Chapitre 199: Sanguine venom (2)
Would I have grown to that level too if I had been allowed to stay with master Oden? I can't help but wonder what if...
<Do yourself a favor and stop thinking about what would have happened if something had been different. The past is already gone and the future is hidden before us, all we can do is forge a path for ourselves in the present.>
Don't get all philosophical with me. I know I can't change the past but I still wonder what would have happened.
<Sigh, Jade, don't do this to yourself. You long for the past and if you get too attached you will get tangled up. Those attachments will turn into chains that slowly wrap around you and strangle you.>
Like I used to do with adventurers?
<Don't laugh it off. You will soon be reaching the point of your first crisis. Weathering that is hard enough as it is even without complications like your feelings.>
First crisis? What is it this time and why are you telling me now?
<Have you never thought about how easy the process of respawning is? Isn't it too good to be true? Too easy to be real?>
I did ask myself that but I just figured Darwin had done something since everything he touches seems to just work out.
<Darwin did play a major part but even he can't make things work this smoothly without some drawbacks.>
Go on...
<There is a phenomenon we call dying fatigue. Every time you die and get revived you accumulate more of said fatigue and once you reach a threshold it registers.>
Registers? What does?
<The fact that you died. The mind seems to have a way to suppress a full realization process. However, the fatigue from doing so builds up and when it gets to a point...>
Does Guy have the same problem?
<He died less than you so it would be farther away. Also, he's a special case that we can't quite make sense of. His fatigue level decreases over time and offsets the accumulation. We have no explanation why.>
So what exactly is going to happen to me once I realize that I died?
<Depends. Most likely you'll experience some sort of depression ending in multiple more or less successful suicide attempts. You can't really die after all.>
Can't I or will you not let me?
<You can't. The only part we take in respawning you is that we take control of the natural process, speed it up, set a clear location and a few other things.>
So I'll go crazy and attempt to kill myself, fail over and over and then?
<Eventually your mind will be able to suppress the realization again and you'll return to how you were. The only question is how bad it will be and we've found that the stable a person is the better they can take it.>
Got it. I'll try not to think about all the things that could have happened, happy?
<Very much so! Now you'll be spawned into the dungeon known as dragon nest. This dungeon has a unique point that concerns the pride inherent to most of the dragon and sub-dragon species.>
How so?
<Territorial fights. All monsters with even a hint of a dragon's bloodline will fight for territory. They still aren't allowed to hurt each other by much so the first clash will reveal a winner. You are at a disadvantage since your venom needs wounds and time to act, not to mention your venom would keep doing damage.>
Is my venom all you see me for? My sanguine boost can give me a thirty percent boost to all my stats and the only flaw it has is that it is temporary.
<Right, you do have that. Still, be prepared to have your range of movement restricted. You are only a lesser wyrm so if you encounter an actual sub-dragon you will be outmatched.>
I tune out Navi's superfluous advice as the void around me fades and is replaced by a cavern-like structure. I can see ores, glowing gemstones, and luminescent plants all around me. The gray stone walls are lit up by the gems and plants in an uneven manner that indicates the natural growth of those plants and the random formation of those gemstones.
I can see rock lizards flitting across the shadowy rocks and hear the clicking steps that I believe belong to kamikaze hermit crabs. This place seems almost peaceful, serene even. If it wasn't for the giant claw mark etched deep into one of the walls along with fallen stalactites that are girthier than Darwin's belly.
Whatever broke those stalactites is no joke.
<Probably a drake. And a strong one at that.>
A drake, huh? Those are the four-legged ones, right?
<Sigh. Quick repetition on common sub-dragons. Four legs, no wings, drake. Two legs, has wings, wyvern. Two legs, no wings, lindworm. No legs, has wings, amphiptere. No legs, no wings, wyrm.>
So the ruler of this territory is basically an oversized lizard?
<Just like you are an oversized snake that looks like an angry crocodile without its legs.>
Enough with the crocodile comparison!
Back to the topic at hand. I open up the dungeon map and take look...
Who made this crap!
This dungeon is a veritable mess. It looks like a series of caverns and caves that were naturally formed and then brutalized by a bunch of crazy digging moles.
<It was sub-dragons who did it but the process seems about right. They simply break through the rock and create new caverns continuously. Some caverns are large enough to build up independent ecosystems.>
I mentally dismiss the map since I feel like every second I spend looking at that chaotic three-dimensional image of chaos and wanton destruction gives me brain damage. Navigation isn't going to play into this much, is it?
I choose a random direction and begin to slither along determinedly. There seems to be little to nothing going on in these tunnels and caverns. I am the biggest monster around and all the small beasts scatter the moment I approach.
*Roar*
L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS 
djarcher
djarcher Apologies for the absence of new chapters. My hands and forearms have been giving me trouble lately and I've finally had the time to get them looked at. Got my meds now and the swelling has been going back so chapters should be coming smoother again.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone