” and once again feel the comfortable chill spread through my body, then focus on my right arm. Keeping a close eye on my mana points as it falls below 10 again I watch in amazement as the white growth slowly dissolves and disappears, leaving a wounded arm full of holes, granted, but no sign of infection anywhere. I breathe out a long sigh of relief as I also note that I am left with 5 mp. No forever sleep today Yoda, looks like the system didn’t screw me over with an unwinnable setting.

Looking over my wounded arm, now hurting far less than before but still painful, I wonder what it would take to heal it. Considering my mana regen, I’ll be back up to full within a half an hour, I’ll give it another go then. Hopefully, I can avoid getting it infected again until then. Also hopefully, the cleansing power is still pouring through my veins, providing lasting protection, if only for a few minutes. Probably not.

Feeling relatively calm again due to surviving a close encounter with death, I stand up and stretch, realizing I had not been resting in a good position. My back was sore and so was my neck.

As the sun was seeping through the window I know that it has been several hours since Pesos tried to kill me, and now that I have time to think a little the thoughts I have been keeping in the back try to surface again, like unruly potatoes you are trying to sink in a wash bin.

...

Was this happening to the whole world?

I wasn’t hearing any sirens in the distance, so that was a good sign. But then again, if everybody died in the first 5 minutes and were now half eaten by overly aggressive mold there wouldn’t be any sirens out there anyway.

…

I can’t be the only one left. I just can’t be. It’s too absurd to even think about.

…

Bracing myself, I step over the half decomposed body of Pesos and grab my phone from the chair I use as a night stand and makeshift clothing storage.

Once I have it I step back quickly away from Pesos, trying to ignore her. Looking at the phone I see that I have no reception, even my wi-fi connection is out. I stand there briefly, wondering if this is a good or bad sign.

With another sigh, I realize there is nothing left for it and I put on my intrepid explore face and boldlymove to take a step outside my room. I reach out and grab the handle, turn it, and then open the door the the world outside of my room.

Bright sunlight filters down onto me through an ugly green light fog that is settled everywhere like moss on a tree. I am flabbergasted to see that my house is gone, replaced by an ugly, dirty, dead, and mangy forest of putrid green. How foreboding.

I guess it makes sense if this was a place ruled by the denizens of decomposition.

For several seconds I waver between two opposite emotions.

Firstly, My HOUSE IS GONE!!?

While I have only been the owner of this place for a little less than a year, I have grown more attached to it than i ever thought I could. I had spent over a year looking at houses online and in person, with several offers and several houses not going through. I had barely even managed to purchase this house from an old couple. I had to sign the offer agreement minutes after I physically saw the house, which was only hours after the blasted thing had even been posted as available. Plus, I was offering above asking price.

Even then it was a long shot, as my realtor told me the couple had five other offers that day and the only reason why I ended up with the house was because my offer was cash (thanks mom and dad for the personal loan) and the couple didn’t want the additional risk, apparently, of even higher offers but based on approval of a mortgage. Hurray, for conservative old people, I guess.

But then I finally had a place to call my own, after six years of literally moving each year, first at freshman dorms, then apartment with an unfriend, then Junior year back with parents, then Senior with eldest brother who then kicked me out after a year when he got married, then a year with my twin until he got married, and then a year with my friend until he got married, and then a year back at the parents. I was ready to stop moving. And stop going to weddings.

But a large paint job, a little deconstruction, and a lot of used furniture from my parents and I finally had a place to call home. Even better, my little sister was going to be a Sophomore at university and was going to live with me. I didn't have to be alone, ca’ching!

But now it was all gone. It can rest in peace too, I guess. I looked to my right and left. To my right should have been my sister’s bedroom and then the bathroom. Both have been replaced by dark, mossy, and slimy mud and bushes. Looking at the outside wall of my room, I see only half of it had been brought here anyway.. To my right should have been the wall to the hallway with a closet on the other side of it. The system didn’t have the decency to let me keep a coat apparently.

Eyeing the area, I see part of my yard around me, looking worse for wear. From what I can tell, it looks like a nice sphere of space was taken from earth, specifically, the space around my room and going back several feet into the sidewalk and flowers the previous owners had left me. The flowers were very wilted but that was true even before today.

My beloved house, destroyed before its time. I wonder if insurance would cover something like this? Probably not, they might call it an act of God and I really couldn’t blame them. Blast you system, you’ll pay for this!

But then the second, more serious, realization hit me and I was able to heave a nice sigh of relief and let the tension fade slightly. The whole world was not ending, just my bedroom.

With that question answered I actually felt a lot better. I had a lot of poeple I didn't want to see die, my three brother's and their respective wives, my two younger sisters, and my parents to start off with. It was nice to know that if I bit the dust (or slimy moss), at least I was alone. It would be their problem to deal with the greif of loss, not mine. I don’t know what I would have done if I had to see my sister half decomposed next door to me. I probably would have gone insane.

With renewed vigor I stepped back into my bedroom and looked at poor Pesos. She was stinking up the place even more than my dirty laundry. Sorry Pesos, but you have to go. Fortunately she had died on top of a carpet my mother insisted on giving me to put onto my wooden bedroom floors. I should be able to just grab the corners or something and drag her outside, if I take it easy with my wounded arm.

With that plan in mind I reach out and grab the front corners, hoping the drag the whole mass forward. It worked great partly, as only part of the dog came with it. Ewww, that fungas was really doing a steller job, I couldn't even see any bones in there. Not stopping and not trying to think about it, I drag what I had, which was most of Pesos, to the now front door of my house. I pause though, realizing that I would probably want shoes if I was going to go out there. The dead marshes would be a good name for this place I think, although more light and green than the scene from LOTR.

Stepping back, I head for my bedroom closet where I think I had left an old pair of sneakers. Hot dog, there they were! That’s a point for lazy people I believe. And mom wanted me to get rid of these babies, psssh, what does she know?

I quickly grab a pair of dirty socks, put on the worn and slippery sneakers, and head back out. I grab the rug again and drag it around the corner, and as far away as I was comfortable moving in this horrible place. The ground was super mushy and bubbly under my feet. I didn’t want to think about what I was stepping through.

Coming back, I study the remaining remains of Pesos, wondering how I was going to remove them. The best bet would have been a shovel but I did not have a habit of keeping those in my bedroom. Looking at my available options I decide I should sacrifice a number of my shirts to get the job done.

I grab several of them and try to use them to grab/push/drag the uncomfortably sloppy and fungus ridden remains out my door. On the way my hand brushes up against the mess and a screen greets me.

Warning! You have been infected by instance bacteria!

Negative effects will stack

Blast, I’ll do this in one go then and cleanse when I am done.

After several minutes of some of the literally most disgusting thing I have ever done in my life I head back into my room and close the door for good measure. I also hit the ⇛ symbol again and see where my MP was at. Up to 20, not bad. I am not willing to risk further infection, assuming I’ll use significantly less mp to cleanse a 10 minute old infection rather than an hours old infection. At least no fungus was growing on me yet.

I say “cleanse” again, only feeling slightly foolish for talking to myself and I am heartened to see that it only took 5 mp to clear me of my infection this time. With that in mind, I take a chance and try a new skill, heal. With only slight hesitation, I say it aloud.

Very different from the cleansing skill which was thrilling and comfortable, this sensation was more like getting ice water poured down my back. It was very unpleasant but not painful and I felt the icey burn settle onto my arm. Fascinated, I watched carefully as the jagged wound there slowly closed up and disappeared, leaving only a bloody smear behind. All for the low cost of 10 mp! I assume that more serious wounds will require much more mp, but for now I am satisfied to know that my open wound is now closed to further fungus busnuss, thank you very much.

Feeling accomplished, I take a deep breath and smile while looking around my room. But with all of my pressing problems taken care of the larger issues come back at me and I lose my smile. Issues such as, where on earth (or not on earth) am I? How am I going to get back home? And some more urgent problems like, what am I going to eat and drink since my kitchen had declined the journey? And the big one, am I going to be able to survive without being eaten by shrooms?

Son of a gun, there were easy answers before. These ones are going to be much more difficult. I don’t get paid enough to deal with this crap.

...

I take that back actually, looking around my room I spy my water cooler! Sure, it’s filled with five day old water from when I had gone to play ultimate frisbee, but I think it is still half full! That’s another point for being lazy, is somebody keeping score?

That was easy, I’m certain the other ones will be just as elementary to solve and I can start calling my sidekick Watson.

I move my now healed right arm and bring my hand up to scratch my beard. Hmmmmmm. Applying my advanced problem solving abilities I purview my experiences I have had so far. While I have had to face death multiple times already in the short few hours I have been here, the solution has been available to me everytime, nay, right in front of my nose even. Either I have had incredible luck or this place is designed to test its occupants, subtly providing clues and solutions to the player, me.

I’m going to go with the latter option here as the game system seems to indicate something like that and two, it provides hope and a way forward for me. The other option leaves me hanging, you know? I’d be paralyzed by indecisiveness if I took this place at face value.

Decision made, I get up and head confidently to the door. Larger answers to larger questions will undoubtedly await down the storyline but in this metaphorical starting village, permanent solutions for food and water are surely just around the riverbend.

Flinging open the door I step out into the ugly green air and breathe deep the misty dense fog. I immediately get a notification.

Warning! You have been infected by the instance airborne bacteria!

Negative effects will stack

God, this place has it out for me. I quickly say, “cleanse” and I am happy to see that since I caught it so early it only took 1 mp. I’ll remember that. I’ll also remember to try to not take deep breaths out here.

Looking out again I am immediately struck at a loss. Which direction should I head? I kinda peer in each direction but I don’t see any obvious waypoints. Holding still, I notice there is very little noise either. Mostly, I hear just light gurgling noises from pretty much everywhere. Considering it is like a marsh I am not surprised.

I stare out a few seconds, but decide I am not ready to move out just yet. I don't even have any equipment.

I head back to my room, considering my last skill I have not used yet. I pull the description up again to review.

Flare

Coat external surfaces with light energy to give a light attribute to object

Hmm, that sounds like a very ambiguous skill to me. There is no indication as to what kind of effect a light attribute even does. Is the effect uniform on every object? It says “a” light attribute, does that mean that there are more than one type of light attributes? Looks like I’ll have to perform some experiments.

Grabbing a book from my shelf titled Foundation and Empire, I hold it out and say, “flare.”

Perhaps that was a bad object to experiment with, in no way would a book serve as a type of equipment, unless it’s like a spell book, which I doubt it could turn into. I do note, however, that while the little book is now covered in light golden flames it seems a little stiffer and harder for a paperback. Also, I watch my mp and see that I am losing what appears to be 1 mp every two seconds.

I study the not-flames for a few seconds before I run out of mp. Instinctively, I know how to shut it off and without a word the golden glow deactivates, leaving me with 7 mp left.

Pretty cool stuff. Now I need a real weapon.

I take catalog of my room and I am very disappointed at the results. Not that I had ever stored any kind of weapon in my house, much less my room, but I had fancied something useful being found here. There’s not even a baseball bat that I could try to pound some nails into. Or any nails at all for that matter.

Too bad the coat closet didn’t come over with me, because then I could have at least used the broom handle. Perhaps the plastic staff would not have worked well, but maybe the Flare skill would help that? As it was, I had nothing that was usable by any stretch of the imagination.

There was a paintball marker up in my closet though…

I hadn’t used the marker in years and seeing it again brought back the memories of its use. When my eldest brother’s first left him his life took a turn for the worse. Quitting his high pressure job and moving out of his apartment he ended up purchasing a small house on discount from our parents in order to start on a fresh page. I didn't want him to be alone, so I took the opportunity to move in with him to help him out. My eldest brother is the classic outgoing, imaginative, energetic, confident,and slightly arrogant archetype that eldest sons often are. That year was one of the craziest of my life.

Together, we bought a sailboat and sailed on it, redid the entire backyard, rode bikes around the city, visited people and places I never would have alone, threw several outdoor parties, and also started a paintball league together. This marker was the remnant of that crazy awesome year that ended when he married another girl and kicked me out (lovingly). He even made me best man for this second wedding. That's two out of three brothers I got that honor for.

I took the marker down from the shelf in my closet and unzipped the bag holding it. Briefly, I imagined myself shooting Flare covered paintballs at my enemies, but that thought was quickly dispelled as I saw the o-rings were shot, the CO2 tank was empty, and my ammo had disintegrated over the last four years of disuse.

But I wasn’t aiming for that to begin with. What had my eyes was the long sniper barrel screwed on to the end of the marker.

You see, my eldest brother does everything 110% and if he was going to own a marker and play the game, he was going to do it the best way possible. Unlike me who was happy with the simple marker set up,my brother spent the entire year and all his spare money in upgrading his equipment until he became one of those guys who look like part of the SWAT. I believe he ended up with a fully automatic paintball marker and went through amo like a dog eating endless dog food. He had canisters of the amo strapped on to his back during the games for quick switch outs, going through thousands of the little paintballs in a single round of play, while I went through a few hundred.

That said, I got most of his hand me down upgrades, including this awesome barrel, twice as long as a regular barrel with small spiral holes on the side to ensure the paint ball spins properly on their exit of the marker to hit a target far across the field of play. It was also made out of some special metal too that I can’t remember but made it more awesome somehow. I felt like a badass when he gave it to me, and I still admire it to this day.

The barrel was about 2 feet long and would make as an excellent clubbing tool, if anything out there needed clubbing. And perhaps with a little Flare skill, the sturdy barrel would become something truly special. Like batman when he embraced the dark side.

I pulled out the black barrel and held it out in front of me. I whispered “flare” and watched with satisfaction as the the barrel lit up like it was covered in a fine oil and was aflame. However, it was not hot and after a few seconds I extinguished the skill before my mana was depleted.

Chuckling slightly I headed out the door, ready to test its effectiveness against any unsuspecting shroom out there. Looks like this barrel's glory days of pwning newbs are coming back.