I wake up once again to the steady, piercing beeps of a heart monitor. A bud of panic rising to my throat as I realize where exactly I logged back in to. Not the vine laden cave I logged out of yesterday, but the strange capsule in the foreign white room. A wave of terror washes over me as I freeze in place.

Oh no. No no no no no. This is not happening again. Whatever this place is seriously freaks me out, and I want nothing to do with it.

The beeps of the heart monitor quicken as my pulse rises but I don't even register it as my panicked state rapidly begins spiraling out of control. I don't want to be here. I want out.

*thud*

In a panic, I slam my fist into the side of the capsule sending white jolts of pain shooting up my arm. Gritting my teeth, I clench my fist, close my eyes, and take deep breaths.

You're being an idiot, Brian. You're letting your panic and fear of the unknown get the best of you without even knowing enough about this place to be scared of it. Your actions are irrational, illogical, and stupid. Get a grip, and gather information about this place while you still can.

Much calmer than before, I slowly open my eyes, scanning the small dim space for anything new while I try and reason out what I know.

I’m in a TVR console in a strange place, that's for sure. The language that I heard used last time was foreign and unfamiliar. This means I am either in some part of the station where the universal language is not used (which I don't think exists), or I'm not on the station. The only way I could find out is to get and out look around. Which is definitely not happening.

I don't want to move, and I definitely don't want to leave the capsule. Right now, this small dark space feels safe, at least when compared to whatever strange place lies beyond the pod’s walls.

As if on cue, the soft murmur of voices and the sharp clack of footfalls starts to bleed through the walls of the capsule.

“... and here we are. Welcome to the core of Project Fire Lily.” This voice is familiar, belonging to the icy, regal woman I heard last time. “As you can see, the first twenty units are complete, and we are well on our way to starting the project proper.”

“Hmm.” An unimpressed grunt responds. “And when exactly will that be?” The foreign man’s gruff voice is lined with authority and tinged with annoyance.

“At the earliest, one week. But in order to ensure their full effectiveness, a month or more would be best.” Their voices grow louder as the footsteps continue to approach.

“Doctor,” the man growls through clenched teeth. “You understand that they're needed on the battlefield now. It's a slaughter out there.”

“I understand General, but if we send them out too early they'll be more harm than help.” The woman sighs, and I can hear a couple of bleeps as if she's navigating a menu. “If we really push it, the earliest we could have them to you is in five days. That's including the time we need for training and the acclimation process.”

The man sighs. “Alright, it'll have to do. Notify me when you begin the transfer process. I will be present for their training.”

“Very well. But we do-”

“Wait.” The General cuts her off, the footsteps abruptly ending. “What is this? You said there were twenty units, not twenty one.” I freeze, it sounds like he's standing right in front of my capsule.

“Ah, that one is… more of a personal experiment of mine. It will be beneficial to our cause, but I will be personally in charge of his development.”

“Hmm, very well. Keep me updated.” The man’s heavy footfalls stomp away, but I don't hear the doctor move.

“That's strange…” She mutters under her breath, leaning forward over my capsule.

I freeze as she comes into view. Towering over the pod is a sleek, russet brown skinned woman. Her flecked amber eyes are sharp and intelligent, and her loosely curled black hair is cut short, nearly shaved on the sides but longer on top. She looks foreign, but in all senses human.

Trying my best not to move lest I catch her attention, I stare in shock as she reaches for the wall behind me and presses a lit button with a small beep. For a second, I swear I can see her gaze shift downwards towards me with a knowing smirk, but it's gone in an instant as she rights herself and walks off after the General.

As her footsteps echo into the distance I feel my body collapse in relief and my hands nervously dart up to my teeth as my bad habit surfaces itself once again. As my nails touch my lips I stop, once again shocked. Looking down at myself, I see not my normal thin freckled arms, but the pale, long nailed body of my avatar.

Then before I get another look, my consciousness is tugged away into the void.

---

I wake up slouched against the cave wall, the same spot where I logged out yesterday. The world spins and swirls around me as I lay disoriented. Closing my eyes, I still my vision and collect my thoughts.

That place was definitely not the station, nor any other station that I know of for that matter. There hasn't been any conflicts or wars among humans for hundreds of years. And these units, are they some sort of weapon? With the way those two were talking, it almost sounds like these things are people. And speaking of people…

I sigh and rub my temples. What's with that doctor? She definitely looked human, but nothing else about her seemed to indicate that fact. She didn't speak using the universal language and she talked of some sort of battle. Both of which are virtually impossible on any human station. Unless, of course, it's some sort of forgotten human colony.

That's it! My eyes shoot open in realization as I formulate my theory. There have been records of colonies going missing or falling out of contact thousands of years ago. The language, the battle, it all makes sense when considering a colony that grew apart from a society. That still doesn't explain how I got there, or how I could understand the language though. Getting frustrated by the lack of answers, I furrow my brows and let out a long sigh. No use theorizing with no ways to get answers. I don't want my overthinking to ruin my time in game.

Steadying myself against the rock, I slowly stand up, still adjusting to my avatars body and senses. Blinking into focus, I glance at my alien body. That's right, I had the same body while in the strange place.

Stop it. I shake my head. I already said to stop worrying about it. Just focus on the game and enjoy your time playing.

Setting my distractions aside I look back at my legs. The injuries that had accumulated during my battle last time were fully healed, but I noticed my maximum stamina was down ten points. Searching for answers, I turn toward the windows that popped up with a ding, joining the few that I ignored yesterday.

The front most window holds the answer I'm looking for.

Attention player!

Welcome back to The Di Game! While you were away, all previously sustained injuries have fully healed, and the time taken to heal has been subtracted from your maximum stamina. Enjoy your time in game!

- The friendly administrators of The Di Game

That explains it then. At least I didn't have to wait around in game for everything to heal. Waving the window aside, I focus in on the second newest window.

Welcome all players, to the second day of The Di Game!

We wanted to let you know that the first day of launch was a marvelous success, with over 50 billion players galaxy-wide! We are also pleased to announce a competition of sorts! By the end of the day tomorrow, the top strongest players will be receiving special rewards, specially designed to help each player. Train, learn and grow stronger. You may be one of the lucky few!

- The friendly administrators of The Di Game

Interesting! I feel a playful grin tug at the edges of my mouth. Maybe my race choice wasn't so bad after all. After all, I must be leagues ahead most players, I'm not even sure if many have completed the basic training yet.

With a new wave of determination, I pace about the cave as I glance through the last couple of windows. The ones I ignored yesterday.

New Passive Gained: Tracking

Tracking:

You find it easier to spot and follow the trails and tracks of your prey. Trails become more obvious as your perception increases.

Ah, so that's why the lizard tracks stood out so much. Tapping my chin, I reread the description. It becomes better as perception increases, eh? That means that other passives might be affected by my stats too. I'll have to keep an eye out for that.

Dismissing the screens I gather my staff and stand in the centre of the cave.

Dirt covered roots poke out and dangle from the ceiling and walls of the cavern. The outcroppings and ledges that cut into the stone are strangely flat and are all varying heights. Walking around the edges of the cave I check each ledge for anything interesting, finding only abandoned straw beds. Looks like whatever animals this cave was once home too are either long gone or dead.

Finishing my survey, I take a seat on one of the ledges and pull out my waterskin and a loaf of bread. Might as well as eat and restore my max stamina while things are peaceful.

*Woosh*

Pausing mid bite, I turn toward the source of the breeze, confused. The soft gust isn’t emerging from the vine covered entrance, but from the back of the cave. Swallowing down the stale bread with a gulp of water, I stand and walk toward the rocky wall.

The breeze slips through a narrow, previously unnoticed crack in the stone, producing a quiet, melodic whistling sound as it spills throughout the chamber. The wall is split from ceiling to floor, and the space is only large enough that if I turned sideways, I would barely be able to fit in. Glancing through, I swear I can see the smallest flicker of light from whatever's beyond.

Well, if that isn't a call to adventure, I don't know what is!

I pace back and forwards in front of the crack. My curiosity telling me to check it out, but my rational mind worrying out about the tight space. What if I get stuck? What if there was no way out? Nervously, I inspect the opening, trying to think of any other possible solutions.

There's no way I could break the stone, and it's not like I have a drone or something that I could check the space out before I go in. I test the narrow section with the length of my staff. It looks like it's only about two feet long, but that's still two feet of potential danger. But then, the light from whatever shines beyond is very tempting, and the only way to find out what it is, is to go in and check. So swallowing my reservations, I shimmy into the opening.

Squishing into the space, I push and wiggle myself through the passage into the space beyond. The process is less than pleasant, and I nearly get stuck once as the diamond blade of my tail gets caught in a crack, but after some careful maneuvering I pull myself out to the cavern on the other side.

The semicircle shaped room is small, only barely wide enough for me to stretch out my arms. Set into the flat back wall, a carved stone door stands lit by two burning braziers, the sources of the flickering light. The carvings in the door are simple, and seem to depict three different reptiles sitting on the corners of a triangle. Curiously, I approach the door.

Would you like to enter the Tri-Reptile Dungeon [lvls 1-4]? (y/n)

About: Dungeons

Dungeons are special pocket dimensions that are created randomly throughout The Di Game. Each one unique, they challenge players with puzzles and monsters that you might not usually find in the world. Players who complete dungeons gain loot and experience beyond what they would normally find during adventuring, but because of their unstable nature, dungeons often collapse once beaten. Higher level dungeons are much more stable, and can often last many completions before breaking. But low level dungeons are destroyed as often as they are created.

- The friendly administrators of The Di Game

Scanning through the message I let out a wide grin. If I want to try and get among the strongest players, then this is exactly what I need. Tapping the yes button, the door slides open to reveal an abyssal portal beyond. Unable to see any farther into the dungeon, I shrug and step through the doorway.

The darkness fading from my eyes, I find myself in a medium sized trapezoid shaped room. The three walls in front of me are smooth and made of a light grey stone. Inlaid into each surface is a large stone door similar to that of the dungeon’s entrance, each with a slightly different symbol engraved in the centre. In the middle of the room a small marble pedestal rises from the ground, unto which an unseen spotlight shines from the ceiling. Stepping forward, I notice three circular divots cut from the top of the marble. Something to do with the doors maybe?

Slowly, I approach the leftmost door. The engraving within depicts a winged serpent, seemingly dancing through the air as it hunts down its prey. Curious, I push open the door and enter the next room.

The chamber is tall and cylindrical. Two stone staircases curl upwards against the opposite walls of the room, meeting halfway up in a small platform before continuing towards the ceiling, where a large island like clump of dirt and stone seems to hang in the air. The floor of the chamber is flat stone, but as I step forward I feel a mysterious sourceless wind lifting up from under me, gusting up towards the ceiling. Scouring the walls and air, I see no immediate threats or enemies, so my staff at the ready, I begin making my way up one of the staircases.

The stairs are narrow, and although stone, they feel at risk of crumbling under my every step. All the while, the bustling wind threatens to blow me off the stairs, sending me tumbling to the hard rock below. Gritting my teeth, I stick close to the wall and gingerly walk up the steps.

One foot in front of the other, one step at a time I slowly climb the towering staircase. Reaching almost a quarter of the way up I pause and chuckle. See? It isn't so bad after all! With newfound confidence, I take the next step a little quicker than the others before it.

*crack*

The step underneath me crumbles as my foot touches it, sending my leg shooting downwards, dangling underneath the stairs. A long moment of tension passes as I stand shock still, waiting to see if the other step would collapse and send me spiralling down to my doom. Ten long seconds later, I carefully remove my leg from the gap and shakily lean against the wall.

That was close. Way too close. I should have been more careful, more cautious. I let my confidence get the better of me and I almost paid dearly for it. Waiting for my heart to steady, I rethink how I should progress.

As I did before, I'll stay close to the wall, thus avoiding the brunt of the wind. Now though, I'll use my staff to test each step before I progress. It'll take a lot longer but it'll be worth not having that happen again.

Tapping the next step and determining its safety, I carefully step over the new gap and continue upwards.

The farther up I get, the stronger and more chaotic the winds become. They weren't just coming from beneath me now, but whipped around my body in violent spirals. My progress slows to a near halt as I take time searching for cracks and hand holds in the wall, helping steady me against the gusts. After a painfully long accent, I eventually find myself only a couple steps from the floating island.

That's where I ran into a problem though. Three steps in a row crumble away beneath my staff, leaving a dangerously large gap to cross.

I saw two options. One, try and climb across along the wall. The wall is cracked enough that I'd probably be able to find enough holds, but it'll take a while and I risk being blown off by the ferocious winds. Two, I could try and jump across. This would be much faster, and I could probably time it for a brief pause in the winds, but I'd also need to pull myself up using only my arms, as the next stair is too high up to land on.

Weighing my options, I swallow nervously as I realize which would be the better option. Option one felt safer and more cautious, but the factor of risk is entirely up to chance. Risking a particularly bad gust arriving in the middle of the climb is not something I want to chance. With option two, I have at least some say in the matter.

Steeling my nerves, I shove my staff in my bag and lower myself down into a ready position as I wait for a lull in the winds.

And….. JUMP!

Seconds stretch into minutes as I fly through the air, eventually hitting the step with a hard thump. Scrambling forwards, I manage to get my arms and elbows onto the top of the step. Leaving the rest of my body dangling in the cold air.

Every muscle in my arms strain as I pull myself forwards, my fingers finding purchase in small cracks on the step to help anchor my weight. Using an upward gust to my advantage, I swing one of my legs up onto the stair, letting me roll safely onto the rocky surface.

Laying panting on the stone, I feel an unstoppable smile curl up my face as I recover from my adrenaline high. I did it!

Me, a researcher who's never had to work this hard in his life, just managed to accomplish a physical feat that he would never have imagined. The rush, the feeling of victory. It was all still coursing through my veins, and it feels amazing!

I slowly stand up using the wall, glancing at my stamina bar as my pulse begins settle. Just under half full, I watched as it slowly started ticking back up. That took just as much stamina as it felt like it had.

Half exhausted (quite literally), I lean against the wall as I wait for my stamina to recover. Ten minutes and half a loaf of bread later, I tap the last couple of steps and ascend to the island.