Chapter 3

♪ You've Gooot a Frieeend in me ♪

After reaching the entrance of the miniature cave Tru was hiding in, he turned around and brought up the list of items stored.

[name: Masada Schafer],

[name: Wooden Chair],

[name: Epic of Helmdrig],

[name: Biography of Gabriel and Bartholomew Morrow],

[name: Mana Potion Ingredients],

[name: Abascan College's Rite of Passage],

[name: Brightgem],

[name: Powpow Bread],

[name: Leather Water Skin],

[name: Abascus Rope],

[name: Rejuvenation Powder],

[name: Orichalcum Chest],

[name: Bracelet of Hearth].

“[Abascus Rope],” he said, the rolled-up twine now hanging over his shoulder. “Anything special about this?”

[name: Abascus Rope]

[description: Rope made from the fibers of [Abascus Tree] bark. With strong tensile strength, it may hold/pull over 1 ton. Notice: easily cut.]

“This will definitely come in handy. I'll have to find a way to tie this to the top of the cliff to more safely get in and out of the hideout.” Poking his head out of the illusory wall, Tru looked up. Much to his disappointment, there were no protruding rocks on the cliff. Being cautious of the notice in the description, he thought aloud, “I shouldn't tie it over the edge. It would be bad if the ledge rubbed it the wrong way and cut it. Oh well. Maybe there's something that would be usefully paired with it.”

Tru put the [Abascus Rope] back into the ring of space. Next, he pulled out the [Orichalcum Chest]. With foreknowledge that he couldn't carry the chest, he made it appear on the ground before him. The intrigue in his eyes continued after reading the description.

[name: Orichalcum Chest]

[description: A container made from Orichalcum. Has been enchanted by [Major Conserve Lock lvl 10]. A key is required to be opened.]

“I didn't see anything about a key, but what if...” After disrobing [Robe of the Scholar], Tru held it up to observe it more closely. Not with any skill, but simply with his eyes. “The [Orichalcum Chest] and [Wool Tefillin] didn't have any description of what was inside. The robes probably don't either, so maybe there's a key in the pockets.” [Robe of the Scholar] was turned around and examined from top to bottom, but there was no sign of a pocket. After flipping the robe inside out, however, two large pockets were spotted by Truck. “Ah ha!” he exclaimed, promptly reaching into the first pocket. It was a warm pocket, but empty. Then came the second pocket on the opposite side. “Nothing. Maybe the lock is made out of magic? Masada could have had some kind of tattoo on his hand or something. But there's clearly a keyhole... Masada may have been searching for the key when he met his demise.” The question took up a bit too much time. Following the rabbit hole often led him to speculation, with no tangible conclusion. This time, however, he discerned a plausible hypothesis.

Putting his hand on the [Wool Tefillin], he scanned it over looking for any other possible compartments similar to the [Ring of Space]'s container. The tefillin had a large cloth that hung down the wearer's back and on the shoulders and tucked into a hard leather headband inside the cap. There were Tassels at the rim of cloth that had been braided splendidly with gold thread. The cap of the headpiece was considerably harder, though the inner part of the tefillin had soft fur that covered the top of the head. Wrapped around the outer cap was a hard metal band. Located at the front of the metal band was the container, which appeared to be a small book protruding from the forehead. Tru inspected the book closer to see that the book had a container in each page. He opened the book to a random page. Therein laid a small, humble key made of wrought iron.

He quickly grabbed the key and tried to open the [Orichalcum Chest], but was yet again disappointed. Continuing to “read” through the book, that was actually a container, bared no fruit in the quest to seek the key. Even so, he did find several other small objects that were of no interest to him at the time. Leaving all the contents where they were, Truck put the [Wool Tefillin] on and felt a comfortable warmth. “This is nice. Such warmth... Much comfort,” he said, a content smile on his face.

Putting the chest back into the ring with glaring eyes, Tru exclaimed, “It isn't over yet.” There was one item he needed to inspect prior to scrutinizing his skills, the [Bracelet of Hearth]. Emerging onto his left hand, the bracelet's label and description displayed its details.

[name: Bracelet of Hearth]

[description: lets the wearer define the current location as the hearth. Once every thirty days, the wearer can teleport back to the hearth.]

“This could help me get out of this forest opening!” Tru yelled fervently before slamming his hand to his mouth. With eyes wide open, he said “Okay chill. What if you wake up that golum and he somehow moves through the ground to this cave?” He rolled his eyes, annoyed at the current predicament. “In the spirit of caution; the last established hearth could be somewhere far more dangerous than here. Masada seemed pretty old, even for a skeleton. His college was the ‘Abascan College’ or something right? It wouldn't be a stretch to think the hearth would be some ruin in the forest now, overgrown with Abascus trees. I’d die for sure. There’s also the chance that I could just look different, and the people of that place try to turn me into a slave or something. Who knows? Any number of deadly or harmful places could be currently set.” As he was considering the possibilities of the bracelet’s destined transportation spot, he had the idea to ask, “where is the current hearth located?” In that instant, a window appeared in front of his eyes displaying a map. There was a transparent green triangle pointing at a blank area on the map. “This will definitely be helpful, but how do I read it? The whole thing is blank.” A description of the map appeared over the blank area.

‘bling’

[name: Map]

[description: A map of Driscoll. Upon clearly seeing a location with your own eyes, the map will document it.]

“Okay then. Basically, useless as of now. I can only tell that I’m in the North... if that direction is, in fact, North in this world. Maybe there are no poles, and compasses don’t even work here?” Though his mind was beginning to wander, Tru caught himself and came to a conclusion for the item, “I think I’ll leave that as a last resort.”

He placed the Bracelet on his right arm and thought ‘menu.’ At once, the menu window appeared. It wasn’t at all what he meant to see though, as there were no stats or skills listed like before when he said “status menu.” Rather, a list of selections appeared.

‘bling’

[~Menu~]

[Please select the desired path]

[~Truck Coon~]

[~Notifications~]

[~Status~]

[~Stats~]

[~Skills~]

[~Map~]

[~Items~]

[~Settings~]

“Uuh, that’s different. Settings?” he said questionably, selecting the option.

‘bling’

[~Settings~]

[Back]

[Audio]

[Visual]

[Account]

Only two useful selections were found in the settings menu. He can adjust the transparency of windows and labels, and [Delete Your Account]. Neither seemed appealing to Tru since the labels were already perfectly readable and unobstructive, and he had no intention of deleting himself. I guess that’s my only way to commit suicide? Well, at least I have the option, but not going to use that.

“Skills,” he said out loud this time. He read the list of skills and their descriptions. Truck wondered why [Eternal Love] was already level 2, and came to the conclusion that it was due to him saving the kids from the semi-truck before he died. “It seems that the [Unique Skills] level up by meeting certain requirements, not just exp,” he said aloud. There were no other peculiarities, so he moved on. “Alright and for the grand finale.” After picking up the [Beast Creation Scroll], he compared it to the other items and skills descriptions. I'll need to figure out what to do with this to get the greatest effect.

[name: Beast Creation Scroll],

[description: The caster's mana is used as the base to create an Eidolon, shaped to the desired form of the caster. Created Eidolon does not lose HP so long as the caster has mana and becomes an extension of the caster's body, able to be freely controlled. Eidolon's lvl 1 [~General Stats~] will be equal to the castor's base [~General Stats~] at the time of the creation. Note: The created eidolon cannot resemble a currently existing creature.]

[cost: [Beast Creation Scroll] and 100% of the castor's current mana.]

“It's decided then. Next mission: get more berries.” Tru reached to look outside the cave for a way to get back up after stowing the [Wool Teffilin] in his ring. Thanks to the [Rejuvenation Powder], he can at least use his right hand again. Only after tying himself to the absurdly heavy [Orichalcum Chest] with the rope, Tru started to climb back up the cliff.

Struggling to climb up with the new sensation of not having his right index finger, Truck poked his head up just enough to see the current situation. Over to the left, the [Orichalcum Golem] had not moved from the spot it was in not long ago, the [Hungry Rabbit] was nowhere to be found and the berries were swaying gently in the brisk mountain breeze to his right. His first thought was, Where is that bouncy monster? Vigilance was at the forefront of his mind as he slowly climbed up to search for any trace of what he thought was his biggest threat. There were no visible signs of the creature as he set the rope down near the ledge and made his way towards the berry bushes after activating [Assassin's Path]. Unbeknownst to him, the carnivorous rabbit lived atop the [Abascan Tree]s. Thanks to Tru's misinterpretation of the scarcity of his foe, his anxiety only increased. Nevertheless, the bushes slowly came nearer until he could see the red jewels adorning the leaves.

Yanking the bushes out of the ground had been his first thought to get as many berries as he could, yet, that task proved to be impossible. Though he pulled with all of the 26 strength he had at his disposal, it wouldn't budge. I mean, it's growing into straight [Orichalcum]. What else did I think was gonna happen? he thought as he chuckled to himself and started shoveling innumerable berries into the [Ring of Space]. Tru couldn't store the bushes into the unlimited storage item and assumed it was because they were alive.

Nearly an hour passed and Truck Coon was still loading the berries into the ring while remaining vigilant of his surroundings. These berries are growing back before I can even pick them all. I must have over a thousand of these things, he noticed. The main star was steadily creeping over the horizon and Tru swiftly darted for the cliff, noting that the golem had still not moved. Mr. [Hungry Rabbit] came into view after jumping from a tree just as Tru finished tying the rope around his waist and started to climb down the cliff. “Whew, that was close.” His demeanor did a 180 from anxious to relieved knowing that he completed the mission without a hitch.

Back in the cave of security Tru stored the rope and chest in the ring and sat on his surprisingly comfortable [Wooden Chair]. Tru said a silent prayer, Thank God I made it, and took a few deep breaths that calmed his nerves enough to kick back and enjoy the peace. “Okay, enough of that. Now, thanks for the food,” he said excitedly before eating as many berries as possible, only to notice that, after many handfuls, he could feel the pressure building up in his stomach. He jumped to the entrance and puked it all off the cliff. I'm sorry if this lands on anyone, but that was... unexpected. Truck looked down to see the forest continue on but was out of range of [Analyze]. After noting down that [Analyze] has a range less than roughly 125ft, he thought Now I understand the catch. That effect only lasts while the berries are in my system. He sat in thought, debating how to make this plan work, before realizing he should think about what he wanted to summon before eating.

Tru debated with himself about some of his favorite summoned creatures from stories. His favorite option was a griffon but he also considered a dire wolf, a void elemental, and even a beastman. The biggest issue was that they were creatures that were found in countless fantasy stories he already knew and had a high likelihood of not being able to be summoned. One thing he thought would be awesome is to have a living greatsword like the one from a game he used to play called Caliber of the Soul. Edge's Soul I think it was called. But even living weapons had a high likelihood of already being a thing in the world. That was when an Idea suddenly dawned on him. He smacked his fist down on his palm, adorning imaginary nerd glasses in his mind, and said, “A living greatswordstaff. There's no way that's a thing yet in Driscoll.” Envisioning the living weapon was fairly easy since there were two primary roles/weapons he chose whenever playing an RPG. He first pictured the living greatsword from his old game, then combined it with another greatsword from a game he loved about hunting monsters. Lastly, he pictured a staff from his blood elf wizard account on his fav MMORPG to be used as the handle, and he had a specific image ready to cast as soon as the berries hit again.

Truck tested techniques for speed eating the berries and found that he couldn't just have them appear in his stomach, but could have them materialize in his mouth, so long as it's open. After taking several hurls off the cliff from the testing and learning that he only threw up after eating too many of them, he was ready. “One, two.... THREE!” Tru counted before eating [Red Moon Berries] like his life depended on it, which it did. The moment he felt his stomach begin to boil, rushing up the last stretch of his insides, he spoke fast enough that he doubted he was even saying actual words, “[Beast Creation Scroll]! Bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh, create the eidolon of my design to be my partner! Masada, [Beast Greatswordstaff], hear my call and walk my path by my side!” Immediately, the scroll absorbed all of Truck Coon's remaining mana. The shock to his body forced the new summoner into a long, deep sleep, but only after he saw the outline of his new partner and a status window.

'bling'

[Name: Truck Coon]

[~Status~]

[Health: 9999999/9999999]

[Mana: 9999999/9999999]

[Energy: 9999999/9999999]

[Class 1 N/A]

[~General Skills~]

[Driscoll Linguistics Level 3]

[~General Stats~]

[Strength: 9999999 + 9999999]

[Agility: 9999999 + 9999999]

[Stamina: 9999999]

[Intellect: 9999999]

[Spirit: 9999999 + 9999999]

[~Item Skills~]

[Assassin's Path: Footsteps from crouching, walking or running are silenced for 1 minute]

[~Unique Skills~]

[Analyze Level 2: People, places on the map and things unknown to you display basic information to you alone.]

[Eternal Love Level 2: Every time you give of yourself, you permanently gain stats equivalent to the required stats to perform the task. When your life is given for another, all [General Stats] will be doubled, you will re-spawn from the first moment you gained this skill and the soul of the person you died for can be saved upon your return.

!WARNING! Consequent to dying, your soul experiences the [Wrath of God].]

[~Unique Stats~]

[Charisma: 0]