...
[07: 06: 58: 11]
…
Cassian's heart pounded in his ears as the barrage of notifications slammed into his consciousness. His vision swam with flashing messages in blood‐red text.
[DING! YOU HAVE FOUND A HIDDEN SCENARIO IN THIS STORY]
[DING! YOU HAVE FOUND "KALRACH'S NEST" — THE ONES WHO DARED AGAINST HEAVENS]
[DING! YOU HAVE TRIGGERED DYNAMIC DIFFICULTY]
[DING! YOU HAVE KILLED AN ENTITY FORSAKEN BY THE SYSTEM]
[DING! KNOWLEDGE PACKETS AWARDED REGARDING THE SITUATION]
[DING! GOOD LUCK! AND HAPPY HUNTING]
[DING! KALRACH'S NEST (TIME TILL MATURITY: 41 HOURS 23 MINUTES 08 SECONDS)]
Cassian's eyes narrowed as he absorbed the information. He suppressed the rising panic.
For a moment, Cassian simply stood, his heartbeat pounding in time with each digital chime. The notifications—each in blood‐red meant danger. He knew the system well enough now; white for general text, green for benign messages, gold for achievements or rewards, and red when the situation was perilous. With a slow, measured breath, he scanned the messages, thoughts whirling in his head.
I also got some more knowledge packets… I need someplace safe to view them. For now, I hope no more monsters follow me down this path
Gritting his teeth, he forced aside the allure of idle curiosity and pressed onward. His footsteps echoed lightly as he descended the stairs toward the B1 gates. Ahead loomed massive, armored metal doors—each towering nearly ten feet high, forged of cold steel and sealed shut. The weight of their presence was intimidating.
Hmm, so this facility was built for the experimentation purpose…no one builds this kind of blast door unless they are expecting dinosaurs.
Cassian's eyes darted around as he sought a terminal. It wasn't long before he found one, its screen flickering faintly in the dim light. He knelt beside it, hands steady despite the adrenaline coursing through him, and slid the metal card—the one he'd retrieved from Dr. Varren's bloodstained letter—into the scanner. The terminal beeped softly as its power surged to life. Seconds stretched into an eternity as he waited, his pulse drumming in his ears. Slowly, symbols danced across the display until a message appeared:
"ACCESS GRANTED! Welcome back! Dr. Varren."
A quiet hiss filled the air as the blast doors slid open with surprising silence. The sound was almost anticlimactic given the weight of what lay beyond, yet it underscored the eerie stillness of the facility. Peering into the dimly lit hallway of the B1 level, Cassian took a deep breath and sipped a few drops of water from a dented canteen. His eyes flicked to his attunement card lying on his wrist. His muscles, still tense from his previous encounters, urged him to remain alert. After a moment of hesitation, he quickly changed his attunement card back to Destruction. The [Lightning bolt] card glowed as it activated, and he glanced at his essence well—[5/6] available.
He cracked his neck and mentally reviewed his plan: first, he needed to reach the administrative offices.
Stepping cautiously through the now-open blast doors, Cassian entered the B1 level. The corridor was decently lit, yet the light was cold, reminiscent of the sterile vibes of hospitals. He squinted into the distance, trying to discern any movement. For now, nothing stirred. As he walked forward, his eyes caught on strange, alien-like growths that clung to the walls. Approaching with caution, he saw that they had a fleshy, almost organic texture. They squirmed subtly, like collections of tiny, writhing worms. A wave of nausea threatened to overwhelm him, but he fought it down with grim determination.
"Yuck… Better not touch this" he thought, disgust curling in his gut.
This alien growth has faint traces, not fully terraformed I think—could it be linked to that maturity countdown? Whatever it is, I need to stay vigilant.
There was no sign of life—or movement yet—in the long, empty hall. But every step he took was accompanied by subtle, eerie sounds: a drip of liquid here, a distant thud there, and the whisper of air over metal. These sounds, though soft, set his nerves on edge. Looking for any indication of his next objective, Cassian noticed faded labels on the walls, stepping closer he saw they showed directions to "Administrative Offices," alongside what seemed like a rough and almost scrapped fire plan. Soon enough, he came upon a set of smaller blast doors—the admin offices. Unlike the imposing gates he'd just passed, these doors were dented and bent inward, forming a gap that looked just wide enough for him to crawl through.
What could have bent these doors? An impact? Some desperate escape attempt? or another elite lurking around…
Cassian squeezed himself through the gap and crawled into the administrative offices. Inside, the scene was a chaotic mess: rows of overturned desks, shattered monitors, broken chairs, and scattered papers lay in disarray. The alien growths continued their eerie dance on the walls, leaving trails of slimy residue in their wake. With his machete and knife held at the ready, he swept his gaze across the room.
I should Better check the room first, I really don't want any nasty surprises.
After a cautious sweep of the room, he found a small spot devoid of the alien growths. Sitting on the cold tile floor, he allowed himself a brief moment of respite.
"First thing first," he murmured, more to himself than anyone else, "I need to make sense of all these messages."
He let out a frustrated sigh. "Fuuuu…Why can't they just hand me a manual or guide…"
So everything started when I saw those monsters… What did the system call them?
"Yeah… kalrachs " he answered himself. "And since this place is dubbed 'Kalrach's Nest,' I'm assuming this is where they are bred… nah made that's a better word."
"Both the system and that entity got serious when I encountered them."
He paused, a frown tugging at his lips. "And on that note," he added quietly, "I haven't heard from that entity for a while… Weird."
"Okay, back to where I was," Returning his focus to the information at hand,"So then I fought these kalrachs—they are for sure a collective consciousness species. Both my observations and the reports hint at that."
"Also these fuckers, as dangerous as they are, aren't impossible to kill. I... sort of took them down pretty easily—NO! That's the wrong line of thought. You had the advantage."
A bitter chuckle escaped him. "Yeah I'm putting this down in my Survivor handbook under… RULES TO SURVIVE: Never take a 50-50 fight"
Then a cold, nagging thought slithered through his mind.
Wait… how many of these kalrachs are there exactly?
He mentally recounted the encounters: "Three took the greysnort corpses… then I saw two more dragging corpses, joined by another before I was attacked—three kalrachs, and then to their rescue, two more appeared… then three more entered the elevator… one elite… and then a fight with two more…" His eyes widened as he realized, "Damn— that makes fifteen… And if this is a nest, there should be hundreds of them… maybe even thousands if this nest matures."
The realization was sobering. "Fuck!"
The full weight of his predicament struck him then. The system had been grim in its warnings, and now he understood why.
FUUU~
Trying to steady his breathing, Cassian concentrated, attempting to mimic the calming rhythm that the [A knight's squire] Card provided. But without its active aid, the calm did not come as easily.
He swore under his breath that he would master the technique.
I need to be even more careful from here on out. That bastard in the elevator—it must be an elite if it can speak and have possible mental attacks.
I have no defenses against that. Ahhhh! How in hell do I get more cards?
He scrolled through the notifications one more time, the red text imprinting its warnings into his mind.
[DING! YOU HAVE FOUND A HIDDEN SCENARIO IN THIS STORY]
[DING! YOU HAVE FOUND "KALRACH'S NEST" THE ONES WHO DARED AGAINST HEAVENS]
A wry thought emerged as he recalled all the movies his mother and he had watched together—sci-fi flicks where human experiments in high-tech labs always ended in catastrophic failure.
Hmm, why do they call these ones "the ones who dared against heavens"? Is that a hint to what actually unfolded here?
Another question prickled his mind And what is this dynamic difficulty thing?
[DING! YOU HAVE TRIGGERED DYNAMIC DIFFICULTY]
"At Least I have a knowledge packet… haa let's see what it tells" A faint sigh of relief mingled with curiosity as he clicked on the new info packet.
KNOWLEDGE PACKET — DYNAMIC DIFFICULTY
Every 'story' that a time-bound experiences has a fixed difficulty at the start—a difficulty determined by the culmination of factors like the power scaling of the story, the availability of resources, the knowledge that exists within its realm, and more. This isn't a game where you can simply restart if things go wrong; it's a real story, with events unfolding much like they do in anyone's life.
Imagine you always dreamed of becoming a doctor. And now let's say if you fail the exams and can't get into a top medical school, does that mean you're no longer destined to be a doctor? Not at all—but the challenge, the difficulty, increases.
Likewise, in the world of the 'story' you're in, every event can alter the difficulty—raising it or lowering it.
In your case, if this 'Kalrach's Nest' were to mature fully, you'd be in deep trouble. You've already seen their numbers. If the mother of the Kalrachs were to mature and ascend, these creatures would break free of their confines, and all the resources the mother uses to ascend would spawn an ungodly number of drone Kalrachs—monsters that would swarm the world.
Right now, your difficulty is set at [Hard]—already very high for a newly awakened Timebound. But if this nest matures, the difficulty will skyrocket to [Insanity] and, given enough time, will reach [Hell].
It's safe to say you don't want that to happen. Do whatever you can to prevent it. GOOD LUCK.
PS: I almost forgot—allow me to introduce myself. I'm a wanderer in search of knowledge. I can't believe the wild one was hoarding such a promising Timebound for themselves. So I took it upon myself to share this knowledge with you.
— The Eternal Wanderer, at heart just a teacher
Cassian absorbed every word, then muttered to himself, "So another entity… Nah, I'm gonna call them 'Viewers.' Feels nice and not too overwhelming"
Almost immediately, another cheeky notification appeared
[DING!
A brief smile tugged at his lips. "Ha, thanks for the info. It's way more than what I got previously," he murmured. "But who's the wild one?"
But not before another burst of digital banter filled his mind
[DING!
[DING!
[DING!
[DING!
[DING!
[DING!
The banter coaxed a wry grin from Cassian, momentarily lightening the oppressive tension. He muted the exchange and then checked the next knowledge packet.
KNOWLEDGE PACKET — HIDDEN SCENARIOS
A hidden scenario is an exceptionally important event that has occurred in the story. It holds clues to understanding the deeper truths of this world. Rather than simply learning facts, you must experience the story. Immerse yourself in its values, reflect on what you've witnessed, and learn from it. If you want to succeed in your journey, keep a journal. Record every detail—it may be your only lifeline in the future.
Hidden Scenarios are not just narrative curiosities. They provide amazing rewards: rare cards, soulsparks, and significant boosts to your final mission rating. Most importantly, discovering a hidden secret or scenario earns you an achievement point—the single most important point in your Timebound journey.
But remember, these secrets come at a price. Hidden Scenarios are dangerous. One misstep, one wrong move, and you could be dead.
PS: Tread carefully. Explore everything, but never forget that the clock is always ticking.
— The Eternal Wanderer, at heart just a teacher
Cassian leaned back, absorbing the new knowledge. "This just opened even more questions…" he sighed, re-reading the packet.
Thum.
A sudden, distant thud shattered the silence. The floor beneath him vibrated. With each successive beat, the tremors grew louder, more insistent, as if something massive was drawing ever nearer.
THUM.
He sat up, heart hammering in his chest.
Da Fuck is that...
…