Chương 41: The Birth of the Player

Lloyd did not touch the crystal. Joy overwhelmed him, pure, primordial joy of a man who had triumphed, and his face bore a mad smile stretched from ear to ear. The Crystal of Return so occupied his mind, filled all his thoughts, that he completely forgot the reason why he had walked such a difficult, bloody path through this hellish pit. — Did I really manage it? I can barely believe it.

Lloyd hadn't managed to fully savor this wonderful feeling, this incredible euphoria, when suddenly he heard the familiar sound of chains clanking somewhere behind him, the sound echoing throughout the tunnel. He immediately turned his gaze to the gate, his hand freezing just centimeters from the crystal's surface, never quite touching it. The enormous rusted gate began to rise with a deafening groan, scraping on its ancient mechanisms, as if the mountain itself was awakening after a long sleep.

The sound was so loud that for a moment it drowned out even the ringing of the crystal, that fine, elusive sound of light that seemed to emanate from its surface. Lloyd watched it without taking his eyes away, and a smile appeared on his face — no longer mad, but calm, confident, the smile of a man who knows he has won.

"Well, I suppose this is just confirmation of my victory" And then before him appeared again that violet, familiar window, materializing right in the air, as if space itself had formed this information structure. [Do you wish to proceed to the next tier?] Lloyd was bewildered, feeling a shadow of doubt slip through his consciousness, casting a pall over the joy that had just arisen.

"What's the catch? Why is X asking about this? Well, I clearly won't get an answer from anyone. So why not?" His thoughts were tangled and confused, but within him burned some kind of certainty, a strange feeling that he was on the right path, that this was exactly what he needed to do. So, barely thinking about it, he focused on the checkmark below the message, and his will somehow automatically chose to agree. But nothing happened at all.

He felt no surge of strength, no loss of it — everything remained exactly as it had been. His body still ached, still burned in a hundred places, still demanded rest and aid. For a moment Lloyd even began to doubt whether this was an illusion, the product of an inflamed mind driven to the brink of madness by pain and exhaustion. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

But after a few seconds, he felt it — warmth in his chest area, pleasant warmth that somehow brought him a clear, piercing satisfaction. This warmth was soft, gentle, as if someone had embraced him from within, as if his own body had begun to heal itself. But it didn't last long.

As soon as this magical warmth began to flow through his entire body, spreading through his veins and arteries, when it filled his entire being from feet to head, when every cell of his organism felt this strange, previously unknown sensation — Lloyd felt it... Pain. Severe, unbearable pain, from which Lloyd couldn't contain his scream, pain that echoed off the tunnel walls, amplifying tenfold. This magical warmth seemed to deform his body, remake it as it wished, reshape it at the molecular level.

Seconds turned into hours, into eternity. Every second was unbearable, every millisecond seemed like forever. Lloyd's body arched in spasms, as if molten metal was being poured into him, forcing every organ, every bone, every muscle to adapt to this new reality, to these new rules of this world. His mouth opened in a silent scream, his voice breaking with the first wave of agony.

But then, strangely, the pain began to slowly fade, as if retreating before something more powerful, and in its place came euphoria, pure, intoxicating euphoria. Lloyd began to feel an unearthly satisfaction from the way this warmth moved through his body, how it climbed up his spine, how it soaked into his muscles, his bones, his very essence. And after several seconds, the sensation simply vanished, as if it had never existed.

Only traces of euphoria remained, spreading through his entire body, slowly, reluctantly fading, like the sunset after an endless day. But then horror appeared on Lloyd's face — pure, primordial horror.

"Don't tell me..." He immediately began to feel his entire body, full of anxiety, checking every centimeter of skin, every muscle, trying to find some sort of horns or any other physical changes, but he found none. His face remained the same, his body kept its former appearance, though covered in wounds and burns. Lloyd wiped his forehead of sweat, feeling drops of moisture run down his cheeks, and took a deep breath, feeling relief. — Well, it seems I didn't develop any physical defect.

It seemed his body hadn't changed at all, not changed in the slightest from the outside. But Lloyd knew changes had occurred. He could feel it directly, the way he would feel the air he was breathing. His physical strength had clearly doubled — he could feel it in every muscle, in every movement. And his body had become lighter, as if part of its weight had simply vanished. Lloyd slowly got to his feet, trying not to fall, and looked around.

The gate behind him had fully risen, opening a passage deeper into the tunnel. Before him the white crystal still shone, its light reflecting off the damp walls, creating strange shadows. Somewhere high in the tunnel's ceiling water dripped, slowly, rhythmically, like time ticking away. A gentle smile appeared on his face. — So this is what it's like to be... His smile grew a bit wider, opening his exhausted but satisfied face. His voice sounded calm, almost indifferent, without any grandeur. — A Player...