The countdown timer for Pesos ended before the sun came up. It was a long night, like winter nights where over half of the time there is no sun. Despite that though, Pesos did not appear and come charging at my door. When the timer finally ended, it just faded away. Considering it only took a few minutes for Pesos to appear last time, it means she’s out there waiting for me. Just my luck.

To pass the time until the sun actually rose, I had eaten as many wynots as I could stomach, which turned out to be two. Since I had used up all my remaining water earlier that night, it was difficult to even get the dry stale meat down my throat. But I was hungry and I knew I would need the energy for what I planned today. Those little jaw bones still freaked me out though.

Even after the sun started rising, Pesos did not appear. I looked out my window around my landscape and also moved the two dressers aside and peered through the door. Only the bodies of the zombies and skeletons where out there. Blast, and I was hoping they would disappear once morning came.

Stink, Pesos is not going to make this easy for me. I’m going to have to go down to the river to get more water for the day and I don’t fancy having to watch out for the flying wynots or for Pesos to come jumping at me. If she bowled me into the dirty sludge stream and then I was swarmed by a bunch of wynots in there, I don’t think I could survive.

Of course, there are zombies and skeletons out there too, probably just chomping at the bit to kill me. I took out the two new skeletons earlier, but I think they will be respawning soon.

I dawdle a bit in my room, hoping Pesos would appear and make my life easier. I clear away the bones of the two skeletons and apply another coat of cleanse around my room, but still she doesn’t come.

...

Maybe there is no respawning of the zombies and skeletons, maybe it is just pesos? If there were just a finite amount of these fools it would make my life a lot easier, I could just slowly thin their numbers out. That would be nice, but I doubt it.

I finish cleaning up my room, dusting and putting away stuff. I even organize my laundry, using cleanse on the dirty clothes. Perhaps this cleanse skill means I’ll never have to use a washing machine again? I grin at the thought.

Finally, I can’t delay any longer and with a scowl, I set off towards the river, my plastic container tucked under my left arm and Thor’s hammer secure in my right hand. On the short walk there, I start using identify on everything I can see.

Instance Setting (decayed tree) Instance Setting (decayed bush) Instance Setting (boulder) Instance Setting (decayed foliage) Instance Defense: infectious spores

Wow. I’ve been seeing “instance” stuff in the notifications for a while now, from the infections and curses of course, but this really confirms it. I am in something called an instance. I think this is good news for me because I think it means I am in some sort of artificial environment.

Hopefully that means there is an exit for it as well.

I reach the river and cast identify on it.

Instance Setting (sludge stream)

I look around warily as I approach the bank. One of the few nice things about how silent this place is that it should be easy to hear any approaching foes. The only noise I hear now is from this bubbling brook, a gross schlucking noise that disguises any movement from within. Those wynot bastards.

I scan the area for a few more seconds but there is nothing to note. I glare at the water before I kneel down and put my plastic container into the mucus liquid. It slowly fills up and I am as tense as a garage door spring.

Sure enough, after only a few seconds, a wynot comes blasting out of the water. Seriously, how many of these things are there in here? When I fish in a lake I am lucky to get a single catch in an evening, but here I can practically get one every try. It’s just not fair.

At least, though, this time I am prepared to meet it. The wynot attacked me from head on. I immediately pull up my quarter filled container I was holding in the stream, coat it with flare, and, with a yell, bash the damned thing out of the air before it can give me the kiss of death. I dumped sludge water all over myself in the process, getting a nice infection notice, but it is worth it to not have my face dissolved off.

I have learned from my earlier experiences with the wynots that they do not have the same explosive reaction to the flare skill as the undead skeletons and zombies do. I suppose it’s because the wynots wouldn’t be considered an undead creature, just a foul one. Still, the attack is very effective and the creature flies over to the left of me after the hit, its body black, burnt, and partially missing. I warily put my container down and grab Thor’s hammer. I see the creature is still wriggling a little and I want to identify it before it expires.

Wynot: level 7

Whaaaat? How is this possible? Why is this thing called a wynot? This is crazy, I haven't even said that word out loud yet either. It is impossible for me to accidentally be guessing the real names of these things, right?

Maybe the system is just trying to make things easier on me by naming things as I understand them? That makes more sense, it's obvious the system can read my mind, it did convert units to imperial standard for me and probably translated whatever original language this place had into English. But if this is some sort of virtual reality, isn’t mind reading a bit too much? I guess all our thoughts really are are just electric pulses, so maybe not? I don’t know.

Also, this thing is level seven? That is still two levels above my current one, I suppose that means I am gaining good experience points (if that is a thing here) from this. Also, if these wynots are all around level seven, than that explains why I leveled up rather quickly yesterday.

I stare at the dying beast for a few more seconds and then it passes away. The identification screen changes with it.

Wynot (remains)

I shake my head and dismiss it, suddenly aware I had spent the last thirty seconds pretty distracted. Pesos could have gotten the jump on me, or worse, another wynot.

I cleanse myself, getting rid of the sludge on me, and reach out to grab the dead wynot. No use in wasting this perfectly good (edible) meal, even if it is half gone. I cleanse it thoroughly but then realize I don’t have a good spot to put it. My plastic container I am using I am going to fill up with the nasty water again.

I have a backpack in a closet in my room, left over from my university days. I’ll have to bring that with me next time. I put the tiny wynot remains in my lap as I go in for another try for water.

I finish my job without another interruption and I make my way back to my room as quickly as I can without spilling the green sludge. I cast cleanse on it along the way, watching it as it turns from bright green to dull gray. The sludge loses half of its mass in the process, but what I am left with is a half tub of dirty gray water.

I make it back and filter it out as best as I can, filling up my water jug most of the way. I immediately take a large gulp of the freshwater.

Oh yeah, I have said this before, but this is the good stuff. I’ll never complain about the quality of water again, be it well water, city water, spring water, bottled water, I’ll take whatever I can get my hands on. Life and death situations can really put these kind of controversies into perspective.

For that matter too, I’ll never turn my nose up to any food again, even lasagna. I don’t know what it is about that stuff, but I never liked it, despite Garfield’s obsession with it. Now I’ll take an entire tray of it, even if it is cold and old.

I find my backpack in the back of my closet and I start packing for my trip. I take a few extra sets of clothes because you never know what is going to happen. I also pack my jug of water, two wrapped daggers, and my remaining wynots. I take the other two daggers and stick them as best as I can into the side pockets of the backpack for (theoretically) easy retrieval if need be.

I also find a baseball cap and wear it. It's not sunny out there by any means, but protecting my half a bald head just seems smart. I look around the room again, looking for something that could be potentially used as a shield, but there really is nothing. There is a large blackjack case that is kinda big enough to serve, but there is no good way to hold it without losing functionality of my hands. Its disappointing, but I’ll have to make do.

Finally, I step outside, feeling unprepared for this excursion but there is nothing else I can think of. While my backpack with the water in it is a little heavy, I will still be more than able to outpace the skeletons and zombies I have seen so far. As for Pesos, she always had the speed on me so I wouldn’t have been able to compete in that department anyway. I don't think it will be too much of a problem.

I look around the landscape one last time before I leave. I hadn’t been out of sight of my room before, the thought is a little daunting. What if I cannot find my way back? My room sticks out like a sore thumb here, but I have no idea how big this place even is. I’ll have to be extra careful as I navigate. Maybe I should leave some sort of markers behind? Looking around, each direction seems to go upwards a little, so its like I am in some sort of valley or bowl. It makes sense as the stream runs through here, so I guess I could just look for the large depression in the land.

I take a deep breath and prepare to move out.

Warning! You have been infected by airborne instance bacteria!

Negative effects will stack

…

That joke is getting kind of old. Also, I really should have learned to stop doing that by now.

I head out, keeping a look out for zombies or skeletons or for Pesos. There is nothing around though and I am a little concerned about the lack of enemies. I wish Pesos would just attack and get it over with already, I am worried I’m going to get ambushed by her and all the other zombies at just the wrong moment.

I reach the crest of the small hill that I first saw the phantom Pesos appear on. The way there was pretty easy, most obstacles were brushed away easily as they were half dead. The forest never got too dense to move around in and in any particularly iffy spot I just used cleanse a little to remove the blockage. Pesos had been able to run a straight gallop at me from the top of this hill, which should have been impossible considering the landscape, but I guess being a phantom has its advantages. She couldn’t pass through my flare covered door, but she didn’t have a problem with all this dead forest.

From the top of the small hill I see that there isn't anything particularly good around. Looking around I do confirm that my house is in some sort of bowl. Still, I appear to be currently on top of a highpoint in the area as everything else appears to be a little below me. Just a little though, even with the half dead forest and incline, I cannot see very far.

There is a nice stout tree trunk next to me, sticking up vertically with its top half broken away about ten feet up. I tighten up my back pack and stow thor’s hammer away, preparing to climb it to get a better view.

The large mushrooms on the tree, while infecting me upon touch, provide some nice foot and hand holds for me to use. When I reach the top, about ten feet off the ground, I am above everything.

The most curious thing I see is the edge of the map. And when I say edge, I mean edge. From up here I can tell that this place is rather small, only about a square mile. The edge is an edge, like in a game I played as a kid called Smuggler’s Run. The edge up the map was just an invisible wall with only the sky beyond it, above and below you. In the game you were a car and if you tried to pass the edge of the map you would just ram into a force field stopping you. Then you would be creamed by all the police cars chasing you.

I guess this means I don’t have to worry about getting lost here.

I stare at the edge with only a little disbelief. If I crossed toward it, would there be an invisible wall too, or would I just fall into oblivion? The thought scares me but I am more than just a little curious. If i wasn’t struggling to stay alive here, I would have to go check it out.

Secondly, peppering the landscape all around me, I see what looks like old ruins. Classic game like stone ruins. I suppose if there was treasure to be found in this place, they would be located there. Was I supposed to explore those ruins, find all five keys, or crystal balls, or whatever to unlock the ending? I hope not, that sounds super bothersome. I bet those things would just be loaded with traps, poisons, and enemies just waiting to kill me. I’m going to avoid those until it becomes clear I have to do a dungeon dive. This sucks. I try to cast identify on the closest one but nothing happens. I guess I am too far away.

The third interesting thing is a real building. If I had to describe it, I would say it was a small temple. It was a triangle A shape with glossy doors and sides. It was stone too, similar to the ruins as far as I can see, but it was also tiny. No bigger than my own room to be honest.

…

Looks like I found my destination. It’s not too far away, but it will probably take me a good hour to reach it, considering the forest and how carefully I will need to travel.

The last thing I see are several slow moving zombies just scattered across the scene. Its difficult to spot them among all the dead plants and trees, the only reason I could was because they moved. But they appear to be wandering around aimlessly like I would expect a zombie would. I can only spot four from up here, but there are probably a lot more I cannot see.

The nearest one is only a hundred feet or so from me, moving toward me, but slightly to the left. As I watch it, its face suddenly turns to me and he immediately changes his travel plans, making a beeline at me.

Great, let’s hope he doesn’t bring any of his friends with him.

I don’t want the zombie to trap me in the tree so I climb down quickly to meet him on a level playing field. I climb down halfway and leap the rest of the way, landing with my knees bent. I move to pull Thor’s hammer from my pack.

Something heavy strikes me from behind, ramming into my backpack like a linebacker sacking a quarterback. With a yelp I go down, falling face first into the mucky, slimy earth. The taste is just terrible, it definitely doesn’t taste like dirt. I have never tasted something as awful as it, but I imagine it's what the contents of a five week old tupperware container full of old stew would taste like. I can feel my body convulse from the horrid stimulation. Also, I find myself unable to breath again as my face is full of the gunk and my breath was knocked out of me.

I don’t know what happened, but I am blaming Pesos. I can feel her weight on my back still, pushing me down into the ground.

Before I can react, I feel sharp pains at the back of my neck. I think she is biting me there as hard and as fast as possible. It is here that I learned that my spine is a pretty tough bone. It hurts like hell, but she is not able to break it with her jaw. The same cannot be said about the soft sides of my neck, I can feel her ripping those apart.

Oh God, this hurts. Please, save me from this nightmare.

I push myself off the ground as fast as possible. Before this moment, I wouldn't have thought I would be able to do a push up with a forty pound dog on me, but not only do I do it, I am able to do it with such a force that she is thrown back off of me and I get up as quickly as I can.

…

Oh my god. I am horrified to discover that the muscles in my neck have been so destroyed that I cannot lift my head up properly. I am stuck facing the ground, my head limp and dangly, my spine doing its job in keeping it in place. Worse yet, my esophagus feels blocked, I cannot take any air in. This experience now takes the top of my worst experiences in my life, replacing the skeleton attack from last night. It seems the longer I am here the worse things get.

I can see Pesos out of the corner of my eye. She recovered rather quickly from getting thrown, but now she is eyeing me warily from a few feet away, prowling around in a circle. She looks like she is expecting me to collapse and die now, her vengeance achieved, and is not willing to get close lest I bring about a superhuman strike in my last moments.

That’s fine with me, I had started healing already but it will take a few more moments to finish. I feel the icy cold sensation around my neck as it fills in the gaping holes with new flesh. This is hurting like nothing I have ever felt and the only thing keeping me from screaming is the fact that I physically can't.

Soon enough, the healing is done and I can lift up my head and take in a needed lungful of air. I breath it in like a swimmer escaping the watery clutches of a deep dive.

Warning! You have been infected by airborne instance bacteria!

Negative effects will stack

God damn it. I take advantage of Pesos’s confusion and steady myself, checking my mp. I’m at thirty four, good enough.

I also give her a quick identify.

Pesos

Vengeance Spirit: Level 2

Of course her name is there. Only level two? Pesos is light years more dangerous than that level seven wynot.

I cleanse myself and give Pesos as big of a hateful scowl as I can muster. She seemed to have figured out that something is wrong though and she is now growling aggressively at me, snapping her jaw and jumping closer.

I can’t help myself, perhaps my pain and rage is getting the better of me, but I glare and shout at her, “Pesos, stop that! Stop that right now!”

My words seemed to give her pause as she stops growling and retreats slightly, giving me that guilty look she gives me when she knows she did something wrong. Like when she broke into her treat bag only a couple days ago.

It only lasts for a moment though and then she jumps back, circling me and acting more aggressive than ever before.

….

Oh man. I feel my anger drain away, replaced with sadness, I can feel my eyes water. For a second there, I think the real Pesos showed through. God damn it, I am going to kill whoever did this to her.

I try again, telling her to back down and stop it, but it appears to only aggravate her further. The poor dog.

I am being very careful now. I am taking slow easy steps, not letting her get behind me again. I am also carefully keeping an eye out for any zombie party crashers. Pesos is too fast for me to catch her, I couldn't even do that when she was alive, much less now in her phantom form. My only hope is to get her to attack me again. Thor’s hammer is still sitting in my pack, but I think it might be better to face her with my holy hands.

I start talking to her again.

“Come on Pesos, what are you doing? Stop this now, do you want a treat?” That phrase always got her going before. “Do you want a nice treat? Come on, who’s a good girl? Who’s a good dog?”

It appears to be working, she can’t seem to take it. Reminders of her former life, I guess. With a loud howl she lunges at me, straight for my neck again. I am prepared though and I use flare on my hands and grab her before she can get me.

In fairness to her, if not for this flare skill, she would have torn my throat out again with this attack, even if I had managed to grab her. But as it was, her howl quickly turned into a pained yelp and her phantom body burst apart and broke down upon my touch. After only a second, her body completely disintegrated and its black wisps slowly dissipated. After a couple seconds, a new notification appears.

Vengeance Spirit defeated!

Countdown until respawn

I look up at the new timer in the top left corner of my vision. 1,356:37

…

How depressing. I am not happy my victory. If nothing else, this fight proved that Pesos is going to be a major pain going forward. At least I found a way to deal with her, while her relationship with me is probably what gives her her strength, it is also her weakness. Hopefully I can end this today and not have to do this again.

I sigh and look around. That other zombie should be here soon.

Speak of the devil, I can hear his crashing through the foliage close by. It appears to be alone too, good.

I pull out Thor’s hammer and rub my neck. I can still imagine the feeling from before, I do not want to go through that again. Everybody here seems to be after my throat too, and they also seem to have a pretty good success rate for it. I should seriously consider some sort of neck guard.

The zombie comes into the view, shrugging off a dead bush that had been stuck to him. Neither of his eyes are on his face, so I guess that means that they are using some other means of tracking me. Its definitely not hearing either, its got to be magical somehow.

I cast identify on it as it comes into view.

Zombie: Level 5

This one is a higher level than Pesos, too.

I waste no time and get behind it, striking its head with Thor’s hammer and it crumples noiselessly to the ground. With another sigh I check my mp and see that it is low. After that fight, I am pretty tired and thirsty. I guess I’ll take a short break for now.

My enemy is going to have to wait just a little longer. But I promise, I’m going to find you today.