《TRX's Adventures》Vol. 1 Chapter 3: A strange dream and "meeting" a new friend.
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It was a very dark place. The walls were made of very old bricks, which had strange designs and were blue.
- This place is really confusing... - said to himself a young man, who had black spiky hair, while illuminating the place with a green flame that was on the tip of his index finger, he was carrying a sword in his other hand. - Well... Anyway... Let's keep looking!
He passed through several large rooms. They were spectacular sceneries: bottomless voids, platforms floating in the air, waterfalls falling upwards.
Finally, he arrived at a huge "room", even more than the previous ones... Although it was just a platform floating in the void. There were four pillars supporting the nothingness and, in the middle of these, there was an altar that had a kind of blue orb on it.
- Phew... At last. - he took the orb. - Now there are five to go.
- Groaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarh!!!!!
A very loud roar was heard coming from the void. The young man braced himself for what was coming.
- Ha, I knew they weren't going to make it that easy for me... (Although the things I did to get here were complicated, who thought of making such things? I hope the next ones won't be like that). - after muttering that, he pointed his sword at.... Imagine the "camera" is above him, at a 45° angle, he points his sword there. - Come, I am rea-!
.
..
...
- ...dy!
Mathias had just woken up. He was sitting up with his left arm raised, as if he were holding some weapon or something else. The mark on his left hand was glowing faintly, but he didn't think much of it, as that had happened to him several times before.... Though they weren't such vivid dreams before.
It was 6 o'clock in the morning, but he felt exhausted, as if he hadn't slept.
- ...What a strange dream. - He went to bed again. - But I kinda liked it...
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"I'm going to sleep again, let's see if the dream continues..." He thought and fell asleep again.
.
..
...
- Mat, wake up already, it's already 10 o'clock!
- Huh? What?
- Now, now, go have breakfast, then help me with the chores.
- Ok, Mom.
He helped his mother until 12.
- Mom, can I go out now?
- Yes, Mat, but don't be as late as the other day.
- Okay!
He went out and started walking, thinking about what he should do for fun.
After a while, he passed by Samantha and Andrew's house, he wanted to hang out with them but, as he was about to go, he thought, "No, they got befriended yesterday... I think they're going to want to spend more time between the two of them, so I'd better not bother them." And he kept walking.
He passed the game center. "Playing alone is going to be boring..." He thought and set off.
He wandered around for almost half an hour and couldn't find anything to do (he ran into his old "friends", but ignored them... Although... There was someone missing in it), so he decided to go to the forest.
Being near the banks of the river, while he was observing the landscape, receiving caresses from the soft breezes, he heard something that caught his attention. Not far from where he was, he could hear a pleasant but nostalgic, for some reason, melody.
He approached where it came from, and found a girl, who seemed to be the same age as him, playing a recorder, sitting on a rock. Her skin was dark brown, her hair was black, frizzy, and she was wearing a white T-shirt and black overalls. She was the one person missing from Mat's group of "ex-friends".
She was so focused on playing that melody that she didn't notice Mathias' presence.
Five minutes passed, until....
- It sounds really nice.
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- Thank you, wait, what?
The girl stopped playing to answer, and only then did she notice Mathias' presence.
- I-I... I didn't think there were people around here. Mat, what are you doing here?
- Ah, sorry... I was just walking around, because I was bored at home, and I found you. You play the recorder beautifully.
- Right? This recorder was my great-grandfather's,
- Really? - Mathias said, surprised not only because of that, but because he struck up a conversation. Moreover, he went over to it and sat down next to it.
- Yes! And he gave it to my dad - she said. - But he... He never used it, I don't know why.
- Ah, I see. - he said and did something with his hands.
- And you see... My mom gave me a little book about recorders, she used to read it to me, that's how I learned... Oh, wow.
Mathias had just made a PSI recorder.
- Does it work? - the girl asked him.
- I don't know, try it. - Mat said.
...It didn't sound.
- I think it's missing parts. - said the girl, and took his recorder apart. - Did you put this on it?
- I don't think so... I'm sorry. - he answered. Then he unmade the recorder and started to put it back together again.
- Why are you apologizing?
- Huh?
- Anyone can make mistakes when doing something, so...
- ...It's okay, I understand. - he said, and finished the recorder. - Look at it!
- Oh, give it to me.
- Here.
The girl took the recorder and played it, it sounded like a real one.
- It's works now! - she said smiling, closing her eyes, she tapped Mat's shoulder with some strength. It hurt.
- So...
- Yes?
- C-can I ask you a question? - Mat asked the girl, he seemed nervous.
- Tell me.
- We've known each other for a while and stuff, and... So, um...
- Yeah?
- ...W-What's your name?
- ...
- ...
- Erin Brown... Well, Erin XIMENA [emphasis on Ximena] Brown... - she said a little angrily.
- Than... - wanted to say thanks.
- I thought you already knew! I told you once I think, last year, when we first met. Oh, it makes me want to hit you.
- Sorry...
- Never mind. - she said, and smiled at him.
- Ok...
They talked for a while longer. Erin handed the recorder back to Mat, and mused lightly:
- You know?
- Wh-? - wanted to say what.
- I don't usually come to the woods, I just haven't been able to play any of my instruments these days, since my mom came home from the hospital and.... Now I have a little sister. - she told him, smiled and added. - But now I can't make noise in my house anymore, that's why I came here.
- I see.
- But well, I've been here for a while, I'm leaving now. - She got up and smiling, she said leaving. - See you, Mat!
- Bye. - Mat replied, smiling too.
Mat stayed alone for a while, then went home.
"It turns out they're not so bad after all." Mat thought, as he was leaving, about his "ex-friends". "But I still don't know what those dreams are. My uncle says they're because of comics."
Note: Mathias was still learning to read at the time, as previously told, though... his reading retention wasn’t very.... how should I put it? Not very good, but he liked the pictures, from the comics. Those were the ones he usually read... Tried to read.
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A Virtual Invasion
An invasion from another dimension is shut down by an Empire's traitor and the world has a scant few decades to build the strength to resist a multidimensional Empire. How will the world fair when no one even knows its doom is one barred gate away? Fortunately, the traitor has a plan. Maybe with a bit of luck and planning, he can build a force to defend the world without anyone realizing it. Author's Thoughts: What is litRPG (From wikipedia) - LitRPG, short for Literary Role Playing Game, is a literary genre combining the conventions of MMORPGs with science-fiction fantasy novels.[1] LitRPG is a literary genre where games or game-like challenges form an essential part of the story. A LitRPG work simultaneously narrates the story of characters inside and outside of the game-world. At least some of the characters in a LitRPG novel therefore understand that they are playing a game: they are 'meta-aware'. So, while Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is a fantasy novel, a book about people creating avatars and interacting in a Lord of the Rings MMORPG would be a LitRPG novel.Why do I read them? You know, I am not too sure. I love MMOs. I played them, quit them, joined up and repeated the cycle. They are fun! They are a massive waste of time but so are most games. Do I want to read about someone else playing them? Sort of?The advent of VR and the possibility of VR someday becoming so immersive that you can't tell them from reality sets the imagination on fire. What if this could be life? But most stories fall short. At the end of the day the protagonist hangs up his VR helmet and goes to have dinner with his mom and dad or other family and it becomes meaningless. It's like the story that ends because the main character woke up and nothing you read matters.There have been some books that explore the concept of the intersection of reality and total immersion VR. Enders Game is a classic. There were a few others that escape me but they exist, however, the cross between the game and reality is weak.So what if the game was real? The technology needed for total immersion VR is so advanced that by the time we reach that goal technology should have naturally evolved to include several items. You must have direct neural input. You simply can't have a total immersion (all senses and perfect presence) experience without this basic prerequisite. If you have direct neural access, you can probably do neat things like feed knowledge and skills directly to that person. You can undoubtedly do many horrible things as well. Muscles are controlled by the brain. If you control the brain why would you let the body just sit there and rot? A person that sits unmoving for 24 hours a day will have their body whither away just like a coma patient. However, if you control the brain you could control the muscles. On a basic level, this would be isometric impulses, working muscle group against muscle group to avoid atrophy. Taken to its logical conclusion you would be able to gain muscle mass and program muscle memory. The flip side is that you could remote control their body... but let's not go there. So what would people do if it were real? Well, they would probably limit and regulate it since the drawbacks are very obvious. Even if you look at the basic aspects of this you can see some negative possibilities. Look at the Sword Art Online anime. Personally, I think they missed the boat by putting a bomb in the VR helmet. Do you really need a bomb when you have direct access to the brain?So what kind of events would you need to have a situation where the obvious drawbacks haven't been explored? Maybe a society where the advancement of technology has so far outstripped the explorations of its applications that ignorance was truly bliss? Okay, so I had to put in an alien invasion to kickstart the premise, but that was just one of the possibilities.
8 126Clockwork Theocracy
May the self-centered belief lead you to peace.In a world that feeds on minorities, two friends, Forty-one and Forty-two are escaping fate.With an unwelcome or unexpected visitor Daughter at their tail.With many times, many tries, and many cries, down, down, and down they go.Chased by the many elements of the Tower they live in, will they be able to see the stars or touch the soil. Can their will and wits suffice to reach the freedom they want to grasp, learning the past on their way?If not, there is no need to worry as no end is the last in this Experiment. In the name of the Mother, Father, and the Family we lead you to peace if you ever give up your stubborn loyalty. I would like to thank everyone who spend time reading my first original story. I'm looking for improvement, as such all forms of criticism are welcome, if not asked for. I do plan to return to all as none would be of waste.Also, anyone who would like to help directly is welcome and can message me.Beta-reading, Proof-reading, and Editing are done by PoliticanSeal. Editing is done by The_Howitzer
8 85Becoming The Wolfman
Hello everyone. I’m an avid reader but I’ve never tried writing my own novel to be published. So I’m going for it on Royal Road and let's see what happens. Prologue My story begins while working as a Security Officer. I’m Bill501 aka the Wolfman as I have about 15 different Wolf tattoos. Not that you would know it since I have to cover them all for work. I’m sitting at my desk waiting for lunchtime and greeting all the employees in the building as they walk by. All the sudden I have a splitting headache and I’m trying not to show it because I don’t have sick time and I don’t want to go home sick and lose money. Suddenly a screen comes up but it just looks like floating text. It says Welcome to the System. Hell I read at least 5 novels a week that start that way so I’m like hell yeah so worth the headache. I’m over here saying status and character screen and anything else I can think of to bring up my stats and it doesn’t do shit…. 15 minutes later I get a message that says loading…..
8 128Mundane Musings of a Misunderstood Mind
As the name suggests, these are snippets of the things that play on the author's mind; whether it is an oddity of society or a thought that randomly lingers a little longer than usual. You can call it creative writing, philosophy, lessons, musings or just mini tirade's. they are just free flowing expressions with no beginning ad no foreseeable end.
8 80Gabriella(Wheebyul FF)
Y'all making me cry like what🤧🤧(🥇)MOST IMPRESSIVE OUT OF 130 WHEEBYUL BOOKS~ THANK YOU
8 122The Alpha's Human Mate
Addison Avery's life has been completely flipped upside down when her mother announced that they would be moving from sunny Arizona to the small forest town of Midnight Creek hundreds of miles away. Ruthless alpha, Xavier Black has been searching for his mate for 2 years now and is starting to lose hope. What will happen to other Xavier and Addison meet? Will the two fall in love? Will Addison grow to love Midnight Creek and all that it comes with? Even when she finds herself thrown into a new world. A more detailed description inside. Highest rankings#3 in beta 08.22.21#4 in mate 08.23.21#1 in pack 08.24.21#1 in wolves 08.25.21#3 in supernatural 08.28.21#2 in Luna 08.29.21#1 in human 10.28.21#80 in love 11.05.21#5 in wolf 12.14.21
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