《Tentacles, loot boxes and apocalypse [monster evolution story]》🙡 Chapter 6.1 - The prisoner 🙣
Advertisement
🙡 Chapter 6.1 🙣
The prisoner
Sometimes one wonders how much media we consume affects our instinctive reactions to life circumstances. How many people responded with stupid TV series reference at a funeral. Or, instead of behaving like a normal person tried using a trope from a romantic TV series only to sound like a creep. Or said “Long live the king” when making their brother fall to their death. You know, things all of us had experienced at some point or another.
If you are thinking what brought this up—against my best judgment, I had this urge to take my tentacles, wrap them around the bars of my prison and scream “LET ME OUT! LEEET MEEE OUT!”.
Instead, I observed my surroundings, while continuing to pretend to be asleep. I was in a cage big enough for a creature five times my size, so I had quite a lot of space left. Well, me and my new companion—a stuffed plushie, very well made though a bit worn out, of a cat with wings. Unlike modern plushies, which are far more stylised, this one seems to try replicating its model quite faithfully. Faithfully enough to, for a moment make me doubly glad I decided to try playing dead! On closer inspection I could tell It was quite old, even if someone took good care of it—there were quite a few mended holes, and part of its coat must have been replaced. Both of us lay on a floor stuffed with fresh straw, though I was also covered with a blanket. I could not see any rations, though there was a small plate filled with water. The conclusion was obvious.
I was to be made a subject of terrifying experiments. The stuffed toy was there to scare me into obedience, and show me that failure to follow proper procedures will end in being sent to death by being eaten by a flying tiger.
Advertisement
What? You think I’m wrong? They might have just put me here for now, and they will want to make me a pet? Oh, you sweet, sweet, naïve soul, that is reading my diary that I shall soon start writing with my blood on the floor of my prison. What I have yet to mention was the OUTSIDE of the cage.
A white wall completely covered in blood-red symbols, with wooden beams peaking here and there. Closed shut windows. And finally rows and rows of jars filled with floating body parts of a multitude of creatures—ordered and labelled. A clean and well maintained chopping board, showing signs of being used for many years. Next to it dozens of knives, saws, hammers, and other torture devices. Humanoid hands and small wooden babies drying from ropes hung above my cage… and finally DRYING TENTACLES! Nooo! My cousin! I have never known you but I will do my best to avenge you! And living well is the best revenge so I have to get out of here! And, close to me, what must be a scene of struggle of the previous subject—scattered books and scrolls, and a big black stain on the ground, still wet, hastily covered with a dirty blanket.
A lone man-topus, armless (tentacless?) against an unknown mad researcher? I can’t give up, but my odds look bad. I mean look at these meagre stats! I was overpowered by a child, how am I supposed to fight against anyone?
[GENERAL]
Name:
Sir Yarnball (weak binding)
Race:
???
Age:
0
Titles:
Hidden seed [hidden]
[STATS]
Intelligence:
776
Strength:
154 (+2)
Dexterity:
147 (+1)
Body:
102 (+1)
Mind:
152 (+2)
[SKILLS]
Capricious fate
Lvl 2
???
???
[Covenant]
Covenant:
Fate’s Pathfinder
... Firstly, who the hell is Sir Yarnball? Also when will I finally be able to read the rest of my status? Well at least I got a new skill
Advertisement
New Skill: Capricious fate
In a place that no path leads to, there is an ancient library, built before times. Inside it’s eternal walls, on shelves carved by those whose names are not remembered even by the oldest immortals, lie countless books, each describing the life of every soul that ever existed or will exist. A tome with your name is also there.
This skill grants a powerful heal every time it is used on the left page of the book of your fate, and a powerful burst of damage when used on the right page.
(Effect depends on Mind and Intelligence)
(This skill does not grow with use. As your effects on the world grow, so does the skill)
I sighed out mentally. I got my complaints out, now it’s time to do something about my situation. The new skill should be helpful..
I was not foolish enough to repeat the same mistake twice, so no touching anything until it is necessary, and even then—no using hands. There was a place of peculiar interest on the cage—hinges to the door of my prison, and it’s lock. I’m afraid I had no picking skills, so the likelihood of opening it was miniscule, but a bad lock should be openable by applying force on the latch directly.
The time has come to stop the pretend sleep. Under the watch of hundreds of eyes floating in a jar, I slowly rose up, and once again searched for any living creatures inside the room. Not finding anything I got closer to the lock. And hope! The mechanism looked relatively primitive, if I found something thin I might be able to move it up! The hinges on the other hand were blocked on both sides, a countermeasure against beasts that might have enough brute force to open the door this way. It made the simplicity of the lock more suspicious— could it really be that easy? On the other hand, would you use an expensive and complex mechanism to lock up a chicken?
For now I decided not to risk my appendages (and I knew they could be made thin enough to fit in, as when I was thinking about attacking the shackle, a few of them were moving next to it, unconsciously getting thinner and thinner, moving around seemingly testing the ways to break in, as if they had brains of their own), and picked the plate with liquid provided by my captors.
I quietly floated above the plate, spilling the liquid on the plush toy to reduce the noise. The shiny ceramic surface reflected an ominous glow of small fire slowly cooking a certainly evil concoction I couldn’t see, but could hear bubbling away. I put it under the shackle. My tentacles tensing into spirals close to my body. The well oiled mechanism slowly gave way, the quiet sound of gears turning sounding like a jackhammer in this situation, and…
Success! Nothing happened, apart from the doors slowly opening! Not even a loud creak of the doors, they seemed well oiled actually. I looked back into the cage, and I felt a bit bad about leaving Mr. Cat inside, a foolishly sentimental thought. So I went outside instead.
Thanks to the magic of jumping off the table, I could just slowly float away, not even risking making the floor creak under my steps. Flying like a bird towards freedom! Floating like dandelion seeds towards sunnier pastures!
WOOOOOoooOOOoooOOOOOooOOO!
Advertisement
Essentia Animus
Second Book of the Soul - Celesi Veil Trilogy When the living essence of three girls are put at risk, giving room for a second essence within themselves, even their hyper developed fantasy world might not be enough to contain their new found ambitions. Another story of another world, these three girls must adapt to their new essence, all while each is left to question if they are truly still even alive. While this story is a sequel of the previous story in the trillogy, it is also fully capable of standing alone in its own light, taking place in a distant corner of a Celese returning readers will be otherwise incapable of recognizing. However, the events of the story are a spoiler for the previous book, in case that matters to anyone. This story takes place over two centuries after the events of Vitae Memorandum, when Celese had developed into an advanced world, improved to a point that it is much like modern-day Earth while still using the gift instead of technology. The Aethyx languages are still present in this book, and even English still exists in the world after the events of the previous book, but are much less of a focus after the same closing events of the previous book. What is instead important is how the ending events of the previous book had resulted in the start of the Instrumentation Era, and exactly how the gift translates in a modern-day sense. While this book is still effectively a fantasy world of its own kind of magic, it isn’t the classical medieval scene that would be typical for such a story. The laws of science still do not exist in Celese, but that didn’t stop it from developing into something that looks similar enough. Earth itself still remains present on the other side of the veil, and its previous exposure continues to shape and advance Celese into the world it has become. This story contains scenes exibiting mania and similar dark themes, as it goes to great length to explore concepts of life and death. While the degree of such themes should not be considered to be as serious compared to matters such as actual horror, the psychological depth is still siginifcant enough to be potentially concerning for people sensitive to matters of this nature, such as any individuals with concerns questioning matters of suicide, mental harm, or a variety of emotional injuries. While none of these subjects actually occur in the story, readers who are currently troubled by such matters may find themselves considering old wounds if they are especially capable of empathy while reading, which could lead to furthered emotional or mental stress. Readers with a high capacity for empathy may find themselves troubled by concerns regarding any potential lack of mental/emotional control as well as considerations regarding the meaning of death. Readers who appreciate subtle dark themes in a story may instead find this to be an interesting twist of the same idea.
8 116Chills & Thrills Anthology
Catch up with the best of the best in our brand new anthology! These thrilling stories will keep you on the edge of your seat. Enter our Contests & Writing Prompts for a chance to be featured in this book.
8 144Will Of The Soldier
A soldier of the modern war finds himself in the blast radius of artillery, and he comes to realise the cruelty and the facade of his "country", unfortunately it is too late for him to regret his decisions, and the lives he has taken. He accepts his fate. However he does not wake up where he expects too, nor as he expects to. Join Adam in his adventures across a new world with an entwined, powerful history. Will he ever be able to see the faces of those he loved again?
8 195One of the guys
Cindy Torres is obsessing over Our2ndlife, she always watches every video, replies to every tweet, and stalks their twitters. But one day, one member changes Cindy life, forever.
8 142The Matriarch
Evil By nature. Evil by indifference Evil by choice. 3 beings from 3 separate worlds brought together in a game of godhood at the whim of unknown forces. Though they do not know the real reason they have been gathered, they will come to know the hardships of playing the games set before them. A cursed world, ruled by a Demi-Goddess that bars the birth of men, these unwitting participants will have to find their own way as the forces of this place seek to correct the imbalances they cause. A shaman of Death, a construction worker, and Humanities final achievement will have to contend with magical forces beyond their understanding as they forge alliances, subjugate countries, and ultimately fight for supremacy of this world.
8 205Levi x depressed reader
Y/N is a new student at rose high school blah blah blah ( Levi's the teacher he's 20 your 18 ) he finds out what happens to you at home and school
8 107