Cherreads

Chapter 12 - Great are the ancients

This is a compelling and dark fantasy scene. Here is the translation into English, keeping the gritty, atmospheric tone and formatting the game stats clearly.

Translation

In the quiet of the barn, I could hear nothing but my own breathing. I chose not to try and see; there was only darkness. I sat there, shackled to a chair, for an hour or maybe an hour and a half. But it felt as though I had been sitting here, enduring blows, for nine hours.

I felt as if the skin on my back had shriveled. I was naked, and the cold coiled around my entire body. My voice echoed off the walls. They beat my back to pump both my sensory skills and my concentration. A pity nothing would come of it.

The silence and the darkness were driving me mad. Stray thoughts invaded my brain, distracting me from my senses. In the game itself, when Di Shan was leveling up, he uttered one thought: "In my world, there was a practice like this. First, we had to feel our own energy, and then the energy of our surroundings."

I tried to listen to my inner self. Но I felt nothing inside. But what did I feel when I cast "Magic Hand"? I felt something being depleted from within. And Rui Manzhui said in his book: "Before I realized it, it was as if it were right on the surface. That is why I didn't even notice it. Our Kir is what we take from the environment; after death, we return it to Mother Earth. This is the Cycle of Kir."

He meant the cycle of life. We get energy from food and sleep, and we can absorb energy from the air—though that only prolongs life slightly without food and water. Food and the energy spheres in the air come from the bodies of those who lived before.

Find these spheres within yourself. God, how...

Pain squeezed my heart; my skin grew dry and tightened painfully. An icy sweat oozed from my pores. My eyes rolled back in their sockets. My tongue felt heavy, and every sound I made turned into a groan of agony.

I heard the door creak open. "What is wrong with you?" Father Arthur asked. He rushed toward me, undoing the ropes on my arms and legs, then removing the blindfold. I tried to tell him I was in pain, but only screams of agony escaped my mouth, and my body trembled violently. "Mass Cure Wounds!" my father cried, placing his hand on my head.

The pain did not subside. My body continued to shake. The pain wasn't like a sharp wound; it felt as if all my muscles were tearing apart. He quickly ripped off his necklace and pressed it into my hand.

Ancient Chain:

Grants resistance to physical, magical, and psychological pain up to Level 6.

When in the sea or within 100 feet of clean water, all physical abilities are doubled.

Can be improved through rituals.

"What happened? Where exactly does it hurt?" Father Arthur asked, his face dark with panic. "I don't know... I suddenly felt pain... in my neck..." I said hoarsely.

Strength: 12 ➔ 14 Constitution: 12 ➔ 13 Dexterity: 11 ➔ 12

My father picked me up in his arms. He carried me home at a run, rushing past my mother and nearly knocking Elkar over. After sprinting through the corridors, he laid me on my bed. "Don't you dare let go of that chain!" Father Arthur shouted before rushing out of the room.

What caused this? What was it? Because of... Ah, damn it! I drank that Greater Healing Potion. The fine print at the bottom said: [Regeneration is instantaneous, but in a day or two, all your muscles will suffer from feverish aching.]

Is this what "feverish aching" feels like? Damn, damn, damn—I need to come up with an excuse fast. I can't just tell them I bought a healing potion in some weird System shop.

Wait, why can't I? Maybe I should tell them about the System. No, that's a shitty idea. I'll tell them I was trying to create a 4th-level "Mirage" spell.

I put the chain on and closed my eyes. God, I hate lying. Maybe it's because I have a -2 to Deception. No, this time it's probably not because of the stats.

I closed my eyes. The world plunged into darkness again, but while my head worked, my body basked under the warm blanket. My mind, however, was thinking in real-time.

And then... did my astral projection leave my body? I flew upward, beyond the clouds. My body remained lying on the bed. Passing through the clouds, I felt no weight. I saw the continent from above. I saw forests so vast I would have thought it was one single, enormous woods.

Then I saw the whole Earth from space; it looked tiny. Even my astral projection felt the cold of the vacuum. Different planets surrounded me, and stars illuminated my form. The planets weren't on a single axis like in my world; they were scattered about. What was holding them in place?

Then I heard the sound of hooves. Turning around, I saw a dark horse. Instead of a head, it had a mass of large tentacles. It was so dark it seemed its body absorbed all light.

Several of these dark horses ran toward me. I fled from them like a pro, but they were catching up. Suddenly, the world changed again.

I was standing on a platform, with an identical platform positioned above me. A cold blue light shone from the horizons. Thirty meters away stood a dog—standing on two legs, wearing a red kimono, with a sword tucked into its belt. It looked at me with glowing yellow eyes.

I woke up abruptly, jolting in terror. Cold sweat poured off me. The entire bed was soaked. What was that? I quickly opened the System window.

Name: Sven Laocard Race: Human Class: Warlock Subclass: The Great Old One (Race: Inugami, Name: Erlin) Feats: "Aberrant Mind," "Perfect Eye," "Resilient"

Intelligence: 11

Strength: 14 !!!

Dexterity: 12 !!!

Wisdom: 15

Constitution: 13 !!!

Charisma: 8

A Great Old One? Damn, Great Old Ones are beings that have reached divine status. In the game, there were seven: Dendar, Ghaunadaur, Kezef, Ityak-Ortheel, Zargon, Moander, and Tyranthraxus.

Suddenly, my father entered the room with a few men and elves.

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