Azimuth: The Elden Throne

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"Hum... Everything matches what I expected." The man said as he looked at the distorted piece in the altar

'There are also no notifications for reaching this place...'

'Heh, a bunch of stingy bastards.'

"… I better not count my eggs before they hatch."

'A treasure like this wouldn't be buried without some countermeasures for thieves...'

There, or better put, directly above it was a massive humanoid creature in a fetal position, lodged onto the wall like a gem in a crown.

It had three hands, each holding different colored pyramids about as wide as his height.

Yellow, Red, and Blue.

It looked more like a Statue carved onto the wall than anything else, but the man knew better.

In fact, this wasn't the sole 'statue' in the room.

In each of the four cardinal directions, a humanoid creature could be seen in a similar position, each having different outfits and items adorning their bodies.

Also, it was important to note that each of them had a different number of arms.

One, two, three, and finally, four arms.

Like the other one, they also held different items in their hands, but their purpose wasn't clear as the previous one.

They seemed to each represent something different, and that could be somewhat inferred by the many carvings and the decorations that filled the walls they were lodged onto.

Like the tales and mysteries, they were meant to represent...

A Myth long forgotten by time.

"... The moment I try to grab it, the Raid will start…" He mumbled to himself as he closed his eyes

'In the first place, getting here was supposed to be impossible.'

'I came here by making use of a multitude of backdoors, but I can't skip this last step.'

'Even if I could, my transgression wouldn't come without a consequence of some sort.'

He tried to analyze the creatures and invoke their overall challenge Level, but nothing came of it.

"Ha... As I thought, I'm either too weak for them…"

"Or they're not yet activated, so they count as props rather than creatures."

"Perhaps both."

Scratching his head, he sat down on the ground, commencing stage 2 of his grand plan.

/Open…/

He opened his inventory, taking a series of items from within, scattering them on the ground like a street peddler.

It seems he came prepared, like a true tomb raider!

First, he took a strange circular pot, followed by a pile of firewood…

Then a large bucket of water… Then a raw fish…

/Crackle…/

He then ignited the firewood after preparing a slight hole for it, setting up the pot above it with the help of some metallic sticks…

And after a few more preparations, the man successfully made a stewing pot station…

/Boil…/

He put a part of the water inside the pot, boiling it.

/Whistle… Humming.../

Following that as the water boiled, whistling as he did so, the man set up a tent and a few more items, making something almost like a small home.

He even brought pillows!

"Done… I gotta say, I outdid myself this time." He said with a smile as he sat down near the pot

'There's no point in checking my rations, I already did so many times before...'

'And even if I didn't have enough, will that change anything?... Well...'

'Worst comes to worst, I'll just hunt some of the insects in this place.'

"But I'm not really a fan of Eastern cuisine..." He said with a dry laugh

'Now… I wait.'

Exactly, the man's great plan was to… Wait.

But for what, exactly?

/Ploft…/

As he threw a few items onto his stewing pot, he thought:

'It took me almost two weeks to get here but it's done.'

'A total of 3 weeks were invested into this, the first week was about gathering resources while the second and third weeks were spent here.'

'And now...'

/Poof…/

He let himself fall onto a pillow.

"Phew…"

As he relaxed, he opened his inventory.

'Hum… Level 9, sigh.'

'I sacrificed quite a bit to be here, I could've been Level 30+ by now, but I choose to partake in this venture.'

'Was it the right choice? I cannot tell.'

'Things would've been faster had I chosen to be a Standard Player as that way, I could've progressed faster since death wouldn't be a problem…'

'But then again, if I did not care for my life, then things might've been worse.'

'The death penalty might be just a few real-world hours of forced logout, but that can quickly accumulate.'

"Still, even if I had other plans I would've still chosen Hardcore."

'Because for someone that seeks the "other side", being Standard won't cut it.'

"... In any case, I got here many days earlier than planned… Which isn't exactly efficient."

'Now, I can only stay put and wait for the right time… How long will that be again?'

He opened his game menu again to check a few things… And his eyes opened wide as his expression fell.

"No way… Has so little time actually passed?"

'I was fully engrossed in raiding this place so I was unaware of the passage of time…'

'Yeah, I did check the time every once in a while, but only to make sure I didn't miss on my timing in certain puzzles...'

'In fact, I haven't logged off ever since I first stepped out of the Tutorial zone.'

"Since that's the case..."

'Not everything's bad, with this I can put some time into my real-life matters that I've been pushing back...'

'Give my real body some time to rest since I'm sure it's…'

He let out a loud sigh.

"I'm going to get one hell of a cramp…"

"... Still, I should be able to check how things are going in the other areas."

'I'll have to eventually move around if I wish to grab the other parts so knowing what's happening all around is a must.'

'Not that'll be any different from what I already expect…' He thought as his expression darkened

…

For the next few minutes, the man stood still as he waited for his food to get ready.

He didn't even have the urge to inspect his surroundings, since, not only was he not interested in the ruins, but he was also fearful of triggering any response from the guardians of this place.

After all, he was sure "they" were watching…

His presence here was not welcomed, he was not worthy of stepping foot in this holy area…

So it's definitely in their interest to kick him out of there.

The problem is, he had no intention of leaving anytime soon…

Either way, the only way back from here was through death, and giving his choices…

…

After he gave his character something to eat, he put out the fire and logged out.

/Shuaaaa!.../

Inside a very small and dark apartment with no windows, a capsule opened, releasing frigid air from within.

/Grunt.../

/C... Grunt!/

'H-Hold it in... I need to hold it... IN!'

'If I cough now, with my current numbness and the layer of solution atop me, I'll suffocate before I can move...'

Struggling, being unable to move while being submerged, the man lived a nightmare that would make even grown man cry and panic.

'I must... Calm down... Yes... Think of the good things...'

...

/A minute or two later.../

'Phew... The feeling passed... I'm fine now, for the most part.'

As he relaxed, gazing at the distorted world above through the refraction of his mask, the man finally had the time to process his body's current discomfort.

'Urg… Damn… My head…' The man thought as he tried to touch his forehead only to fail as only his fingers moved

The man looked to be in his early 20s, but due to his beard and unkept long hair, he looked way older than he should've been.

'Everything... Hurts...'

'That's what I get for spending an unhealthy amount of time in a shitty capsule.'

'If only I had one of those bad boys…' He thought silently as his numbness slowly vanished

...

/Touch…/

Finally, his body started to respond to his wishes.

First, he touched his arms, feeling a viscous substance sticking to his skin, even as he tried to raise them above the capsule.

It felt disgusting as if he had been submerged in a gel.

"HAAAA... Shit... This place still smells of crap..."

'My throat is all sore, shit.' <subtxt> . </subtxt>

He slowly removed his breathing mask, taking in a breath of 'fresh' air…

With that, it was possible to see that the mask had a long tube several centimeters long that went all the way down his throat.

It was the tube through which his body was fed nutrients while he was in the Cyberspace.

Dale's Capsule also had it, but he didn't like using it, for obvious reasons...

"Shit… The Neuryne Solution has gone bad… That's another 250 bucks down the drain."

Normally, to maximize the lifetime of the Neuryne Solution, a special suit could be used to reduce the contact between the skin and the substance, thus decreasing the number of oils released onto it.

Dale's Capsule possessed many extra means of increasing its lifetime, not only could it help his body regulate sweat and such oils, but it could also help drain those from his skin in extended sessions inside it.

It also possessed special filters and other apparatuses to help manage it, increasing its lifetime to several months at a time.

Obviously, this crappy capsule was too small to possess any such modules, likely only having space for the overall sensors and computers necessary to connect one's mind to the Virtual Cyberspace.

If that wasn't enough, the quality of Dale's Neuryne Solution was also much higher than this one… And so was its price.

At least one more zero per liter…

And lastly, spending so long at once inside the capsule wasn't that good either, especially since... His body also needs to relieve itself

"Hopefully the pumps didn't clog, manually draining and cleaning this piece of crap would take half a day." He said in frustration

'I'll have to go buy another canister... But uh... Do I still have money in my bank account?'

'... Every step I take I realize how shitty my life was...' He thought weakly as he sat down on his pod

He looked at his crotch, seeing some sort of machine strapped around his pelvis.

It had a clear task, one better not shared out loud...

"..."

'I'll have to clean that up too huh...'

/Blerg.../

Having the urge to vomit, the man shook his head as he unstrapped his diapers.

Getting up from his capsule, the man took a metallic bracelet from a crappy plastic table on the side, making his way to the bathroom.

He checked his bank account only to be surprised at the fact that it was in the green!

He had mighty 500 bucks! Way more than he expected.

'I'm poor but I can last a few more weeks.'

'Nutrient solution is way more efficient than normal meals... Even healthier...'

Trying to gaslight himself into accepting his shitty situation, he continued walking to the bathroom, having to use the walls as support else he would fall.

Meanwhile, he used his bracelet to access the internet, getting himself informed about everything happening worldwide while he was away.

"Let's see what's on the news."

"Starting with… The South?" He said out loud in surprise

'Why's the South at the top of the players' research bar?'

'Is it due to "that"?'

'But this headline… The South…'

'How is the South still standing?'

The man read the news article with a frown, yet, an amused smile formed on his face.

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Notes

re.o

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