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Bonus Game Crowning Chapter 1 - The Joining

Author:Simon Category:Unreal Update time:2022-12-16 21:05:50

"Bonus to what?"

I didn miss a beat at the mysterious voices proclamation. I knew he was trying to be dramatic – this was the big reveal, after all – but his choice of words gave me nothing to work with.

"I have to say, this is one of the most unprofessional meetings Ive ever had." With a sigh, the owner of the voice finally decided to elaborate. "A bonus to your life, I guess you could say."

"Im dead?"

"Essentially. You were involved in a traffic accident and, a moment before your passing, you were whisked away to be offered this chance."

"Hwaaaah," I cringed inwardly, "what a generic way to go."

"What happens if I refuse?" I asked, putting aside my displeasure at my own demise.

"The same as what would have happened had you been left to die," the voice explained. "You would pass on to the afterlife."

"And that entails…?"

"That is for you to discover, should you refuse." There was an audible pause. "Or, if you fail as a Participant."

"Can even tell me which afterlife we

e talking about here?"

"No," the owner of the voice brushed aside my question with practiced ease. "My job as Observer means I bring you up to speed on your current situation and advise you on your journey to within certain limits."

"Sounds like legal talk," I observed aloud. "So, what exactly does this onus game entail, and how do I win?"

Clearly annoyed with my lack of ceremony but slowly getting used to it – I think – the owner of the voice cleared his throat and began what could only be described as a thoroughly practiced speech.

"Should you choose to partake, you, Simon, will act as a Participant in a competition known as The Crowning. Your goal is simple: make it to the last layer, aptly named the Crown, alive."

"Last layer, eh?" I observed inwardly.

"There are 9 layers between you and your goal," the Observer clarified as if reading my mind, "and you are currently standing on the bottom-most, known as the Joining. Largest of the layers, this is where Participants comprised of all sapient species enter, receive this instruction, and begin their journey."

"There was a lot revealed in between the lines there," I thought to myself, pacing around the perimeter of the clearing. Already I was making assumptions – the first layer is the largest, with the goal at the last? Whether going up or going down, I could only assume the playing field would only get smaller and smaller.

"So, its a free-for-all race to the end?" I concluded. "And what do we get if we win?"

"A wish of your choosing will be granted."

"Wow," I exclaimed with genuine surprise. Not surprise at the prospect, mind you, but at how by-the-books everything was up until now, down even to the prize waiting at the end.

It almost seemed like God had been watching too much TV.

"Ok, I get the idea to some extent." I stopped pacing and turned toward the tree line, my hands on my hips. "But Im not a martial artist or professional soldier. The only fights Ive ever been in were cafeteria brawls in high school." I was a few years into college now, so even those incidents were fleeting memories at this point. "Wouldn this whole thing just go to whoever happened to be the best at kicking ass before they died?"

"The limitations you experienced in life are not present here."

"What - What does that even mean?" I shot back, trying to put my exasperated question as cleanly as possible.

"That is for you to discover in time."

That meant that the specifics were more complex than they appeared, but this so-called Observer would not spoon feed me everything I needed to understand it.

"What exactly is your role in all of this, anyway, oh great Observer?" I asked with some degree of vitriol. "Just fill me in and take your leave?"

"As I said," the Observer began, "I will also provide you with information as needed, within a certain degree of limitation. That means I will accompany you for some time on your journey."

"Mr. Exposition is going to be my traveling companion, wonderful," I thought bitterly. "How much you want to bet hes a talking anim- "

"I guess now that that is out of the way, I should properly introduce myself."

The voice, previously sounding as if it came from every inch of the surrounding vegetation, was now firmly coming from one of the trees directly ahead of me. The foliage began to rustle gently, signifying the arrival of my own personal Observer.

Out onto one of the branches, high above my head, appeared a strange, scaled creature crawling on all fours.

"…Why are you an armadillo?" I asked aloud. "Of all things, why an armadillo? They don even live in the jungle. Or in trees."

The creature stopped moving suddenly, lifting its small head to look me in the eye.

"Im a pangolin, actually."

The word was vaguely familiar to me. Whatever.

"My name is Gozaborou," the small creature began again with a cough, "and I believe weve already covered what my job entails."

"Gyoza, then," I replied without hesitation.

"Gozaborou," he insisted.

If he thought I was saying that mouthful every time I needed his attention, he had another thing coming.

"You said that this place is where newcomers arrive, right?" I asked, changing the subject. "Weve been talking for a bit now. Does that mean I might get jumped in the next few seconds?"

"Every Participant is given a chance to hear the details. You can think of this space as safe, for now." Gozaborou paused, tilting his head thoughtfully. "Though I cannot guarantee there won be any Participants nearby when our talk is over. Such coincidence is just a natural part of the circumstances."

I scratched my chin absently, wracking my brain for any other questions I thought my lovely Observer would actually answer. Every particularly vague statement he made earlier was not likely to be expanded upon, but that didn mean I couldn experiment a bit before things were underway.

"When you said those limits don apply in this place, you meant here, too, inside this safe little bubble?" I asked, clasping my hands together.

"Yes. Also, I assume you are taking up the offer, then?"

"Yeah, sure," I shot back plainly. I had thought that a foregone conclusion, but maybe they need explicit consent or something. From my perspective, there was little reason to not, at least, give it a shot. If things got too heavy or the situation seemed hopeless, I could always take the easy way out.

Getting back to the matter at hand, I slowly lowered myself into a crouch, rubbing my hands through the damp undergrowth.

"Im not sure what exactly he means by limits, but Id be lying if I said my first thought was anything but superpowers," I thought to myself.

Balling my hand into a fist, I lifted it high above my head and brought it down hard onto a patch of soil between the vegetation. The limb impacted the jungle floor with a soft thud, sending some drops of dew flying. Otherwise, the brush did not move, and I was left with a slight throbbing in my hand.

"Not exactly what I was hoping for," I thought dejectedly, massaging the hand with its counterpart. Considering how hard I threw that punch, though, the pain was less than I expected. Maybe that meant something?

"Im sure this is a lot to take in, but we have only a few more minutes left before this so-called safe little bubble stops being safe," Gozaborou said suddenly, appearing – somehow – from behind my leg.

"Right."

With a sigh, I stood back up. As ill-prepared as I was, I had a hunch the rest would have to be figured out on the fly, so there was no use delaying it any longer.

"Do I just say, Im ready and we

e off to the races or something?"

"More or less."

"Well then let us be off then, my marsupial friend."

"…Im not a marsu- you know what, never mind, lets just go."

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