Hello there. I've been using my penimaster for quite some time. The diaphragm cap recently cracked everytime I squeezed the suction ball. I've tried on every size. Blue, green, and yellow. The diaphragm simply keeps breaking. Is it due to an excessively high vacuum pressure? However, if I don't apply enough pressure, my glans will slip out of the chamber. It's quite frustrating. What did I do wrong?
​
Also, how many hours should I use per day to see results? What is the most effective routine? How do you stretch? I use the belt system and stretch downwards(attach to my legs). Is this effective?

I had been going through my old inventory on Nintendo DS games because I was going to sell some of the ones that I didn’t play anymore and I was checking the progress on all of them and noticed I had barely started playing pokemon Y so I pressed start and sat down on my bed. The loading screen like usual played and I skipped through it to the last point i had been at being right before getting my starter, I picked a fennekin because I have a soft spot for foxes and I planned on doing a magician themed run. The game played out as normal but then when I arrived at Professor Sycamore’s Lab, I had gotten into the battle with Proffesor Sycamore and just decided on Squirtle since I already had my grass poison type Budew, fire type Braixen, and a psychic fairy type ralts, but thats when the game began acting weird, my pokemon weren’t attacking, they weren’t over leveled, just not attacking and a pop up text would say (pokemon name) is scared I made it through the battle barely with all of my pokemon in the red or yellow for hp and then remembered about the ghost girl on the second floor and had went down to that floor although as I went down the elevator my DS got the low battery notification even though it was just at full “what the heck!” I continued playing a bit frustrated but then I noticed the elevator had been taking longer than usual and then the old school poison flashing screen had happened accompanied by all of pokemon fainting except for my budew who luckily was one of the pokemon in yellow health although i was confused because none of my pokemon were poisoned by Professor Sycamore’s pokemon although I just shrugged it off. I made it to the second floor and I see the ghost girl cutscene except something was different, she was leaving a trail of purple and instead of her usual “you are not the one” she said “You are the one, Connifer” Connifer is my real life name so I was confused even more because I put Wynter as my in game name and also she said you ARE the one, not, You are not the one but then a battle began and it said Ghost Girl wants to battle. I sent out my budew being my only pokemon and tried to use leech seed but it said Ghost Girl was unaffected so i tried to use mega drain, Ghost Girl was unaffected, I used watersport in case the Ghost Girl knew any fire type moves and then she attacked with a move i have never seen before, You are not the one which made my screen flicker and when it turned back to being lit up, my character stood where my budew was, i opened up the attack menu and had seen my only move, struggle, so i tried to struggle but it did nothing and my character appeared in worst condition after I took the recoil damage, i used struggle again my character looked even worst but then the ghost girl moved closer, I struggled twice more and my character looked terrible and had been on there knees and looked bruised as if they had been punched and kicked over and over again and the ghost girl moved closer I was forced into using struggle again because the run and the items button weren’t there and by that point my character had been bleeding and I was forced into struggling again and the ghost girl moved closer and my character had been in even worse condition to the point where they had been bleeding all over the body I winced out of fear because of how brutal it looked, and thats when i heard that a move was used i unwinced to see that the Ghost Girl used you are not the one and my player character was nowhere to be seen and then heard a the doorbell ring, i put my ds in sleep mode and then had checked out the door and saw a box labeled, to “connifer”, your corpse, i was scared to even open the box but i managed to anyways and inside was a plant but below that plant was a chopped up human corpse, i almost vomited st the site of it but held it in realizing that the plant was the budew and the chopped up corpse was my player character though had scared me too much and i vomited, i grabbed a knife and ran up to my room where my ds sat on the bed and saw that it left sleep mode but the ghost girl wasn’t there but the battle screen was. I turned around to look to the closet to see if anything or anyone was there but there wasn’t anything i turned back around to my ds and then i looked up and saw the ghost girl standing above the ds and said through a deranged grin “you are the one” and then lept at me, i held up the knife and it stabbed her through the arm but she seemed unfazed so i tried to stab her in the chest but she was still unfazed so i just threw the knife into her and pushed her off me and tried to run but my hallway seemed endless and she soon caught up and grabbed me by the neck and stabbed me through the chest, i winced and then kicked at her I looked to my room and saw that my celebi plushie had began to levitate like in the games and it cried out a high pitched song, Celebi used perish song, the Celebi then fell to the floor as if it fainted and the Ghost Girl yelled in pain as i kicked at its legs as it dropped me to the floor causing it to fall and it began to shoot out thick black smoke, I did it, well Celebi did it, I stood up and walked to the bathroom to apply a bandage and clean the stab wound after i had gotten all taken care of i walked over to my celebi plush and thanked it while giving it a hug but then i heard the doorbell ring, i walked over to the door and saw that it was another package this time it simply said to wynter, i opened it and a pokeball and a max revive were inside along with some parts that looked like a pokemon healing machine that nurse joys have, i walked to my room and the celebi lied there so i used the max revive on it and it came back to life, i put the pokeball in front of it and it entered the pokeball i kissed the pokeball as if someone rolling dice wishing for luck would and sent celebi out of the pokeball and it began flying through the room i will be safe from the ghost girl and i bet she will be back because like she said “you are the one”

40': Young Africans 0-1 USM Alger

1st Leg
USM Alger scorers: Aymen Mahious (32')
Venue: Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium
Auto-refreshing reddit comments link
LINE-UPS
Young Africans
Djigui Diarra, Kibwana Shomari, Dickson Job, Ibrahim Hamad, Bakari Mwamnyeto, Tuisila Kisinda, Yannick Bangala Litombo, Kennedy Musonda, Mudathir Yahya Abbas, Stéphane Aziz Ki, Fiston Mayele.
Subs: Bernard Morrison, Zawadi Mauya, Clement Mzize, Ducapel Moloko, Farid Mussa, Lomalisa Mutambala, Salum Abubakar, Metacha Mnata, Djuma Shabani.
^{____________________________}
USM Alger
Oussama Benbot, Adem Alilet, Saâdi Redouani, Haithem Loucif, Zineddine Belaid, Oussama Chita, Islam Merili, Brahim Benzaza, Tumisang Orebonye, Khaled Bousseliou, Aymen Mahious.
Subs: Akram Djahnit, Ismail Belkacemi, Zakaria Al-Harish, Taher Benkhelifa, Imad Benchlef, Ibrahim Bekakchi, Ben Tahar Meziane, Messalla Merbah, Abdelkader Belharrane.
MATCH EVENTS via ESPN
30' Dickson Job Yellow Card
32' Aymen Mahious Goal
^{Don't see a thread for a match you're watching? Click here to learn how to request a match thread from this bot.}

20F, I don’t smoke, drink or do drugs.
About two weeks ago, my forehead hurt when touched or when I realised by eyebrows. The pain moved from my forehead to around my eyes. Then around eyebrow started hurting when I touched it or raised my eyebrow.
I figured it was a sinus infection. My eyes were also bloodshot for a bit and I had pain/pressure around my nose too. I had a bad headache for a bit too.
But now, the sinus symptoms are gone. I started feeling fatigued with the sinus symptoms, so I thought it was a sinus infection. Now, I have a stomach ache, tiredness and weakness and body aches and slight temperature.
I’m very stupid and googled and started to spiral and worry about adrenal crisis, since I have borderline hypothyroidism, which can be a symptom of Addison’s disease. I’m getting retested for hypothyroidism. I’ve had muscle aches and spasms for months, but I suddenly got very bad leg and stomach pain which lines up perfectly with the symptoms.
And then I started to worry about compartment syndrome because of the sudden onset leg pain, which I’ve had a scare of recently because I noticed that my calf had randomly swollen. It wasn’t a blood clot, it was suspected to be cause I have shortened Achilles’ tendons and toe walk, and put more pressure on the foot that has the swollen calf. The swelling hasn’t gone away. I’m still kinda worried about compartment syndrome.
I’ve been worried about the stomach pain. It seems inexplicable. I’ve had yellow poop that appears light brown but is yellow when I wipe for a while too as well, but that could be caused by anxiety. I kinda fell down a rabbit hole of stomach related stuff too.
But yeah, I’m terrified that it’s adrenal crisis or something, and I know that sounds stupid but my anxiety is so bad rn.
Can a cold/flu start with sinus symptoms that disappear? Can it cause stomach ache and leg pain? Please reassure me! I’m worried because I don’t have any diarrhoea, vomiting or snot and I’m not coughing, and the symptoms came on suddenly.

20F, I don’t smoke, drink or do drugs.
About two weeks ago, my forehead hurt when touched or when I realised by eyebrows. The pain moved from my forehead to around my eyes. Then around eyebrow started hurting when I touched it or raised my eyebrow.
I figured it was a sinus infection. My eyes were also bloodshot for a bit and I had pain/pressure around my nose too. I had a bad headache for a bit too.
But now, the sinus symptoms are gone. I started feeling fatigued with the sinus symptoms, so I thought it was a sinus infection. Now, I have a stomach ache, tiredness and weakness and body aches and slight temperature.
I’m very stupid and googled and started to spiral and worry about adrenal crisis, since I have borderline hypothyroidism, which can be a symptom of Addison’s disease. I’m getting retested for hypothyroidism. I’ve had muscle aches and spasms for months, but I suddenly got very bad leg and stomach pain which lines up perfectly with the symptoms.
And then I started to worry about compartment syndrome because of the sudden onset leg pain, which I’ve had a scare of recently because I noticed that my calf had randomly swollen. It wasn’t a blood clot, it was suspected to be cause I have shortened Achilles’ tendons and toe walk, and put more pressure on the foot that has the swollen calf. The swelling hasn’t gone away. I’m still kinda worried about compartment syndrome.
I’ve been worried about the stomach pain. It seems inexplicable. I’ve had yellow poop that appears light brown but is yellow when I wipe for a while too as well, but that could be caused by anxiety. I kinda fell down a rabbit hole of stomach related stuff too.
But yeah, I’m terrified that it’s adrenal crisis or something, and I know that sounds stupid but my anxiety is so bad rn.
Can a cold/flu start with sinus symptoms that disappear? Can it cause stomach ache and leg pain? Please reassure me! I’m worried because I don’t have any diarrhoea, vomiting or snot and I’m not coughing, and the symptoms came on suddenly.

20F, I don’t smoke, drink or do drugs.
About two weeks ago, my forehead hurt when touched or when I realised by eyebrows. The pain moved from my forehead to around my eyes. Then around eyebrow started hurting when I touched it or raised my eyebrow.
I figured it was a sinus infection. My eyes were also bloodshot for a bit and I had pain/pressure around my nose too. I had a bad headache for a bit too.
But now, the sinus symptoms are gone. I started feeling fatigued with the sinus symptoms, so I thought it was a sinus infection. Now, I have a stomach ache, tiredness and weakness and body aches and slight temperature.
I’m very stupid and googled and started to spiral and worry about adrenal crisis, since I have borderline hypothyroidism, which can be a symptom of Addison’s disease. I’m getting retested for hypothyroidism. I’ve had muscle aches and spasms for months, but I suddenly got very bad leg and stomach pain which lines up perfectly with the symptoms.
And then I started to worry about compartment syndrome because of the sudden onset leg pain, which I’ve had a scare of recently because I noticed that my calf had randomly swollen. It wasn’t a blood clot, it was suspected to be cause I have shortened Achilles’ tendons and toe walk, and put more pressure on the foot that has the swollen calf. The swelling hasn’t gone away. I’m still kinda worried about compartment syndrome.
I’ve been worried about the stomach pain. It seems inexplicable. I’ve had yellow poop that appears light brown but is yellow when I wipe for a while too as well, but that could be caused by anxiety. I kinda fell down a rabbit hole of stomach related stuff too.
But yeah, I’m terrified that it’s adrenal crisis or something, and I know that sounds stupid but my anxiety is so bad rn.
Can a cold/flu start with sinus symptoms that disappear? Can it cause stomach ache and leg pain? Please reassure me! I’m worried because I don’t have any diarrhoea, vomiting or snot and I’m not coughing, and the symptoms came on suddenly.

20F, I don’t smoke, drink or do drugs.
About two weeks ago, my forehead hurt when touched or when I realised by eyebrows. The pain moved from my forehead to around my eyes. Then around eyebrow started hurting when I touched it or raised my eyebrow.
I figured it was a sinus infection. My eyes were also bloodshot for a bit and I had pain/pressure around my nose too. I had a bad headache for a bit too.
But now, the sinus symptoms are gone. I started feeling fatigued with the sinus symptoms, so I thought it was a sinus infection. Now, I have a stomach ache, tiredness and weakness and body aches and slight temperature.
I’m very stupid and googled and started to spiral and worry about adrenal crisis, since I have borderline hypothyroidism, which can be a symptom of Addison’s disease. I’m getting retested for hypothyroidism. I’ve had muscle aches and spasms for months, but I suddenly got very bad leg and stomach pain which lines up perfectly with the symptoms.
And then I started to worry about compartment syndrome because of the sudden onset leg pain, which I’ve had a scare of recently because I noticed that my calf had randomly swollen. It wasn’t a blood clot, it was suspected to be cause I have shortened Achilles’ tendons and toe walk, and put more pressure on the foot that has the swollen calf. The swelling hasn’t gone away. I’m still kinda worried about compartment syndrome.
I’ve been worried about the stomach pain. It seems inexplicable. I’ve had yellow poop that appears light brown but is yellow when I wipe for a while too as well, but that could be caused by anxiety. I kinda fell down a rabbit hole of stomach related stuff too.
But yeah, I’m terrified that it’s adrenal crisis or something, and I know that sounds stupid but my anxiety is so bad rn.
Can a cold/flu start with sinus symptoms that disappear? Can it cause stomach ache and leg pain? Please reassure me! I’m worried because I don’t have any diarrhoea, vomiting or snot and I’m not coughing, and the symptoms came on suddenly.

​
https://preview.redd.it/6oe368q93k2b1.jpg?width=2480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7b19f9a0f53208e916da7d092b6378ea5f5c9df7
​
Character study
This character study for a movie will add depth to the screenplay, paint a vivid impression to prompt an actor performing the part and be incorporated in the pitch deck. This vignette is not necessarily the plot of the movie. Any general feedback on character, writing, concepts or design are welcome. Thank you in advance for your suggestions.
Name : Jandro
Role : Protagonist
There's dirt under Jandro's finger nails. Grime stains across his threadbare t-shirt reveal bony ribs. Eyes cast down he searches for lost cash or shiny valuables on the ground. Seeing him hunched forward hauling scrap on his back, you wouldn't guess he's over six feet tall. With ambition to his stride, Jandro walks in jolting starts, a diet of cheap n' greasy street feed fueling his nervous energy. Speaking in a soft tongue he schools himself from a dog eared nineteen seventies encyclopedia read by the dim light of a corner store lamp. Jandro’s bad habits of voicing his mind and interrupting rather listening have earned him the reputation of eccentric for his age. Beneath the disarray of hair, behind those darting eyes, blooms a handsome charismatic teen.
As a five year old during a provincial war, he got separated from his parents and a childless couple of junk scavengers found him crying beneath Jandro River bridge, adopting him as their salvage picker. Concealing the shame of poverty remained a burden until hunger broke his resolve and he resorted to foraging through trash after dark. The other children in the rag clan were desperate by nature and Jandro did not trust them. The stray kittens who’d once rode in his backpack were closer to his heart. Symbols of good fortune, the whimsical cats embroidered in yellow thread dancing around his filthy jean jacket’s collar were an emotional reminder of dear friends departed.
Two days before his fifteenth birthday, hidden in the crumbling adobe walls of a colonial church, Jandro chanced upon a hessian sack filled with silver coins. The foreign antique dealer who purchased the loot offered Jandro valuable advice, encouraging him to travel village to village, to roam far and high, asking discreet questions regarding the whereabouts of priceless mystic artefacts. This quest for treasure ignited Jandro's imagination. Legs trembling with impatient enthusiasm he couldn't sit still, jumping at an opportunity to bid the city junk trade farewell.
These past months of lone mountain roving honed his reflexes and agility. Owing to his informal nickname, with no valid proof of identity, Jandro dashed land borders before dawn and lurked on the fringe of any town he visited. Opposed to formally registering his name with the ministry he'd quietly slip away should anyone question his past. Never in one place for too long, he preferred to sleep rough, exposed to the shifting sky. Each night Jandro wrestled with the guilt of abandoning his scavenger family, doubting if pursuing his dreams was worth the risk. But on waking his morning thoughts returned to the rumors of Inca rebel gold dumped in a highland lake, or the fabled Wari tomb of animal spirits, then inspired by newfound wanderlust Jandro fastened his steel pick axe and, determined to succeed, trekked toward the far horizon.

Willing to bundle for the items I want.
GT: MADDL007
——Weapons for trade——
AA/50crit/25 Plasma Rifle
B/50crit/15crit Thirst Zapper
B/E/Break The Dragon 419 Range (Legacy) {mule} [high end apparel bundle or armor from my want list only please]
B/50crit/15crit The Fixer
B/50crit/15crit Handmade {mule}
B/50crit/15crit Handmade {mule}
B/50crit/25 Handmade [high end apparel bundle or armor from my want list only please]
B/E/1A Handmade {mule}
B/50crit/25 Radium Rifle
B/50crit/25 Railway Rifle {mule}
B/50crit/FR Railway Rifle
B/FFFR Tesla Rifle {mule}
B/E 50 Cal Machine Gun (2 Star) {mule}
B/50crit/Break Gatling Plasma {mule}
B/50crit/25 Harpoon Gun
B/E Light Machine Gun (2 star) {mule}
B/FSS/Break Chainsaw
B/FSS/1S Death Tambo {mule}
MUT/E/25 Handmade
Q/E/DRWA The Fixer
Q/AP/25 Handmade
Q/E Handmade (2 star)
Q/E/Stealth Handmade
Q/50crit/FMSWA Railway Rifle {mule}
Q/E Railway Rifle (2 Star)
Q/E/DRWR Railway Rifle {mule}
Q/FFR Tesla Rifle (2 Star)
Q/50crit/25 Flamer {mule}
Q/E/1P Gatling Gun {mule}
TS/50vhc Alien Blaster (2 Star)
TS/AP/Stealth Alien Blaster {mule}
TS/LD/Break Alien Blaster
TS/E Handmade (2 star)
V/FFFR Alien Blaster
V/FF25 Gatling Laser
V/E Light Machine Gun (2 star)
V/25DAM/1S Chainsaw {mule}
V/40PA/Block Chainsaw
V/AP/RW Chainsaw
Enclave Plasma Rifle #1 w/ Automatic Barrel, Stabilized Stock, Reflex Sight
Enclave Plasma Rifle #2 w/ Stabilized Splitter, Stabilized Stock, Reflex Sight
Enclave Plasma Rifle #3 w/ Aligned Automatic Barrel, Stabilized Stock, Standard Sights
Enclave Plasma Rifle #4 w/ True Flamer Barrel, Stabilized Stock, Reflex Sight x2
Enclave Plasma Rifle #5 w/ Stabilized Flamer Barrel, Stabilized Stock, Reflex Sight
Enclave Plasma Rifle #6 w/ True Automatic Barrel, Stabilized Stock, Reflex Sight {mule}
Fancy Pump Shotgun AA/LD/DRWA
Fancy Revolvers: Assassin, Berserker, Executioner, Mutant x2, Troubleshooter x3
Brotherhood Recon Rifle Level 50 {mule}
Tesla (no scope) Level 50 {mule}
Dross, Pearly Peepers, Red Fireworks Mine, Troglocide
——Plans & Recipes for trade——
Plan: Assault Rifle {mule}
Plan: Backpack Armor Plated Mod {mule}
Plan: Backpack High Capacity Mod {mule}
Plan: Backpack Insulated Mod
Plan: Backpack Refrigerated Mod
Plan: Barbed Walking Cane {mule}
Plan: Bear Arm
Plan: Bear Arm Heavy Mod
Plan: Camo Backpack
Plan: Deathclaw Gauntlet {mule}
Plan: Hatchet Electro Fusion {mule}
Plan: Large Ultracite Shard {mule}
Plan: Nuka-World Cowboy Duster {mule}
Plan: Pitchfork Flamer {mule}
Plan: Poker Set {mule}
Plan: Protective Lining Raider Underarmor
Plan: Radioactive Barrel
Plan: Sheriff’s Hat
Plan: Shielded Lining Marine Underarmor {mule}
Plan: Spiked Walking Cane {mule}
Plan: Tomb Stones
Plan: TV Aquarium {mule}
Plan: Vintage Water Cooler
Plan: Wild West Show Entrance Sign
Recipe: Cutting Fluid {mule}
Recipe: Formula P {mule}
Recipe: Fried Scorpion On A Stick {mule}
Recipe: Healing Salve (Mire) {mule}
Recipe: Nuka Cola Dark {mule}
Recipe: Stimpak Diffuser {mule}
——Armor & Other items for trade——
UNY/1L/WWR Metal Chest Piece 51DR 11ER {mule}
UNY/1L/WWR Urban Scout Armor Chest Piece {mule} [armor from my want list only please]
UNY/1P/WWR Urban Scout Armor Right Arm {mule} [armor from my want list only please]
UNY/1S/WWR Leather Left Leg 21DR 51ER {mule} [armor from my want list only please]
UNY/AP/WWR Combat Armor Right Leg 27DR 37ER {mule} [armor from my want list only please]
UNY/AP/WWR Forest Scout Armor Right Leg [high end apparel bundle or armor from my want list only please]
UNY/AP/WWR Urban Scout Armor Right Leg [high end apparel bundle or armor from my want list only please]
UNY/HungeWWR Urban Scour Armor Left Arm {mule} [armor from my want list only please]
W/AP/WWR Raider Left Leg 17DR 8ER
Ultracite Jet Pack Helmet Level 50 {mule}
50K+ Ultracite 5.56 Ammo
All 8 Holotape Mini Games
All Non-Rare apparel available - just ask
Misc Items: ask me for my list
———
———
——Items I want——
B/50crit/25 Fixer or Handmade
Q/E/25 Fixer or Handmade or Railway
TS/50crit/15crit Alien Blaster
TS/50crit/25 Alien Blaster
V/40PA/40PA Chainsaw (Will consider other third star: prefer Break, 90rw, or any of the +1)
Baseball bats level 45 - indigo, pink, yellow
Enclave Plasma Gun Aligned Flamer Barrel Mod (one or multiple)
UNY/AP/WWR Forest Scout Armor Chest Piece, Left Arm
UNY/AP/WWR Urban Scout Armor Left Leg and Right Arm
Plan: Meat Tenderizer
Plan: Ultracite Calibrated Shocks
Asylum Worker Uniform Forest
Asylum Worker Uniform Red
Asylum Worker Uniform Yellow
Blue Ridge Caravan Gas Mask (will pay caps)
Blue Ridge Caravan Uniform (will pay caps)
BOS Jumpsuit
Fasnacht Brahmin Mask
Fasnacht Buffoon Mask
Fasnacht Crazy Guy Mask
Fasnacht Deathclaw Mask
Fasnacht Demon Mask
Fasnacht Fiend Mask
Fasnacht Hag Mask
Fasnacht Loon Mask
Fasnacht Raven Mask
Fasnacht Winter Man Mask
Forest Camo Jumpsuit
Forest Scout Armor Mask
Leather Coat
Prototype Hazmat Suit Level 50
Radicals Face Mask
Responder Fireman Helmet
Responder Fireman Uniform
Tattered Field Jacket
Traveling Leather Coat
Urban Scout Armor Mask
White Powder Jumpsuit
I’m really only after the items listed above, make me an offer. No caps, flux, or junk offers please.

I posted this to lamictal. as it's not the same community. I've been on this since either 2004 or 2008. I am not sure when I started waking up with bruises on my legs, sometimes big ones that are yellow in the middle. I also do not know why I don't pull a chicken little and go right to the doctor. I guess I assume it's a side effect so, they cannot do anything about it. I might also post this to theophylline as well.

anyone on this get bruises? I am not sure if I was getting them since the beginning (2008 or 2004) but I will wake up with big bruises on my legs. I don't know if it's this or theophylline. I guess I will need to post this, on a theophylline community as well. and sometimes my bruises are really big, and yellow in the middle. I just assume it's a side effect, so I do not go all "chicken little" and make an appointment right away.

It had been years since I last stepped foot in that desolate forest. Memories of my childhood flooded back as I peered through the overgrown foliage, spotting the worn-out path leading deeper into the woods. The stories we used to share around the campfire echoed in my mind, especially the one about the abandoned cabin—the place where all fear began.
Curiosity tingled in my veins as I made my decision. I was going to find that cabin and uncover the truth behind the legends. With my backpack slung over my shoulder, I ventured down the overgrown path, the silence of the woods swallowing my every step.
The trees towered above me, casting eerie shadows across my path. Leaves rustled as if whispering secrets only they could understand. I swallowed hard, pushing forward, my determination overpowering the creeping unease. The tales of the cabin had intrigued me for years, and now it was time to confront the darkness that lurked within.
After what seemed like an eternity, I stumbled upon a clearing, and there it stood—the infamous cabin. It had succumbed to the passage of time, its wooden frame weathered and decaying. The windows were shattered, and the front door hung crookedly on its hinges, beckoning me to enter.
I took a deep breath and crossed the threshold. Inside, the air was stale and heavy, filled with the scent of abandonment. Dust danced in the weak rays of sunlight that filtered through the cracks in the walls. It was a scene frozen in time, as if the inhabitants had fled in haste, leaving behind their most cherished possessions.
A sense of foreboding settled upon me as I explored further. The whispers of the wind outside grew louder, carrying with them the echoes of distant footsteps. Every creak of the floorboards sent shivers down my spine, making me question my decision to venture into this forgotten place.
I noticed a stack of weathered journals on a nearby table, their pages yellowed with age. My curiosity got the better of me, and I picked one up, dusting off the surface. As I opened it, I was greeted by chilling accounts of strange occurrences within the cabin—a malicious presence that tormented those unfortunate enough to stumble upon it. The more I read, the more I felt a chill creeping up my spine.
I snapped the journal shut, convinced that the stories were nothing but the product of overactive imaginations. But as I turned to leave, the door slammed shut with a deafening thud. Panic surged through me, and I rushed to open it, but it refused to budge. My heart pounded in my chest, and the whispers of the wind transformed into sinister laughter.
Time seemed to stand still as I frantically searched for an alternative way out. The cabin's atmosphere had changed, becoming suffocating and oppressive. The creaking of the floorboards grew louder, and the unsettling feeling of being watched intensified.
Desperation overtook me as I stumbled upon a hidden trapdoor beneath a worn-out rug. My trembling hands reached for the handle, praying for an escape. With a deep breath, I opened the hatch and descended into the unknown.
The darkness swallowed me whole, the only source of light being a flickering lantern I had hastily grabbed from the cabin. The air grew colder, and an eerie silence engulfed me. It felt as though the forest itself had withdrawn, holding its breath.
I cautiously moved forward, my steps echoing in the cavernous space. The tunnel seemed to stretch on indefinitely, the oppressive blackness refusing to yield to any light.

"Whallopin' websnappers!"
Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can. Spins a web any size, catches thieves just like flies. Look out! Here comes the Spider-Man. Is he strong? Listen bud, he's got radioactive blood. Can he swing from a thread? Take a look overhead. Hey there, there goes the Spider-Man. In the chill of night, at the scene of a crime, like a streak of light, he arrives just in time. Spider-Man, Spider-Man, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Wealth and fame he's ignored, action is his reward. To him, life is a great big bang-up, wherever there's a hang-up, you'll find the Spider-Man!
Strength
Striking

• Accidentally snaps a street lamp in half with a punch.
  
• Able to send regular men flying and knock them out with individual strikes, even when performed with unideal leverage.
  
• Able to send Mysterio flying across the room with individual strikes.
  
• Sends a man flying through a set of doors and a pile of crates with a punch.
  
• Punches Kingpin across the room hard enough to damage machinery. Kingpin describes himself as 300 pounds of solid muscle.
  
• Shoulders open a locked door.
  
• Stomps a file cabinet hard enough to send a drawer flying.
  
• Busts through elevator doors.
  
• Kicks a steel hatch out of its framing.
  

Swinging

• Flies through a frozen window.
  
• Swings straight through a boarded up window.
  
• Knocks a flying demon, almost twice the size of a regular person, out of the air and into the ground with a clashing swinging kick.
  
• Knocks an armored giant to the ground and knocks him out with a swinging kick.
  

Lifting & Throwing

• Lifts a manhole cover with one finger.
  
• Throws a man into Kingpin hard enough to send both into a wood wall hard enough to damage it.
  
• Stops and holds up a large ice pillar driving with enough force to shatter itself upon hitting the ground.
  
• Catches, lifts, and resets a marble collumn when its knocked over.
  

Pushing & Pulling

• Tears a metal chain off the wall.
  
• While chained to a wall, tears the chain by pulling.
  
• Busts out of a rope binding his arms.
  
  • With greater effort, busts out of a chain link net holding his whole body down.
• Runs while carrying a wooden table into a wall hard enough to heavily damage both.
  
• Bends open iron bars far enough to squeeze through.
  
• Buries the Lizard up to his waist with a shove while underwater.
  
• Tears apart a mechanical sea monster.
  
• Uses his webs to pull the legs out from under a seemingly stone giant.
  
• Lifts a toppled crane, though only seems confident in his ability to do so with a pulley system, rather than a deadlift.
  
• Holds back the Rhino charging with enough force to burst through a gas tanker (until he sneezes and is forced to let go).
  
• Tips over a massive stone statue with a leg press, struggles heavily to do so.
  

Other

• Hangs onto and climbs along the side of an in-flight airplane.
  
• Swings around a pair of gold bricks like bolas.
  
• Swings a revolver into the wall hard enough to shatter it.
  

Speed
Reactions & Dodging

• Doc Ock can't tag him with his quick moving tentacle arms.
  
• Isn't hit by a volley of icicles despite being trapped in the corner.
  
• Dodges a runaway roller coaster at the last second.
  
• Leaps out of the way of an armored truck's guns before it can fire on him.
  
• Dodges(?) a flamethrower.
  
• Dodges a thrown spear.
  
• Dodges a thrown sword at the last second, arrows fired from a bow, knocks a gun aside before it can fire then dodges a bullet from it.
  
• Spots and then dodges a falling sandbag at the last second.
  
• Catches himself from falling immediately after passing through a hole and inches before hitting a turbine.
  
• Dodges, though inconsistently, attacks that are described as "sonic blasts" or "sonic beams".
  
• Dodges a beam from some kind of unspecified energy gun.
  
• Dodges around bolts of energy fired from a machine.
  
• Dodges Electro's electricity.
  
• Dodges lightning bolts thrown by a Martian storm god.
  
• Dodges "a laser gun"'s beam.
  
  • Dodges robot energy beams, possibly more lasers, flying from multiple different directions.

Action Speed

• Swings fast enough to avoid gunfire.
  
• Goes from the on the floor to a kneeling punch in the time it takes a person to reach a few inches, then hits his partner with a punch before he can aim his gun.
  
• Lifts a table to block a volley of darts after at least the first was fired.
  
• Shoots a web to rebound a thrown glass bottle in the time it takes to reach him.
  
• Outdraws (an artificial recreation of) Jesse James.
  

Movement

• Dashes around at high speeds.
  
• Able to consistently outrun, outswing, outclimb, and dodge the pounces of a giant cat.
  
• Catches up to and leaps onto the back of an escaping car.
  
  • Catches up to an escaping car well after it reached speed.
  • Catches up to an escaping car that's explicitly going as fast as it can.
• Swings fast enough to catch up to Kingpin's escaping helicopter.
  
• Kicks a special flute out of a man's hands, then catches up to it with a web swing before it hits the ground.
  

Leaping

• Jumps several stories into the air on accident.
  
• Leaps to a rooftop several blocks away.
  
• Jumps to the top of a tall fort wall in a single bound.
  

Other

• Has the stamina to follow an escaping ship out of New York City and all the way to some mountainous desert region via swinging.

Durability
Blunt Force

• Completely no-sells a punch from a biker.
  
  • No-sells a punch from a con even while injured.
• Spun around at high speeds for half a minute and hurled against a stone pillar.
  
• Gets back up from a hit that launches him through a second story wooden railing.
  
• Crash lands through a boxcar's roof and gets back up after a second.
  
• Isn't bothered by a multi-story fall.
  
• Get crushed under a thrown car, crumpling the crane cockpit he was in, is seemingly knocked out but quickly recovers and moves just as fine after.
  
• Gets thrown into iron bars hard enough to bend them, is able an eventual recovery.
  
• Can take a full charge from the Rhino whose charges can heavily damage a train.
  
  • Takes a charge from the Rhino right after he sent a cop car flying and pierced a gas tanker.
• Gets hit by an explosion and falls at least twenty stories, the damage knocked him out and seemed to heavily injure him but he's still able to move around when conscious.
  

Energy

• Has a grenade thrown at him, and shortly after unburies himself from the rubble.
  
• Gets knocked back by an explosion that wrecks the room and quickly recovers.
  
• Able to recover from being hit by sonic blasts that are strong enough to crack a tree in half.
  
• Hardly seems fazed taking a point blank explosion from a bomb that the Vulture previously threatened to use to sink a naval battleship.
  
• Takes a zap from an electrified lance that knocked out two ordinary men and quickly recovers.
  
• Takes a bolt from Electro that simultaneously knocks iron bars out of the framing, and just after creates a large hole in the exterior wall of a prison.
  
• Is flash-frozen and comes away perfectly fine after thawing out by creatures from Pluto attempting to recreate their natural habitat.
  
  • Gets frozen at absolute zero and is able to be recovered near 24 hours later.
• Gets pinned by a bolt that is threatened, numerous times, to carry him all the way to the moon, and does carry him across most of New York and is eventually able to escape.
  

Webbing
General

• Unlike other variations of the character, this version doesn't need to press his fingers to his palm to fire webs.
  
• In addition to his normal sticky and pliable webbing, he consistently shows the ability to fire "tempered webbing" which keeps its shape and is referred to as "stronger than steel".
  
• Isn't damaged by burning hot coals.
  

Offensive
Restraint Strength

• Sticks up a manhole cover to make it immovable by a normal human.
  
• Holds and lifts a struggling man in full plate armor.
  
• Disarms and restrains the executioner of Paris, who was strong enough to swing his axe hard enough to destroy a brick chimney.
  
• Sticks a briefcase to a rock to the point where Sandman couldn't budge it, just after Sandman pitched a diamond through a web net and wrecked a bulldozer.
  

Tempered Webbing Strength

• Briefly holds back a descending elevator.
  
• Acts as replacement train tracks across a complete hole in the bridge, holding up the train all on their own.
  

Impact

• Knocks the guns out of two policemen's hands.
  
• Uses a web to fire a box of pepper.
  
• Causes a control panel to explode with two hits.
  
• A ball of webbing knocks a man across the room.
  
• Knocks the Vulture across the room and webs him up in the process.
  
• Stops the Rhino's charge and forces him back. Previously, the Rhino wasn't stopped by rifle fire and a stationary armored truck.
  

Defensive
Elasticity Strength

• Pulls Spider-Man, carrying a child, out of quicksand, that was pulling hard enough to bend a thick tree.
  
• Catches and holds a falling billboard sign.
  
• Trips the twenty foot tall Scorpion.
  
• Lets a car down gently for several stories.
  
• Plugs a cannon that causes it to backfire and explode when fired.
  
• Makes a slingshot that rebounds a wrecking ball hard enough to demolish the crane it was hanging from.
  
• Rebounds a small boulder being throw with enough force to chip at concrete.
  
• Stops and rebounds a speeding motorcycle.
  
• Stops a speeding car.
  
• Stops an armored car.
  
• Uses a single coiled string of web to catch the Rockefeller Center's bronze statue of Prometheus which weighs 8 tons.
  
• When using his webs to trap a hole that the Rhino plans to charge through, the brick building around the hole gives up before his webs do.
  
• Able to stop the flying momentum of a giant war bird made of solid gold before snapping.
  

Shields

• Coats his fists in webbing to protect from shattering glass.
  
• A shield of webbing is completely bulletproof.
  
  • Blocks a volley of arrows.
• Slows and stops magically fired cannonballs.
  
• Blocks falling rocks from hitting him.
  
• Protects him from micro-missiles.
  
• Stops a dozen cars being thrown at him with a dome.
  

Spread

• Walls off half of a store with a single spray.
  
• Walls off the mouth of a cavern.
  
• Creates a band that covers the entire width of a street.
  
• Spreads a web across and over the Golden Gate Bridge.
  
• Spins a web between two skyscrapers to stop an escaping ship.
  
• Snags the tip of the Empire State Building from halfway across town and uses that to swing from midtown to the docks.
  
• Snags onto Skymaster's dirigible from around building height.
  
• Creates a web that covers an entire submarine.
  

Utility

• Able to easily maneuver through the New York skyline by swinging on strands of webbing.
  
  • Does much the same in dense forested areas.
• Uses his webbing to make a handheld slingshot and a trampoline.
  
  • Uses webbing between two buildings to save himself from a lethal fall.
• Creates a parachute with a blanket of webbing.
  
  • Does the same that supports the weight of himself and a football quarterback.
• Creates a pliable sail and a stiff rudder for a sabotaged ship in a storm.
  
• Hides inside a watertight ball of webbing to save himself from drowning.
  
• Shoots the webbing fluid into a keyhole, when the webbing expands it allows it to be unlocked.
  
• Reconnects a split wire, allowing electrical current.
  
  • Connects his web to the third rail of a tram to electrify an enemy caught in it.
• Helps mask the sound of shattering glass.
  

Weird Usages

• Has enough control over his webs while shooting them to tie knots in his lines without touching them with his hands.
  
  • Creates a lasso that flies across the room, grabs the gun out of an assailant's hands, and pulls it away.
  • Flies up, loops around an overhead wire, comes back down, then ties itself off on an object he needs to lift.
  • Snaps the head off a spear as its flying.
  • Guides a football into the running arms of a man who claimed that "even if the football does lucky land in [his] arms [he doesn't] think [he] could catch it".
  • Grabs a vase out of a man's hands and gently puts it back down, from a distance.
• Straps webs to his feet and spins a web incredibly fast behind him to skim across the surface of a swamp river.
  
  • Does this to pull against the thrust of a rocket.
• Wraps up a note with one string of web, then fires it off with another, in one squeeze.
  
• Creates four small net bags of webbing, two from each shooter.
  
• Spins his webbing like a drill to pull himself up out of hard wax and to the ceiling.
  
• Webs himself into a ball and rolls fast enough to bowl through several police officers, and near immediately after escapes from the webbing.
  
• Creates a serrated blade to free himself from bindings.
  
  • Creates a small sawblade to tear out of plastic wrappings.
• Creates a functioning airboat that functions as well as the real thing.
  

Spider Powers

• Able to cling to surfaces in order to easily maneuver New York's skyline.
  
  • Even otherwise slippery surfaces like smooth ice.
  • Even in the pouring rain.
  • Climbs up the side of a ship out of the ocean.
  • He fails to cling when his fingers are too covered in crude oil.
• Has a Spider-Sense, but it doesn't often come in too helpful.
  
  • Here's an instance of it working.
  • Effectively allows him to avoid an arrow he didn't see coming.
  • Uses his spider-sense to nail down someone hiding behind a false wall.
  • Uses his spider-sense to guide a crashing plane over land in the middle of a storm.
• Has some kind of spider hearing that allows him to make out a garbled message a scientest could not.
  
• Was able to resist a hypnotic ray that incapacitated to police officers thanks to "spider vision".
  

Intelligence

• Quickly susses out the true identity of the Lizard, looks over the remnants of Dr. Connor's work to confirm it, then creates an antidote to his lizard serum.
  
  • Shown here working.
• Able to create an EMF tracker and alter his webbing to be resistant to electricity using the power of asbestos.
  
  • Creates a webbing formula that is able to reflect and absorb stone-breaking amounts of electricity.
• Creates a formula he calls IBP which stands for Instant Banana Peel (functionally an oil slick coating).
  
• Creates a breathing mask and new webbing fluid to fight Doctor von Schlick. The mask allows him to breath and see while swimming through crude oil, and the webbing could stick to von Schlick even when his standard webbing couldn't.
  
• Develops anti-magnetic webbing to counteract Dr. Magneto's magnetizing ray despite Magneto's ray being able to magnetize any physical substance.
  
• Creates a "automatic bloodhound gadget" that is able to track a scrap of cloth back to its source.
  
• Reverse engineers a tracking device to lead him to the tracker.
  

Gadgets & Gear

• Tosses a spider tracker onto Electro without his immediate noticing, allowing him to track him across the city.
  
• Has a pocket heat ray that instantly bakes mud.
  
• Has a wrist-mounted flashlight to see through thick fog.
  
  • Has a flashlight on his belt that's able to help a ship come to shore during a stormy night when the lighthouse goes out.
• His standard spider suit isn't affected by a chemical agent that dissolves the gas mask he was wearing over it.
  

Other

• Isn't bothered by tear gas.
  
• Hears a weak call from help from a great distance away.
  
• Throws a pair of large gemstones into the mouth of a monster plant some distance away.
  
• Hides inside of a suitcase, then when discovered, escapes through a vent the size of a suitcase behind him without any of the soldiers watching him noticing.
  
• Is the only one in a large, crowded theater to even partially resist a combination of hypnotic gas and imagery.
  
• Able to resist the will-sapping effect of the Radiation Specialist's mind control radiation.
  
• Skilled at marble carving.
  
• Quickly picked up ventriloquism.
  
• Often benefits from bad animation.
  

Lately I have been having a recurring nightmare. In it is a man with a light shining on him. His eyes are rolled back into his head and his mouth is open in a horrified expression. He is a scrawny old man with no hair. You can see the man's bones and harsh bags. Each time having the nightmare its zoomod out further. His arms are bent inward resembling a wing with the flesh sealing them together. I begin to see his ribs popping out, his legs are short and seem to be rid of flesh and muscle above the knee exposing the bone. Once I had seen him fully he began to slowly crawl toward me, he moaned and groaned grating my ears. He begins panicking and flpping his arm slipping on the bones as he trys to get up. From the darkness behind him a man appears. The man rocks him in his arms as big white and yellow chuncks start spewing from his mouth. The man begins to cry and beg for forgiveness before strangling him to death. His arms flap as the life leaves his body. The man sobs as he groans and moans, then the light go's out.

A few days ago I was sitting on my couch and felt a little tickle. I saw something crawling up my leg, slapped it to the floor, and when I squished it, low and behold a gush of blood.
I was hoping it was a tick, but a look under the couch told me otherwise. I saw a couple hatched casings.
I had an exterminator come out to give me a quote - $900 for one room and $1500 for the whole place. I definitely do not have that kind of money right now. I'd been doing a lot of research and was surprised when he told me to wait for 2 weeks before I made another move.
He left sticky pads under the couches and in the last 2 days it caught 1 young bug.
So we are in battle mode right now and this is our game plan:
Declutter Hot washed/dry & seal clothes, fabrics, blankets, pillows Vacuum everything Steam mattress, baseboards, furniture Mattress in encasement DE in cracks Seal baseboards And finally crossfire on furniture and mattress
Right now the hot spot are the couches, we haven't had any problem with our mattresses. Regardless we are treating the whole place to make sure they don't try to migrate to an untreated room.
The one thing I haven't really read anything about is the fireplace. It's never used. Should DE or crossfire go there too?
What else am I missing?

I rested my chin on the palm of my hand, overlooking the serene, green scenery of the rice fields outside of my classroom. The mountains stood tall and unmoving from afar, dividing the clouds that pass through its summit. I sigh in relaxation, appreciating the peaceful surroundings that one cannot find in the cities.
I snapped out of my quiet trance as a small truck carrying hay passed by the road, and I once again noticed the faint yet consistent mashes of buttons coming from my only friend in the province. Since our teacher announced that she had to leave class early, leaving us in class for the rest of our last period today, my friend over to my right has been playing the newly released game nonstop. The new MMORPG game, Alterra.
My blonde-haired friend Hirato was playing on a portable gaming console. His back has been arched towards the console for the past 15 minutes, his eyes are practically glued to the console’s screen. I inched my seat toward him to take a closer look. He was trying to defeat a monster resembling a three-headed snake—a Hydra. His character’s health was one hit away from hitting zero, but the Hydra was practically undamaged.
“Hey, Hirato,” I called him. “How long are you going to play that game?”
“Awww, I died!” He says exasperatedly, leaning back on his chair in annoyance. “I’ve been trying to beat this boss since yesterday and there’s no luck at all! I even have my gear maxed out for this level, and still...”
Hirato continued speaking as he packed his console into his backpack, “I wouldn’t have any problem at all had you continued playing video games with me. You could help me beat the boss, you know."
Then, Hirato started to make some "drama" in a weird, playful manner. "Come on, Naruki! We were best buddies since we were kids! Whatever must have happened between us, my best friend?” The bell rings across the school building, indicating the end of classes for the day. At the same time, I made a disgusted look at him after saying something corny that must have come from some TV show.
“Stop it with that little skit of yours. We are still best buddies, but I’ve grown up from playing games. Remember, we’re going to college next year and I’ve been preparing for it ever since.” I grabbed my bag from beneath my seat, and just as I stood up, the wooden plank I stood on creaked.
"That's not true, and there's no way you'll pass up on an MMORPG like Alterra! There's no way you stopped playing just for college." Hirato claimed, but he quickly switched into a pondering tone. “Though you made me think about college. You want to go to Tokyo University from what I recall, but I thought you were tired of the city because it’s too crowded there?” He asked.
“It’ll give me a greater chance to get hired for a job with a high salary. My dad also said that it takes some time to get used to the city when I’ve been living all my life in the rice fields.” I ignored Hirato's first statement--but it's true. There's no way I can quit gaming, so I lied to him about it, but I also don't want to take precious time off when I'm studying for a test that will literally decide my future.
“You’re already thinking of your future far ahead.”
“Well, do you want to stay in this school?”
As I took another step towards the door, the wood plank creaked again, filling the short silence in Hirato’s pause.
“...You make a point.” He uttered in agreement.
My school was a single-story building with multiple rooms, occupied by a few students in different grades. To add, we were also the only third-year high school students in the school. Everything here is made of thin wood and paper, and the wooden flooring creaked ever so often that if we step on it the wrong way, it might literally collapse the floor. This building was so old that I’d be having a family reunion with the souls of my family from five generations ago every school day.
The cool breeze of the late afternoon blew toward us as we made our way to the paved dirt road.
"By the way, Hirato."
"Hm?"
"I lied. I'm actually playing Alterra. Since it released."
"Wha-- Then why won't you play co-op with me?!" Hirato was almost screaming in my face, taken aback by my lie.
"Because you're stupid. Why would you cast "Damage Reflect" on Hydra's one-turn kill when you're barely alive? Plus, it won't even damage the Hydra because the game recognizes the reflected damage as an effect, and the boss is immune to any effect."
"Urgh... Watch me beat that Hydra tomorrow, you'll regret not playing with me!"
"Do your best, Hirato. See you tomorrow," I sarcastically said to him as I watched my best friend run to his home, probably excited to try out what I just said. After all, I'm way past his level, so I can't even play with him without ruining his casual experience. It's time to go home for me as well, but the next bus stop is an hour from now. Maybe I'll play for a bit while waiting.
It was the scent of fresh air and the quiet atmosphere that separates urban life from rural life. Most people prefer convenience, while the minority prefer peacefulness. I'm part of the latter, but I still want to get a job in the city. Even if I'm still unsure what I wanted to be in the future.
“Hey, you brat!” A faint, old man’s voice screamed from the rice fields beside the paved road. “Watch out, the ground is dangerous there! Didn’t you see the sign?!”
My thoughts were cut off as I heard him shout at me with great urgency. After my eyes dart to the old man, I abruptly turn to see that there was a sign on the side of the road on both sides that said [ENTRY CLOSED]. Why wasn’t there any blockage? But it was my fault for not paying close attention to my surroundings.
“I’m sorry, mister. I didn’t see it earlier.” I apologized in a nonchalant manner, mostly because I still didn't realize the gravity of the situation at this time.
“Let go of your bag. Climb over the fence towards me. Now,” says the man.
While I didn’t know what could be so dangerous about this road that warrants an urgent reaction, I trusted him. But before I could even drop my bag, the ground starts to sink with me in the center.
It was only then that fear started to settle within me. My heart sank from my inability to do anything as my mind tried to process what was happening and what was about to befall. My legs shook from the sinking ground as well, to control my balance. I cannot feel the center of gravity in my feet anymore.
In a desperate attempt to escape from the sinking ground, I jumped, trying to outrun the sinking before I go along with it.
Yet it was too late.
The ground crumbled beneath me, revealing a sinkhole. All the adrenaline in my body surges instantly, slowing down time and making the fall to my imminent death seem like an eternity. The rocks from the ground begin to break apart and fall as if it wants to bury me as well if I wasn't dead yet from the fall.
Strangely enough, I thought that when my time comes, I’ll accept Death and warmly embrace it, but it’s too soon and unfair. My arms are both outstretched to the sunlight above, as my mind screams, “I don’t want to die yet!”
The falling rocks fully cover the sunlight as I fully plunge into the darkness, and along it with me as well. Thankfully with the darkness blinding what seems to be my body being crushed and mutilated by the heavy rocks, it only felt like I fell asleep, never to wake up again.
Good night, world.
My eyes slowly fluttered open to a familiar ceiling; particularly, my bedroom. The dark blue-painted star walls and the transparent curtain were both familiar, yet in front of me was some child using my computer. The window outside is also blindingly bright which made it seem impossible to peek outside.
“Um...” I didn’t know what else to say, so I tried to get the young girl’s attention
“Mhmhm!” A proud, laughing sneer came from the child. Still sitting on my gaming chair, she turned around to face me, her shoulders crossed and an arrogant expression that ticks me off for some reason.
“Welcome to the afterlife, Naruhaya Tabito. I have chosen you to–wait, who the FUCK are you?!” Her arrogant expression transforms into a mix of confusion, panic, and surprise after she opened her eyes.
“I should be the one saying that!” I exclaimed back, but I did not get a response because she quickly turned to the monitor. Upon standing up from my bed, I notice that the sounds of mouse clicking and keyboard pressing were all attributed to her--playing Alterra?
If this was the afterlife... It didn't look too bad. The events that transpired earlier haven’t registered in my mind yet.
“Hey, am I really dead?” I asked her.
The young girl was typing before she exclaimed in panic, “No no no...! You’re really dead! I killed the wrong person!”
“I see.” I didn’t know how to react to my death, but I also didn't feel sad or sentimental. I didn’t have much going on in the real world before I died, after all.
The young girl paused her game as she turned around to face me. “It’s because you aren’t supposed to die! I may have pressed your name accidentally while I was looking for a suitable candidate in the Living Database...” She sighs as she sinks into her chair. “Well, I suppose it’s not that big of a deal.”
The girl stood on the gaming chair, clad in a red-colored robe with a two-pointed hat that almost resembled horns. Her red-toned eyes glinted with the light of the bright window.
“Naruki Haruhito, sit,” With one downward motion of her finger, I immediately felt a strong, compelling force that made me sit on the bed.
“My name is Filya, and I am the Goddess of Creation! Your Creator, and the One Above All!” She introduces herself with her arms crossed. It appears to me that she was trying to act superior and intimidating, but her haughty attitude, matched with her small stature, made it seem like she really was someone’s kid lost in my bedroom who was cosplaying as an anime character.
“You’re a child,” Even at this point in the afterlife, I do not believe her being the world’s creator for a bit.
“Wha–” Filya is taken aback by what I said. “I'm not a child, I'm a goddess! Respect and worship me, you dimwitted mortal, should you desire not to die a second time and leave your soul wandering in the empty void of space.”
While she was speaking, I couldn't move a single inch from the bed. Even if she was a goddess, it's impossible not to take her seriously because she looks like a child scolding her older brother.
Filya raised two fingers before saying, “As a token of apology for wrongfully smiting you, I’ll give you two choices. First choice: You can return back to the real world as a baby of a rich family, and you will be a prodigy who will basically have an easy life from that period until his death of old age. Of course, you won’t remember everything that happened here and in your past life. But that’s basically the same as having a guaranteed GAME CLEAR, in your terms.”
Having an assured future was my long-term goal when I was alive back then. It seemed like a compelling idea until I heard about the second choice.
“Second choice: You will be reincarnated in another world with all your memories intact, and I will grant you a power unique only to you, and it will help you fulfill the condition that comes with this choice.”
Curious, I ask her what the condition is.
“The condition?” A crooked smirk appeared on her face, turning her haughty tone into something vicious. “Conquer the world.”
My eyes widened in surprise, the weight of her words starting to add to my fear-turned-excitement.
“There is a prophecy in this world that if the reincarnation of Typhon–the cataclysmic world-ending being of the past–attains something of unimaginable power and influence, he will destroy the world.”
Filya speaks with complete urgency, “You must conquer the world to stop Typhon’s reincarnation from attaining such power because, at this point, no one in this world is showing promise to become the world’s strongest."
After a small pause, I asked her, "What do you mean?"
"The throne is empty and he can take it anytime.”
After she finished explaining, I was given some time to think about my decision.
A safe, fulfilled, and assured life? Or a dangerous life with a chance for absolute glory?
I could never pass up on this opportunity, I said to myself, and I thought I'd never hesitate. I can return back to the real world and be born to rich parents. I’d have tasty food to eat every day, get the games I want, and in the future, I’d die of old age with my life fully satisfied and fulfilled until the very end. While my life in provincial Japan was a bit bland and boring at times, it was a life I'd want to return back to.
But the concept of determinism disgusts me.
“Can you tell me more about which power you'll give me?” As soon as I asked her that, her lips curled into a smirk as if she already knew what my choice was.
“I can’t tell you which power because the World Administrator grants it to you. I'm simply the overseer of this world, I cannot decide things for you.”
“Then–”
“Ughh shut up!” Filya gritted her teeth at my continued barrage of questions. With one flick of a finger, I stood up on my two feet as she pushed me outside the door. “I’m giving you some traits to make your life in this world easier, on top of what you’ll receive.”
“Hey–” I tried to stop my legs from moving while she was pushing me, but I couldn’t. I should probably learn to stop resisting in the presence of this goddess. “I haven’t chosen yet!”
“But you’ve already made up your mind, right?” I could feel Filya using all of her body weight to push me towards the door, with her light grunts indicating her struggle. “Good luck-urgh, Otherworlder! May the Aether guide you among the river of stars.”
“H-hey, what does that mean?! Are you wishing for me to die again?”
“It’s a saying, dumbass!”
The door opened to a blindingly bright light, causing me to close my eyes. I could feel my body hover in the air, the strong gust of wind making it seem like I was flying. Wherever it will take me, I hope it wouldn't be somewhere dangerous.
The light seeping from my eyes significantly dimmed, and the cool breeze of the tropical, rural area that’s so familiar to me blew across me. Opening my eyes, I am greeted with a sight of a forest clearing and the chirping of the birds. I found myself still wearing the same black hoodie and gray pants from "heaven," or wherever I was reincarnated with the goddess, along with a pair of rubber slippers.
At the center of the clearing was a freshwater lake reflecting the afternoon sun. White ducks with yellow beaks are swimming gently above the lake–the kind that exists on Earth.
As I observed my surroundings, the thought that this was another world flew out of my mind. So far, there was nothing notable that separates this world from Earth.
I noticed a cold, slightly heavy weight of metal in my hoodie pocket. I pull it out to see a strange metallic plate with letters I haven’t seen before, but I could somehow read it. “Status Plate” is what it said.
The Status Plate glows blue for a quick moment before three holographic interfaces popped up from within it.
NAME: Luck LVL 10
Life Points LP : 110 Aether ATH: 110
Class: Dicemaster Equipped Weapon: Six-faced White Die
,,,
[Gift from the Goddess]
“By receiving the gift of the Goddess, you must not forget your true purpose in this world.”
10+ LVL UP↑
Class Set to Unique Class: Dicemaster
,,,
[Otherworlder’s Gift]
“Speak with goodness and greatness, for the vilest of words must be paid with your tongue.”
Granted the innate ability to communicate in Traevilyan.
,,,
[Dicemaster’s Covenant]
“Journey in isolation and hardship, Dicemaster. This is a covenant you made.”
Class Change is restricted.
Weapon Change is restricted.
Interclass Skill Sharing is restricted.
Portable storage class items are restricted.
LUCK is permanently set to -50.
When joining a party, your all party members' defense and attack is set to 0 until the party disbands.
All types of Evolution success rates are permanently set to 100%.
,,,
Message from Filya:
Item Attached: [Otherworlder’s Backpack]
"I made sure of granting you the trait to understand Traevilyan, Melsion's primary language! Aside from that, you'll find a guidebook on the fundamental aspects of Melsion. I wrote it myself, so be sure to follow everything there (* ^ ω ^). There is also a weapon selector at the end of the guidebook once you read everything. Make sure not to lose it!"
,,,
WORLD ADMINISTRATOR
Because of [Dicemaster’s Covenant], the backpack from [Gift from the Goddess] has not been granted.
Lots of terms I don't know here. And my name in this world is Luck? Ironic, considering my luck stat was basically negative.
From what I can understand, my unique class, Dicemaster, doesn’t have too many special skills to begin with. “The power I get should give me an advantage when starting in this world,” said the goddess. And the backpack that should give me a guidebook and a weapon wasn't granted. What kind of fuckery is this world playing at? Not that it might be useful after all, since my passive skill [Gift of the Goddess] didn’t allow me to use any weapon. That said, how am I supposed to fight monsters with a die?
I put the Status Plate back into my pocket before attempting to test my only skill.
And... I don't know how to cast a skill yet. Do I press it while my interface is active? Do I cast it verbally? Hoping it's the latter, I verbally spoke the name of my skill, “Dice Roll.”
A formation of blue crystals suddenly accumulated at a single point above my palm. I hovered my hand below the blue crystals that looked like it was materializing something, all while doing so instinctively.
“This must be aether, then?” I presumed as I carefully observe the translucent crystals.
The aether above my hand slowly faded into the air as the die materializes fully. It starts to spin quickly before coming to a complete stop as soon as it landed on my palm. The number on the top of the die is... one.
[DICE ROLL: 1]
Unlucky... I muttered a curse under my breath before pocketing the Status Plate and retracting its holographic menu back into itself.
Suddenly, I heard a high-pitched clicking noise coming from the other side of the forest clearing. Emerging from the forest is a beetle that was nearly as big as a dog. It stared at me for a few seconds before it clicked once again--this time, it was more high pitched that it hurt my ears.
The clicking noise soon multiplied exponentially from the background of the forest, and as if that isn’t enough to knock me to my senses, the beetle charged toward me, along with probably its entire family emerging from the forest. Without a weapon or even a viable skill for protection, there was only one thing I could do in this situation.
I started to run as fast as I can into the forest, relying on the belief that I was faster than the beetles and that I'd find help along the way. While running, it didn’t take long for me to assume what my dice roll skill does.
“What the hell, Filya, this class is fucking shit!”
Hello, I'm TSR and this is my first post here! I mainly post on RoyalRoad, but I plan to upload all my chapters here in HFY in hopes of getting feedback about the story and criticism as well. I hope you enjoy it!

I rested my chin on the palm of my hand, overlooking the serene, green scenery of the rice fields outside of my classroom. The mountains stood tall and unmoving from afar, dividing the clouds that pass through its summit. I sigh in relaxation, appreciating the peaceful surroundings that one cannot find in the cities.
I snapped out of my quiet trance as a small truck carrying hay passed by the road, and I once again noticed the faint yet consistent mashes of buttons coming from my only friend in the province. Since our teacher announced that she had to leave class early, leaving us in class for the rest of our last period today, my friend over to my right has been playing the newly released game nonstop. The new MMORPG game, Alterra.
My blonde-haired friend Hirato was playing on a portable gaming console. His back has been arched towards the console for the past 15 minutes, his eyes are practically glued to the console’s screen. I inched my seat toward him to take a closer look. He was trying to defeat a monster resembling a three-headed snake—a Hydra. His character’s health was one hit away from hitting zero, but the Hydra was practically undamaged.
“Hey, Hirato,” I called him. “How long are you going to play that game?”
“Awww, I died!” He says exasperatedly, leaning back on his chair in annoyance. “I’ve been trying to beat this boss since yesterday and there’s no luck at all! I even have my gear maxed out for this level, and still...”
Hirato continued speaking as he packed his console into his backpack, “I wouldn’t have any problem at all had you continued playing video games with me. You could help me beat the boss, you know."
Then, Hirato started to make some "drama" in a weird, playful manner. "Come on, Naruki! We were best buddies since we were kids! Whatever must have happened between us, my best friend?” The bell rings across the school building, indicating the end of classes for the day. At the same time, I made a disgusted look at him after saying something corny that must have come from some TV show.
“Stop it with that little skit of yours. We are still best buddies, but I’ve grown up from playing games. Remember, we’re going to college next year and I’ve been preparing for it ever since.” I grabbed my bag from beneath my seat, and just as I stood up, the wooden plank I stood on creaked.
"That's not true, and there's no way you'll pass up on an MMORPG like Alterra! There's no way you stopped playing just for college." Hirato claimed, but he quickly switched into a pondering tone. “Though you made me think about college. You want to go to Tokyo University from what I recall, but I thought you were tired of the city because it’s too crowded there?” He asked.
“It’ll give me a greater chance to get hired for a job with a high salary. My dad also said that it takes some time to get used to the city when I’ve been living all my life in the rice fields.” I ignored Hirato's first statement--but it's true. There's no way I can quit gaming, so I lied to him about it, but I also don't want to take precious time off when I'm studying for a test that will literally decide my future.
“You’re already thinking of your future far ahead.”
“Well, do you want to stay in this school?”
As I took another step towards the door, the wood plank creaked again, filling the short silence in Hirato’s pause.
“...You make a point.” He uttered in agreement.
My school was a single-story building with multiple rooms, occupied by a few students in different grades. To add, we were also the only third-year high school students in the school. Everything here is made of thin wood and paper, and the wooden flooring creaked ever so often that if we step on it the wrong way, it might literally collapse the floor. This building was so old that I’d be having a family reunion with the souls of my family from five generations ago every school day.
The cool breeze of the late afternoon blew toward us as we made our way to the paved dirt road.
"By the way, Hirato."
"Hm?"
"I lied. I'm actually playing Alterra. Since it released."
"Wha-- Then why won't you play co-op with me?!" Hirato was almost screaming in my face, taken aback by my lie.
"Because you're stupid. Why would you cast "Damage Reflect" on Hydra's one-turn kill when you're barely alive? Plus, it won't even damage the Hydra because the game recognizes the reflected damage as an effect, and the boss is immune to any effect."
"Urgh... Watch me beat that Hydra tomorrow, you'll regret not playing with me!"
"Do your best, Hirato. See you tomorrow," I sarcastically said to him as I watched my best friend run to his home, probably excited to try out what I just said. After all, I'm way past his level, so I can't even play with him without ruining his casual experience. It's time to go home for me as well, but the next bus stop is an hour from now. Maybe I'll play for a bit while waiting.
It was the scent of fresh air and the quiet atmosphere that separates urban life from rural life. Most people prefer convenience, while the minority prefer peacefulness. I'm part of the latter, but I still want to get a job in the city. Even if I'm still unsure what I wanted to be in the future.
“Hey, you brat!” A faint, old man’s voice screamed from the rice fields beside the paved road. “Watch out, the ground is dangerous there! Didn’t you see the sign?!”
My thoughts were cut off as I heard him shout at me with great urgency. After my eyes dart to the old man, I abruptly turn to see that there was a sign on the side of the road on both sides that said [ENTRY CLOSED]. Why wasn’t there any blockage? But it was my fault for not paying close attention to my surroundings.
“I’m sorry, mister. I didn’t see it earlier.” I apologized in a nonchalant manner, mostly because I still didn't realize the gravity of the situation at this time.
“Let go of your bag. Climb over the fence towards me. Now,” says the man.
While I didn’t know what could be so dangerous about this road that warrants an urgent reaction, I trusted him. But before I could even drop my bag, the ground starts to sink with me in the center.
It was only then that fear started to settle within me. My heart sank from my inability to do anything as my mind tried to process what was happening and what was about to befall. My legs shook from the sinking ground as well, to control my balance. I cannot feel the center of gravity in my feet anymore.
In a desperate attempt to escape from the sinking ground, I jumped, trying to outrun the sinking before I go along with it.
Yet it was too late.
The ground crumbled beneath me, revealing a sinkhole. All the adrenaline in my body surges instantly, slowing down time and making the fall to my imminent death seem like an eternity. The rocks from the ground begin to break apart and fall as if it wants to bury me as well if I wasn't dead yet from the fall.
Strangely enough, I thought that when my time comes, I’ll accept Death and warmly embrace it, but it’s too soon and unfair. My arms are both outstretched to the sunlight above, as my mind screams, “I don’t want to die yet!”
The falling rocks fully cover the sunlight as I fully plunge into the darkness, and along it with me as well. Thankfully with the darkness blinding what seems to be my body being crushed and mutilated by the heavy rocks, it only felt like I fell asleep, never to wake up again.
Good night, world.
My eyes slowly fluttered open to a familiar ceiling; particularly, my bedroom. The dark blue-painted star walls and the transparent curtain were both familiar, yet in front of me was some child using my computer. The window outside is also blindingly bright which made it seem impossible to peek outside.
“Um...” I didn’t know what else to say, so I tried to get the young girl’s attention
“Mhmhm!” A proud, laughing sneer came from the child. Still sitting on my gaming chair, she turned around to face me, her shoulders crossed and an arrogant expression that ticks me off for some reason.
“Welcome to the afterlife, Naruhaya Tabito. I have chosen you to–wait, who the FUCK are you?!” Her arrogant expression transforms into a mix of confusion, panic, and surprise after she opened her eyes.
“I should be the one saying that!” I exclaimed back, but I did not get a response because she quickly turned to the monitor. Upon standing up from my bed, I notice that the sounds of mouse clicking and keyboard pressing were all attributed to her--playing Alterra?
If this was the afterlife... It didn't look too bad. The events that transpired earlier haven’t registered in my mind yet.
“Hey, am I really dead?” I asked her.
The young girl was typing before she exclaimed in panic, “No no no...! You’re really dead! I killed the wrong person!”
“I see.” I didn’t know how to react to my death, but I also didn't feel sad or sentimental. I didn’t have much going on in the real world before I died, after all.
The young girl paused her game as she turned around to face me. “It’s because you aren’t supposed to die! I may have pressed your name accidentally while I was looking for a suitable candidate in the Living Database...” She sighs as she sinks into her chair. “Well, I suppose it’s not that big of a deal.”
The girl stood on the gaming chair, clad in a red-colored robe with a two-pointed hat that almost resembled horns. Her red-toned eyes glinted with the light of the bright window.
“Naruki Haruhito, sit,” With one downward motion of her finger, I immediately felt a strong, compelling force that made me sit on the bed.
“My name is Filya, and I am the Goddess of Creation! Your Creator, and the One Above All!” She introduces herself with her arms crossed. It appears to me that she was trying to act superior and intimidating, but her haughty attitude, matched with her small stature, made it seem like she really was someone’s kid lost in my bedroom who was cosplaying as an anime character.
“You’re a child,” Even at this point in the afterlife, I do not believe her being the world’s creator for a bit.
“Wha–” Filya is taken aback by what I said. “I'm not a child, I'm a goddess! Respect and worship me, you dimwitted mortal, should you desire not to die a second time and leave your soul wandering in the empty void of space.”
While she was speaking, I couldn't move a single inch from the bed. Even if she was a goddess, it's impossible not to take her seriously because she looks like a child scolding her older brother.
Filya raised two fingers before saying, “As a token of apology for wrongfully smiting you, I’ll give you two choices. First choice: You can return back to the real world as a baby of a rich family, and you will be a prodigy who will basically have an easy life from that period until his death of old age. Of course, you won’t remember everything that happened here and in your past life. But that’s basically the same as having a guaranteed GAME CLEAR, in your terms.”
Having an assured future was my long-term goal when I was alive back then. It seemed like a compelling idea until I heard about the second choice.
“Second choice: You will be reincarnated in another world with all your memories intact, and I will grant you a power unique only to you, and it will help you fulfill the condition that comes with this choice.”
Curious, I ask her what the condition is.
“The condition?” A crooked smirk appeared on her face, turning her haughty tone into something vicious. “Conquer the world.”
My eyes widened in surprise, the weight of her words starting to add to my fear-turned-excitement.
“There is a prophecy in this world that if the reincarnation of Typhon–the cataclysmic world-ending being of the past–attains something of unimaginable power and influence, he will destroy the world.”
Filya speaks with complete urgency, “You must conquer the world to stop Typhon’s reincarnation from attaining such power because, at this point, no one in this world is showing promise to become the world’s strongest."
After a small pause, I asked her, "What do you mean?"
"The throne is empty and he can take it anytime.”
After she finished explaining, I was given some time to think about my decision.
A safe, fulfilled, and assured life? Or a dangerous life with a chance for absolute glory?
I could never pass up on this opportunity, I said to myself, and I thought I'd never hesitate. I can return back to the real world and be born to rich parents. I’d have tasty food to eat every day, get the games I want, and in the future, I’d die of old age with my life fully satisfied and fulfilled until the very end. While my life in provincial Japan was a bit bland and boring at times, it was a life I'd want to return back to.
But the concept of determinism disgusts me.
“Can you tell me more about which power you'll give me?” As soon as I asked her that, her lips curled into a smirk as if she already knew what my choice was.
“I can’t tell you which power because the World Administrator grants it to you. I'm simply the overseer of this world, I cannot decide things for you.”
“Then–”
“Ughh shut up!” Filya gritted her teeth at my continued barrage of questions. With one flick of a finger, I stood up on my two feet as she pushed me outside the door. “I’m giving you some traits to make your life in this world easier, on top of what you’ll receive.”
“Hey–” I tried to stop my legs from moving while she was pushing me, but I couldn’t. I should probably learn to stop resisting in the presence of this goddess. “I haven’t chosen yet!”
“But you’ve already made up your mind, right?” I could feel Filya using all of her body weight to push me towards the door, with her light grunts indicating her struggle. “Good luck-urgh, Otherworlder! May the Aether guide you among the river of stars.”
“H-hey, what does that mean?! Are you wishing for me to die again?”
“It’s a saying, dumbass!”
The door opened to a blindingly bright light, causing me to close my eyes. I could feel my body hover in the air, the strong gust of wind making it seem like I was flying. Wherever it will take me, I hope it wouldn't be somewhere dangerous.
The light seeping from my eyes significantly dimmed, and the cool breeze of the tropical, rural area that’s so familiar to me blew across me. Opening my eyes, I am greeted with a sight of a forest clearing and the chirping of the birds. I found myself still wearing the same black hoodie and gray pants from "heaven," or wherever I was reincarnated with the goddess, along with a pair of rubber slippers.
At the center of the clearing was a freshwater lake reflecting the afternoon sun. White ducks with yellow beaks are swimming gently above the lake–the kind that exists on Earth.
As I observed my surroundings, the thought that this was another world flew out of my mind. So far, there was nothing notable that separates this world from Earth.
I noticed a cold, slightly heavy weight of metal in my hoodie pocket. I pull it out to see a strange metallic plate with letters I haven’t seen before, but I could somehow read it. “Status Plate” is what it said.
The Status Plate glows blue for a quick moment before three holographic interfaces popped up from within it.
NAME: Luck LVL 10
Life Points LP : 110 Aether ATH: 110
Class: Dicemaster Equipped Weapon: Six-faced White Die
,,,
[Gift from the Goddess]
“By receiving the gift of the Goddess, you must not forget your true purpose in this world.”
10+ LVL UP↑
Class Set to Unique Class: Dicemaster
,,,
[Otherworlder’s Gift]
“Speak with goodness and greatness, for the vilest of words must be paid with your tongue.”
Granted the innate ability to communicate in Traevilyan.
,,,
[Dicemaster’s Covenant]
“Journey in isolation and hardship, Dicemaster. This is a covenant you made.”
Class Change is restricted.
Weapon Change is restricted.
Interclass Skill Sharing is restricted.
Portable storage class items are restricted.
LUCK is permanently set to -50.
When joining a party, your all party members' defense and attack is set to 0 until the party disbands.
All types of Evolution success rates are permanently set to 100%.
,,,
Message from Filya:
Item Attached: [Otherworlder’s Backpack]
"I made sure of granting you the trait to understand Traevilyan, Melsion's primary language! Aside from that, you'll find a guidebook on the fundamental aspects of Melsion. I wrote it myself, so be sure to follow everything there (* ^ ω ^). There is also a weapon selector at the end of the guidebook once you read everything. Make sure not to lose it!"
,,,
WORLD ADMINISTRATOR
Because of [Dicemaster’s Covenant], the backpack from [Gift from the Goddess] has not been granted.
Lots of terms I don't know here. And my name in this world is Luck? Ironic, considering my luck stat was basically negative.
From what I can understand, my unique class, Dicemaster, doesn’t have too many special skills to begin with. “The power I get should give me an advantage when starting in this world,” said the goddess. And the backpack that should give me a guidebook and a weapon wasn't granted. What kind of fuckery is this world playing at? Not that it might be useful after all, since my passive skill [Gift of the Goddess] didn’t allow me to use any weapon. That said, how am I supposed to fight monsters with a die?
I put the Status Plate back into my pocket before attempting to test my only skill.
And... I don't know how to cast a skill yet. Do I press it while my interface is active? Do I cast it verbally? Hoping it's the latter, I verbally spoke the name of my skill, “Dice Roll.”
A formation of blue crystals suddenly accumulated at a single point above my palm. I hovered my hand below the blue crystals that looked like it was materializing something, all while doing so instinctively.
“This must be aether, then?” I presumed as I carefully observe the translucent crystals.
The aether above my hand slowly faded into the air as the die materializes fully. It starts to spin quickly before coming to a complete stop as soon as it landed on my palm. The number on the top of the die is... one.
[DICE ROLL: 1]
Unlucky... I muttered a curse under my breath before pocketing the Status Plate and retracting its holographic menu back into itself.
Suddenly, I heard a high-pitched clicking noise coming from the other side of the forest clearing. Emerging from the forest is a beetle that was nearly as big as a dog. It stared at me for a few seconds before it clicked once again--this time, it was more high pitched that it hurt my ears.
The clicking noise soon multiplied exponentially from the background of the forest, and as if that isn’t enough to knock me to my senses, the beetle charged toward me, along with probably its entire family emerging from the forest. Without a weapon or even a viable skill for protection, there was only one thing I could do in this situation.
I started to run as fast as I can into the forest, relying on the belief that I was faster than the beetles and that I'd find help along the way. While running, it didn’t take long for me to assume what my dice roll skill does.
“What the hell, Filya, this class is fucking shit!”
Hello, I'm TSR and this is my first post here! I mainly post on RoyalRoad, but I plan to upload all my chapters here in HFY in hopes of getting feedback about the story and criticism as well. I hope you enjoy!

I was sitting across from my mother. She has been dead for quite some time, yet she was always present when I needed her the most. Of course, no one else can see or hear her, but that would not matter anyway. She had little interest in anyone else. Her presence is soothing. A calming anchor in an all too real sea of uncertainty and danger.
I was at the back of a boat gazing into the wake that it created. I don't know much about boats, but as far as I can tell, it has seen some wear and tear. As it idles through the water, I looked back over our journey. White waves were created as we pushed through the ocean. The Sun had long abandoned us. Only silver streaks of moonlight on the peaks of the waves broke up the endless black. A wake usually means there is going to be a funeral, I thought to myself.
I turned and faced towards the front of the boat and took in my immediate surroundings. A small veteran boat with oars, a tired petrol engine, and some basic supplies. The captain held an unfriendly demeanor. I counted people, but after 20 my anxiety increased. The opposite of counting sheep. At least 20 people. 20 lives present.
Who were these strangers?
What is their life before this?
What is their life going to be?
Every question I could think of was equally important. The boat shook as we collided into a small wall composed of ocean. It spat at us as if we had interrupted it from its slumber.
An old lady cried, "اللَهُمَّ ساعِدْني"
Tears streamed down her face as she collapsed into the nearest person beside her; a thin man with a tight moustache and a furrowed brow. The thin man was just as frightened and clutched onto her as cold air whistled around their faces. The air cut into our cheeks like tiny paper cuts. I picked out faces. The old lady. The thin man. A kindly faced woman in front of me. Her shawl was protecting at least three under it. Their three sets of eyes. Like little kitten's peering out from the warmth of the shawl. Their faces were obscured. She was humming something. A soothing little note designed to create a forcefield against the harsh reality of our situation. My Mother began to hum a tune that I knew well. The little kittens braced as each wave unsettled the boat.
I continued to look around. A well-built man was barking orders. He was ranting about life jackets. My mother nudged my arm. She pointed to some lifejackets strewn underneath my seat. I shouted out. The well-built man scrambled to them. "Here, here, here". He threw them into the group. The most vulnerable were seen to first, but even then, I could see numerous people with no life jackets. I know that they could not swim; either too old or not old enough. They wouldn't be able for the mercilessness of the ocean.
The thin man who had just consoled the elderly women sat himself down beside me. He turned to me and smiled. I smiled back. He laughed. It isn't a particularly happy laugh, but something has caught his eye. He passed over a small photograph. It was composed of a large family with him proudly centred. Libyan or Algerian was my best guess, but then again, he could truly be from anywhere. My mother leaned over his back and pointed at a young woman sitting off to the left. I get it now. I resemble this woman. I glanced around. He is alone. I have a feeling his family only exists as memories or through haunting lookalikes. I felt a mixture of emotion. Perhaps they are also here, I thought to myself. Like my mother.
He doesn't speak, as I returned the photograph like it was a delicate flower. He picked himself up and squeezed to the back of the boat. Even though we didn't talk, we knew a lot about each other. I remember my mother whispering to me.
".إذا كان الكلام من فضة فالسكوت من ذه"
People were moaning in pain around me. An injured woman had been passed out for most of the journey. Her leg looked infected, and her partner, a beautiful woman, clutched her tightly. I helped put a lifejacket on the injured woman. Her partner's eyes appreciated me. I sat back down at the end of the boat. We continued into the darkness of the night. To busy myself and to keep warm, from my pocket, I took a small photo out. It was wrapped in a plastic I found on the beach.
My grandparents. The ones who raised me and cared for me. I closed my eyes and saw it vividly. In fact, I always saw it when I closed my eyes. The smoke choking their frail bodies. The heat of burning rubber, wood, and flesh. My own blood drenching the dust in the sitting room as my ears rang from the impact blast. My throat still winces when I remember the caked dust that nearly suffocated me. They appear sometimes as well. Charred and tearful. Sometimes they scream, but mostly they just smoulder. My Mother was oblivious to this, of course. I didn't have the heart to tell her. From what I gathered; they don't interact. I drifted back into my past. Stumbling out of the apartment just in time to see the foundations begin to crumble. Another jet closing in on our little town.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
The noise was getting louder. I blinked my eyes and returned to reality. I was cold and alone. Everyone in this boat was. Cold and alone together. My story wasn't new. In fact, most know it. Thinking of my grandmother, I squeezed past the worried faces. I took my torn jacket and placed it around the old lady. She smiled. I smiled. I returned to my tiny area. The waves were now pelting the underneath of the boat as if some evil creature was trying to tear it apart.
A large splash destroys the shallow peace. I looked down and quickly realised someone has gone overboard. Among the trashing and screaming, people reached out in a vain effort to rescue him. The Thin man was sinking into the black. His eyes widened with fear as he came to the realisation of his situation. That is when I saw it. That is when I saw him. Pale arms wrapped silently around his body. Gently, but firmly, they pulled him towards the depths of the ocean.
His struggle lessened and lessened. The panic of the thin man's eyes slowly turn into acceptance.
I think he has chosen his new life underneath the chaos above the waters. Eventually, his body disappeared into the black. The screams on the boat became less and less. People were just gazing into the water. Perhaps they were wondering if the reasons he chose were convincing. Perhaps, they wanted to be next. He has a new family now.
The creatures had been following us since the first day. While I wouldn't say they are friendly, they seemed to keep a healthy distance from us, only interacting when we breach the sanctity of their waters. From what I gathered; the creatures were not Sirens. Sirens lure you into a false reality with their music. These creatures are different. They don't leap onto your boat. They don't pull you into their depths. The thin man wasn't forced into his fate. He merely fell overboard.
How? I don't know, but he knew the consequences of his actions. He chose out. The overwhelming reality of our human world simply became too much. Death was a viable acceptance, and it had it hands out to welcome him. The creatures embraced him. Were these creatures human at one point? I do not know. Their eyes are human like. As we drifted for hours aimlessly into the darkness, I thought about them a lot. I also saw them. Little yellow dots bouncing up and down in the water, patiently waiting for the next.
I dropped my hand overboard and allowed it to glide over the surface of the water. Very briefly my fingers interlock with another. I loosened my grip on the boat and allowed myself to sway side to side. The touch was kind and gentle. A small part of me knew the danger, but another, far more desperate part just needed to feel something. Suddenly, I felt a grip around my back. My Mother ushered me away from the water. I hugged myself for warmth and closed my eyes. As I drifted in and out of consciousness, I overheard some of the conversations around me.
"How much did you pay?"
"Can't we go back? Maybe he is still alive"
"Stop talking nonsense. He is gone"
"Move over, I am almost falling out here."
"No, my family had couldn't come, they didn't make it."
"When do we get there? He said only three days"
"Three days? He said a few hours to me."
"A few hours! You must be foolish? Two days at least."
"The water is beautiful, let's us embrace the calm"
"I am cold"
Wait, I thought, "the water is beautiful?"
I looked around to see who would say such a strange thing. The voice didn't seem to come from anyone on board. The cold was getting to me. I closed my eyes again.
"We won't make the journey"
"Keep yourself quiet and don't be foolish"
"Leave her be, she's just nervous!"
"Nervous, look around, we are all nervous! Don't start lecturing me about nervous"
"I said stop it!"
I opened my eyes. Where's the mother of three?, I thought.
I perched up on the back of the boat and looked across the faces. Ah! There she was. She was cupping water and cleaning their faces. The injured woman looked very poorly. I wondered if there was a medical professional here. The injured lady had a partner. Another woman. She was beautiful.
In an instant, the boat violently shook. Rain tore into us so badly that we crawled as far into the boat as humanly possible. 20 or more voices were helplessly crying into the ocean's indifference. I tried to reassure the people around me that it was okay. When it calmed, I lifted my head and assessed my surroundings. I had cuts from the razor rain, but I was more or less intact. Then I heard the howling. A banshee cries. I could not figure out the dilemma. Who was screaming? It was the woman of three. She was howling.
The well-built man grabbed a torch from the box where the life jackets were and pointed it to the ocean of waves. It took me a few minutes to discern the ugly truth. Tears fell down the well built man's face. The woman of three. Now the woman of two. Yellow eyes were dotted around us. Another offering to their insatiable appetite.
Our mental and physical strength was drained. Food had been scarce for some time and as the old rhyme goes, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink. The injured woman looked terrible. Apart from small gulps of freshwater and a makeshift bandage, we had nothing to give her. I began scouring the boat for something, anything that might relieve her pain. Her injuries looked deep. Her partner, the beautiful woman was stoic. She knew that nothing could be done, although the closer to the shoreline the better.
I rested my head against the yellowed, damaged side of the boat. Before I could get comfortable, it hit. A wave smashed against us. The boat lifted upwards into the sky. I fell backwards into the wake as the boat pounded back down into the water. Although, I didn't know at the time. The boat had ruptured its hull. The cold stinging pain of the water jolted my lungs. For a brief moment, I was paralysed. As I bobbed up and down in the water, my face dipped below the waterline. I couldn't make out much, but those yellow eyes.
They were still there. I saw faces, hundreds of them, surrounding my body. Grabbing and pulling me towards the deep. Many of the faces were those already dead, and I was being pulled towards them. In that moment of paralysis, there was almost serenity. The physical world full of its pain and anguish seemed to melt away in the midst of this calm inevitability.
A part of me was ready to give in. Join the chorus of distraught yellow eyes. I knew I couldn't. I froze as we made brief eye contact, but it was my mother’s voice snapped me back to the moment. I pulled and swam upwards in a feeble attempt to break away. I rose above the water and tried to grasp my surroundings. The boat was sinking. People were thrashing about in the water. It was panic. I knew I couldn't. I pulled and swam upwards in a feeble attempt to break away.
I saw the old lady.
"Jump", I cried to the old lady.
"It's sinking, it's sinking!"
The boat was decompressing rapidly.
"Jump", I shouted.
Just as the moon hit her face, I saw it. I saw many emotions, but I also saw what she couldn't bear to say. She couldn't swim. Before I could swim back to try and get her a lifejacket a wave from behind lifted me forward and I crashed into the side of the boat. In a daze, I grasped onto the thick rope that surrounded the boat. Mouthfuls after mouthfuls of salted air and water began to take their toll.
People were thrashing in the water. The cold was intense. The boat was almost fully sunk, and my upper body strength was gone. Then I saw it. A beam of light over the water. The sound of an incoming ship. A sigh of relief. Men threw out water doughnuts and rope. People clambered onto the boat. Those who were left anyway. By the time everyone was on board the sun was just peering out on the horizon. I was wrapped in a dry blanket and then I went dark.
When I woke up, I was in a tent. New clothes set out before me. I assessed my wounds. Cuts reddened the skin, but I was more or less okay. I sat up in the makeshift tent and grabbed a cup of coffee to warm my hands. I was exhausted, but I had to know where I was. I wandered out of the tent. The searing heat reminded me of home. People were shouting, vehicles were ferrying food and supplies back and forth. This must be one of the biggest camps there is.
In front of me was a new war with its own special injured. I walked throughout the camp looking for anyone I could recognise. The well-built man was looking pale and shell-shocked. His eyes were red and two doctors spoke in rapid-fire to one another. He didn't understand a word they were saying.
I moved through the camp for the rest of the day. I saw many faces, and harrowingly, I didn't see many others. When I came across the woman of two, my heart ached. She was inconsolable. The woman of two. My emotions knew nothing of her plight. I pushed my mind forward as much as I could.
The woman of none.
I walked on to find an empty bench. I collapsed into it and looked out over the horizon. I had survived.
A small whisper of encouragement filled my ears. My Mother. She soothed over the anxiety I was feeling. My anger, pain, and the hatred I had for myself to feel relief when so many others only feel pain. She whipped herself around the branches of a tree causing leaves to lightly dance in front of me. I thought back to the days of the olive trees that we used to have in our back garden. She continued to flit in a frenzy of happiness.
I understood.
Perhaps the afterlife is a lot simpler. I shrugged my shoulders as to say, "What do I do now?"
She cracked a wry smile. And whispered, "whatever you set your heart to."
With that, she began to move away from me. She extended her arms, and that is when I realised. She wasn't alone. Hiding behind the tree were three small individuals. Three that I recognised. The three little kittens looked at my mother and rushed towards her. She smiled at me and back at them.
She had saved me on my journey, and now it was her time to guide three little lives into a new one. A mixture of sadness and happiness crept over me. My Mother faded out. I shut my eyes and thought about dry land.