"Ahhh-hahah." You know what the worst part about sleeping while in pain is? When you accidentally roll over in your sleep and get jolted awake because you roll onto your injury.
And that's exactly what happened to me. Rolled right onto my right arm. Jerking me awake in the middle of the night. Or at least I assume it was the middle of the night. I was still tired from everything that happened yesterday.
But try as I might, I couldn't fall back asleep. No matter how I twisted and turned, I couldn't find a comfortable position to fall back asleep in. So, despite it definitely not being a good idea, I crawl out of my shelter.
Sitting down in front of it, I just stare up into the sky. Watching the twin moons do their helix-like dance across the night sky.
`What were their names again?` With nothing better to do, I decide to ponder this and that until the sun eventually rises.
However. No matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn't remember their names. All I could vaguely remember was that you could learn secret schools of magic if you managed to reach them.
`This really is something that someone who lives in this world should know.` So I go back to something I had previously thought about.
About how there might be some kind of knowledge or memory of this body still left over after I took over. But as I go over what little I remember about this world, I notice how not once do I feel like I did before when I suddenly remembered the name of that plant.
Like the memories needed a visual aid to surface. Or more likely, I really did just somewhere in the back of my mind remember that flower because I've read about it in the game.
After all, there were times when I got frustrated with some of the harder fights or bullshit mechanics and looked up guides. `So maybe it was on some forum that I read about it?`
Whatever the answer to my question was. I didn't know. And thinking in circles wasn't getting me anywhere. So eventually I decided to shelf that line of reasoning for now and instead go back to thinking about everything else I remembered about "Love & Leylines".
Specifically, what I could remember about the wildlife around here. Hoping that keeping the animals and monsters around here in mind will help me avoid another situation like yesterday. `Or today. I don't know how long I have actually slept.`
Of course, there were the wolf-like creatures that the north of Draumon, one of the five continents of this world, was best known for.
But it's not like the wolf-like monsters are the only thing to look out for. Oh no. Not at all. I basically had to be careful around any monster. No matter how non-threatening they were in-game.
Especially if I consider this world as real now. Which I do and don't at the same time. I have played "Love & Leylines" so much that I just cannot bring myself to take this completely seriously.
It's all still too surreal for me to accept that I'm in the world of the game. But it's no longer just something I see through a screen. No. I'm actually part of it now.
Though considering what happened with the "tremble deer." I will definitely take this more seriously now. Even if just to avoid getting hurt again.
So I promise myself to take every creature seriously from now on. After all, just like me, they are living, breathing entities. No longer just pixels on a screen. So I should show them the proper respect.
`I wonder if things in this world have souls? I mean, they should. Just like me, they are real. At least now they are. So they should have all the things I do.` Wishes. Wants. Needs. Everything I have as well.
"If I ever kill anything, I'll pray for it." I promise myself quietly. Not wishing to disturb the peaceful, quiet night.
The minutes tick by slowly but surely until eventually, a few hours later, the sun rises. At which point I crawl back into my shelter, wincing and complaining all the way.
Eating a light breakfast of some pickled vegetables and some bread. Before I collect my things and get ready to set out again.
Though it's all easier said than done. Everything hurts. It feels worse than yesterday. Especially my right arm. It hurts like hell just to move it. Though the swelling and discoloration of the bruises did get a little bit better in my opinion.
So, unlike before, when I had gripped my spear tightly with both hands while walking around, this time I use it more like a walking stick. Which turns out to have been a much better idea anyway.
It's definitely easier to walk like this. Though that might just be because my legs in general aren't hurting today. And I definitely feel like they are getting stronger. Though my status screen does not reflect that.
Name: Daniel Blackwell
Age: 15
Gender: Male
Body/ Strength: 6/ Endurance: 6/ Toughness: 5
Mind/ Acuity: 27/ Wisdom: 3/ Intelligence: 3
Soul/ Destiny: 0/ Fate: 3/ Radiance 9997
The only stat that has increased since the last time I checked was intelligence. Possibly because I met some animals or saw some fauna specific to this world.
But otherwise, I was still the same. According to my stats. My strength, endurance, and toughness have not gone up despite everything I have done so far.
As if to hammer home how unforgiving this world is. How difficult it is to live in it. How much more will I have to struggle before reaching what was considered average in-game?
"A win is a win." Though any small stat increase makes me happy. So I celebrate regardless of how little I gain.
"Hmm. Wait. What?" But just as I was about to put my stat window away, I did a double-take. Noticing that my Acuity had shot up by a solid eight points.
"What the fuck?" I freeze in place. Squinting at my stat screen suspiciously. Thinking hard about what could have possibly caused this. But I blank.
`Acuity only increased permanently in the game through mental training.` But I haven't done any visualization training whatsoever. And it's not like my eyesight or awareness got any better either.
Yesterday proved as much. `Wait. Yesterday.` Then it clicks. "Acuity helps to see through illusions and camouflage." And I know why I could see the Skjálfhirta (Skal-fitra) all of a sudden. Even though they should have been camouflaged by the snow.
However, that still didn't answer why my Acuity had shot up like that. It only explained why I could see the deer. My acuity was high enough to see through their camouflage.
"Man." More and more mysteries just keep piling up. At this point, I feel like every day I'm left with more questions than before. Questions I have no answers or theories for. But who are stuck in my head, regardless.
"Ahh, fuck you. Go get bent." I shake my head and throw my arms into the sky. Well. My left, that is. Cursing the whole situation for a moment before I regain my focus. Grab my spear again and continue walking.
Stomping through the snow angrily while muttering curses. Mostly just mad at myself for not having any answers to my many questions.
The mountain that was my current goal loomed ever closer. Not far off now. The trees were already thinning, and the slope of the ground I was walking on was steadily increasing.
Surely a sign of more hardships to come.