Chương 3: Committing Murder… as a Rock?!

as a Rock?!

Chapter Three Committing Murder… as a Rock?! Alice heard footsteps approaching her cone of vision. After two weeks of frequent visits from deer and doe, she thought little of the noise. That was until she heard laughter, the noise human and high-pitched.

"Isn't it pretty?" A young girl popped into existence at the edge of Alice's sight. A child, she was wearing a long white dress stained here and there with dirt.

"Who cares if it's pretty?" The second voice belonged to a young boy. Of age with the girl, his face was scrunched up and determined where hers was light and playful. Neither bothered to look at Alice the Rock.

"I'm going to catch a fish," The Boy said with a toothy smile. His hair was thick brown rope, and he scratched its messy lumps as he stomped towards the water.

"There aren't any fish," The Girl said at once. Her hair was also brown, but it was combed neat and proper. She looked at the lake with an almost anxious frown.

"Nothing lives in there. Not anymore."

"What?" The Boy was about to stomp into the water when he turned to The Girl, crestfallen.

"What use is a lake without fish? Come on. I know another place."

"But- " The Girl began, but The Boy simply grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away. Out of Alice's cone of vision. Out of existence.

"That... That startled me," Alice mumbled soundlessly after the forest fell quiet once more.

"People... I wonder if they live nearby. I suppose they have to." She was surprised she had not wondered about it sooner. Fifteen days had passed, and she had spent much of it in an almost dreamlike trance. She had not thought about this world beyond her little slice of forest paradise.

"I wonder if they were siblings," Alice said, and she found herself replaying the memory of their arrival and departure in her mind. [Geological Memory] turned it into something like a movie that she could watch over and over again in exact detail. The sight and sound of humans had awakened a strange loneliness in her chest. As hours turned into days with only rabbits and squirrels for company, she realized she wanted to see The Boy and The Girl again. Her wish was granted ten days later.

"Have you ever kissed someone?" The Boy and The Girl sat by the lake, the two dipping their toes in the water.

"Kiss? Why would I want to kiss someone?" The Boy said, disgusted.

"It's what adults do, Erik."

"And what do I care what stupid adults do?" Erik asked, scrunching up his face.

"Mama and Papa are always kissing," The Girl said with stars in her eyes.

"I bet it feels really, really good." Erik snorted in answer. Alice snorted, as well. There was something particularly funny about two children discussing kissing. Never mind that Alice had never kissed a boy herself. She had never even held a boy's hand before.

"Do you want... want to try?" The Girl asked.

"Wh-what?" Alice sputtered in disbelief. She quickly clapped her hands around her lips... though she did not have either hands or lips. Erik and The Girl did not seem to hear her outburst, however.

"Try what?" Erik turned to The Girl, and Alice could see a faint blush start to spread across his face.

"Kiss?" The Girl nodded quickly, her own face very red. Alice found herself holding her nonexistent breath as the two squirmed beside the lake.

"Wh-whatever," Erik said, and The Girl broke into a wide, nervous smile.

"Oh my." A ticklish heat crept up Alice's nonexistent face as the two children saddled closer and closer together. She suddenly felt very uncomfortable, and more than a little guilty, spying on them. Erik and The Girl pecked one another's faces. They laughed and then pecked one another a few more times. The two laughed some more and then it was over.

"That was stupid. Kissing is gross," Erik said, his face a fiery red as he stood.

"Come on, Eva." Eva stood a moment later, and the pair of them disappeared from Alice's cone of vision. The sun fell and then rose again just as it had for the past three weeks. Perhaps it was because she wanted to follow the pair back to their village, but Alice began to experiment with her new rock body. For the first time since waking up as an [Ordinary Rock], she tried everything she could to move. But a week passed without so much as a tremor.

Aside from endurance, all of her stats were zero, and none of her skills seemed particularly useful beyond staying sane. But she tried over and over to use magic. She tried and failed to learn new skills. For days and weeks, she tried to do anything. But she was a rock. She could not do anything.

"Oh well." It had to be [Geological Patience], but her days and weeks of failure did not bother her in the slightest. She simply remained beside the lake, unmoving and uncaring. The weeks soon became months. Other worlds may have had passive sources of experience, but this one certainly did not. Months turned into years, and she did not level up even once. Erik and Eva came and went. Their hair grew longer, their faces tighter and more mature.

There was nothing she could have done to prevent the tragedy about to unfold. It was late at night when Erik appeared beside the lake. He was no longer a child, but almost a man grown. His messy brown hair had been cut short and martial. Erik knelt beside the lake, his face a mask of misery. It had been several weeks since Alice had last seen him, and she did not care for his tortured expression. He must have seen something beyond Alice's perception for he turned sharply.

His expression only darkened deeper, however, as Eva appeared. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. She had grown into a beautiful woman, her long brown hair like a tranquil river flowing all the way to her hips. She wore a simple white dress cinched with rope around her thin waist. Like Erik, Eva's face was a mask of fear and discomfort.

"So?" Erik said, the words short and high-pitched. Eva did not answer. She almost seemed reluctant to approach Erik and the lake.

"S-So...?" Erik repeated, standing. Eva bit her lip.

"The chief... wants me to try [Awakening]." Alice blinked. She had no idea what that meant. She had certainly never heard them talk about it by the lake before. Some of the fear vanished from Erik's face, replaced instead with numb awe.

"So... So you really are a- ""I'm not anything!" Eva shouted, her cupid features suddenly furious.

"I haven't taken the test! I don't even want to!

""But you have to!" Erik said, racing forward and grabbing Eva by the shoulders.

"A chance like this...! Eva, you could be a- " But before he could finish, Eva silenced him with a kiss. It was not the childish pecks Alice had watched them exchange so many years ago. The two broke apart, almost reluctantly. There were tears in Eva's eyes.

"Eva..." Erik said weakly.

"I don't want to be a [Magi]," Eva said, fighting back a sob.

"I don't want things to change. I want to stay here... with you..." Alice had not blushed when the two had slobbered over one another's mouths. But as Eva started to pull off Erik's clothes, and Erik did the same for her, Alice could not help but squeal.

"Wh-what are you two doing?!" Alice shouted, though she already knew neither would hear her. She would have liked to cover her face with her hands as Erik and Eva joined their naked bodies together. She could not help but feel the two were a little too familiar with the act. Had they been bumping uglies somewhere else?! Thankfully, at least for Alice, the fun did not last for long. Almost as quickly as it began, it ended with an embarrassing grunt from Erik. The two simply held one another after that.

The forest became very quiet.

"You need to take the test," Erik said softly. Eva did not answer. The two rose and dressed only after the morning sun began to peek down on them. Erik returned the following night. Eva did not. Erik sat by the lake every night, waiting. For a week. For two weeks. But Eva did not reappear. Not for two months. Alice had lived as a rock for over thirteen years, but she had never seen a night like this. Bits of moon reflected across the lake's surface, and the reflection almost looked crimson.

Soundlessly, Eva appeared, though Alice did not recognize her at first. The Girl's eyes glowed the same red as the reflected moon. With both alarm and a little bit of excitement, Alice noticed tangles of dried blood in The Girl's knee-length hair. It was not brown, but rather the white of freshly fallen snow. Alice did not say anything. She couldn't have said anything, but she still found herself holding her nonexistent breath as The Girl, trembling, approached the lake. She collapsed beside it and began to weep.

A long while passed, and then...

"I knew I'd find you here." The Girl turned towards the familiar voice. A moment later, Erik stepped into view, but he, too, was changed. Erik's face was so terribly pale. His body was covered in sweat, and he seemed smaller, as if deflated.

"They're... They're looking for you..." Erik said, struggling to speak. Eva shook her head violently.

"E-Erik..." Erik shivered when Eva spoke. He took a step back, as if afraid.

"I... I'm not... I wasn't a [Magi]..." Eva said, her voice a frightening combination of laughter and tears.

"I was... I was something else...!" What little blood remained in Erik's face drained away.

"I never..." Eva's entire body shook.

"I never should have taken the test!" Erik bit his lip and said nothing.

"Let's... Let's run away!" Eva said, rising quickly, her voice hysterical. She took a step towards Erik, but he flinched and took a step away. Eva stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes an eerie red glow amidst the starless night.

"They're... They're looking for you," Erik said, not daring to meet her stare.

"You need to... It'd be best if you... left."

"No..." Eva clapped her hands over her mouth. Alice had not noticed before, but it looked as if there was dried blood beneath her nails.

"You need to leave," Erik said, more forcefully.

"Leave the village. Leave the mountain. You... You can't stay here, Eva."

"Erik, please!"

"I won't tell them," and it was Erik's turn to cry.

"I won't tell them you were here, but you need to leave! Please! Please, just... just...!" He turned sharply away from Eva's trembling misery without another word and marched out of Alice's vision. Eva began to weep and wail. She called out after him, but Erik did not reappear. Alice watched, numb. She felt as though she had missed an episode of her favorite television show. What was all this drama?!

"No!" Alice jumped as Eva's wail turned into a ferocious howl. Tears continued to fall from her eerie red eyes, but there was a danger in her stare now. Mixed with her sorrow was... was hate. Eva's glowing eyes darted around the lakeside... and fell upon Alice the Rock.

"O-Oy!" Alice shouted in surprise as Eva grabbed Alice the Rock with both hands. For the first time in several years, Alice's vision shifted as The Girl hefted her rock body into the air. Eva's breathing was a mad huff as she raced through the forest. Alice's sight bounced up and down like an unsteady camera. The lake disappeared as unfamiliar trees flooded her senses. Erik reappeared in Alice's ever-shifting cone of vision. He did not seem to hear Eva racing after him, however.

He did not even turn around as The Girl lifted Alice the Rock high over her head as if it were a battleaxe.

"I loved you!" Eva shrieked, and craaaack went Alice the Rock across the back of Erik's skull. Erik staggered, Alice shouted in horror, and craaaack went Alice the Rock a second time as Eva continued to bludgeon her lover across the head. Achievement Unlocked: First Blood! Alice burst into nervous laughter as the semi-transparent screen popped up with a playful splash of color. Erik collapsed onto the ground behind it, and Eva fell on top of him like a hungry predator, Alice the Rock held tight in her hands.

Achievement Unlocked: The Patient Hunter"Curse you!" Eva hissed, and craaack went Alice the Rock across the red ruin of Erik's face. Over and over and over.

"Curse you, curse you, curse you!" Skill Progress: Bloodthirsty [1/10] Alice watched the bloodbath with a disconnected horror. She had watched these two grow up. She had watched their first kiss. She had watched them hold hands as the stars came out one by twinkling one beside the lake. This was horrible! But she did not want to look away. She watched with rapt attention, unsure what sort of face she would be making, as this movie-like violence unfolded in front of her.

"I didn't...! I didn't want...!" Erik's face was an unrecognizable red pulp. Eva's harsh sobs were interrupted now and then by even harsher laughs. She rose and ran, her white hair swishing around her like a cloak. Her feet brought her back to the lake, and there she stopped, staring up at the starless sky. A banshee wail left her lips as she lifted Alice the Rock high over her head. For one horrifying moment, Alice thought Eva intended to crack open her own skull. But then she threw Alice the Rock.

Alice had never truly realized how small the lake was. It was more like a pond than anything. She flew through the sky... and then began to fall. Achievement Unlocked: First Kill! Alice did not understand the pop-up at first, but then comprehension washed over her as she broke through the water's surface. Defeated: Human Acolyte (Level 7) Received experience! Received bonus experience! First Blood! First Kill! Congratulations! You have reached Level 2! Level: 2 END: 10 +1 Congratulations! You have reached Level 3!

New Skill Unlocked: [Earthen Anchor I] Level: 3 END: 1 1 +1 Congratulations! You have reached Level 4! Level: 4 END: 12+2 Alice stared at the paltry stat increases as she began to sink deeper and deeper into the pond. She could still hear Eva's wailing, though The Girl had left Alice's cone of vision. One final pop-up appeared as Alice the Rock settled at the bottom of the pond. She stared at the words with a mixture of excitement and foreboding.

Acquired New Status Curse of the Innocent: This object was used to cause a horrible tragedy. M isfortune awaits all who possess it.