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1113911 No. 1113911 ID: 2f9d29

A quest inspired greatly by DRPGs like the Labyrinth series by NIS. Take control of a constructed life form that sadly has feelings and emotions that clash with the grim reality of its sole purpose of delving dangerous underground labyrinths in search of ancient magical artifacts.

Can you lead this poor innocent toy and their companion to some impossible paradise, or will the ravenous maw of the underground rip you and all you know to splinters?

- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Expand all images
>>
No. 1113912 ID: 2f9d29

The darkness is all that there is for your kind. An endless series of tunnels and passageways carved by the slow flow of time and the brash hands of races long forgotten. Within these winding passages lie treasures unlike anything from the lands above.

You are a soul tasked with delving through this abyss and claiming buried treasure by the one who crafted you from nothing but wood and blood.

But your soul is not solely your own. It is a reflection. Or rather, a matched set. Lay claim to your soul and craft your being, while simultaneously crafting the soul of your companion.

The shape of your soul
> A rippling mass of energy that can barely contain itself.
> A calm lake which ripples only once every thousand years.

How does your soul move through the world
> Carving through and destroying that which blocks your path.
> Building bridges to reach lands that you could never reach.

As a soul crafted by another, do you trust the hands that sculpt you.
> A child has no choice but to love their parent.
> A creator is owed nothing, least of all respect.

You are yourself and nothing more.

Open your eyes little one, awaken to this world which you sadly must call home.
>>
No. 1113915 ID: ad5a52

Rippling, bridges, owes nothing!
>>
No. 1113916 ID: 091137

Rippling, bridges, nothing!

They at least gave us a weapon right?
>>
No. 1113926 ID: 5cb7e8

I’m a fan of bridges, but I’d like to advocate for rippling mass of energy (from personal preference) and love (from having a naturally trusting nature. We can be vulnerable, and allow ourselves to be betrayed *once* before we become wary
>>
No. 1113977 ID: fd169b

calm, building, nothing
A patient and observant partner
>>
No. 1114028 ID: 2f9d29
File 175825321879.png - (368.68KB , 766x1549 , Post 2 Image.png )
1114028

The shape of your soul
> A rippling mass of energy that can barely contain itself.
Your soul is energetic and wishes to be heard, you are a being that loves to show itself to all, claiming the limelight and forcing all to enjoy your radiance.

> A calm lake which ripples only once every thousand years.
Your partner is a quiet sort that finds pondering to themselves as the true path toward understanding, they shall sit on the sidelines unless pulled in by your active hand.

How does your soul move through the world
> Building bridges to reach lands that you could never reach.
You are gifted in the ability to connect with others and to heal their very soul. A magic that focuses on healing above all else.
Class Unlocked:
Lumen Discipulo- Fledgling user of healing magic
Skills Unlocked:
Sano- Minor healing magic
Remedi- Heals poison/paralysis/burn
Specto- Magically analyze an object or entity

> Carving through and destroying that which blocks your path.
Your partner is gifted with the talent to destroy that which challenges their way of life. A magic that focuses on offense above all else.
Class Unlocked:
Tenebris Discipulo- Fledgling user of offensive magic
Skills Unlocked:
Igni- Minor fire magic
Nix- Minor ice magic
Fulg- Minor lightning magic

As a soul crafted by another, do you trust the hands that sculpt you.
> A creator is owed nothing, least of all respect.
You know nothing of your creator, to blindly trust them is ignorant. Anyone who would send you into this hellhole cannot be trusted.

> A child has no choice but to love their parent.
Your partner cannot help but feel at least a shred of love for their creator. They wouldn’t exist without them, and neither would you.
>>
No. 1114029 ID: 2f9d29

You awaken on the ground, your limbs tingling with static as blood slowly circulates into every miniscule capillary of your freshly animated body.

Every inch of you has a horrible ache that causes your limbs to twitch and shiver with every breath your fresh lungs pull in. You are unsure what this pain is, but soon will find that this is simply the pain of being alive. You’ll get used to it, eventually.

You currently reside in a small, damp cavern illuminated solely by the soft blue glow of lichen that grows on the walls and ceiling in thin patches.

Your distance from the weak light makes examining the finer details of anything quite difficult, though you do have a vague idea of your own form. In the distance you can make out a vague shape that you assume to be your partner.

“I did hope my first moments would be a tad bit brighter…” mutters the figure before you, their soft voice brings a small bit of calm to your newly formed heart.

You can’t help but agree, you knew that your life wasn’t going to be fun, but at the very least you had hoped to scope out the situation you were in before the terrors started.

“Minute one and we’re already dealing with bullshit,” you reply, slowly getting to your feet and dusting off some strange grime that smeared on your shoulder.

You stand in the darkness, sentient and overflowing with autonomy for the first time in your life, what shall you do?
>>
No. 1114030 ID: 94d85e

Fight partner to the death. Only the strongest will leave this cave.
>>
No. 1114033 ID: 6e3f91

We have "minor fire magic" unlocked - can you create a candle flame, perhaps on the other side of the cave, so as not to (directly) reveal your position to anything potentially lurking?
>>
No. 1114034 ID: d30887

Hump.
>>
No. 1114036 ID: 4c750c

Strike a cool pose together with your partner! It just feels right.
>>
No. 1114039 ID: 2e6314

Vaguely say, 'sooo... now what?'
>>
No. 1114057 ID: fd169b

>>1114033
this, better if you can feel around and find something to use as a torch
>>
No. 1114156 ID: 2f9d29
File 175852106894.png - (1.01MB , 766x1549 , Post 3 Image 1.png )
1114156

>Fight partner to the death.
>Hump.
You are rather ashamed that your first thoughts as a sentient being seem to follow the tired cliches of all living beings, all you horrid things can think about are killing and fucking.

You can’t exactly expect a fist fight with someone who can summon fireballs to end up in your favor. A-and you can’t just hump someone you’ve just met! Or can you..? Well you won’t regardless!

>Strike a cool pose together with your partner!
You ponder this for a moment, and decide to stuff it in your back pocket for when you actually achieve something worth celebrating.

>Create a candle flame
Ah, some proper lighting would be quite nice right now, why didn’t you think of that earlier?

“Hey buddy, mind giving us a bit of a light, I can barely see anything in here and if I twist my ankle on a loose rock, I’m gonna be pissed. And nothing too big, I don’t wanna wake up anything in here with us.”

A hum of contemplation rings from the figure before you before you see what you believe to be a nod of approval. They begin to chant in a soft voice that is a bit higher pitched then your own, muttering words before a small spurt of fire erupts forth, floating away from them and slowly moving around the perimeter of the cave.

After a moment of looking for any adversaries, the fire grows in size and acts as a proper torch, finally illuminating the cavern with an adequate amount of light.

Feeling your pupils tighten up in reaction to the light does hurt a bit, but you quickly get used to the sensation.
>>
No. 1114157 ID: 2f9d29
File 175852107975.png - (953.97KB , 766x1549 , Post 3 Image 2.png )
1114157

>Vaguely say, 'sooo... now what?'

You both awkwardly look at each other, eyes slowly running over the other as you etch each other into your nascent minds.

“So… Now what? Does our master just expect us to blindly waddle around till we find something valuable looking?”

A small chuckle chirps out of your partner as they hold out a large tome toward you.

“Our creator sent this with us, it seems to be mostly empty for our own use, but the front has some tasks listed. You should allow her some more credit, she did create us after all.”

You grab the book and flick through it, and just as they said, it seems entirely empty save the very first page, which has a sort of list scrawled out in scratchy handwriting.

TASKS FOR SERVANTS

Survey Abyssal Dredges Floor One.

Find Grade F or higher Irakallian Wonder.

Slay 1 Grade C or higher Beast.

Well that offers you some direction, though you doubt these will be easy in your current state. Your only equipment currently is the clothing on your back, and a pitiful wooden staff that you require to cast your spells. Your partner is similarly ill-equipped, though rather than a staff they are equipped with a small wooden wand.

You look around the small cavern now that you can see better, there are two exits at opposite sides of the room you are now in. To your right is a small cramped passage that you will have to crawl through, and to your left is an opening that seems to go on far past the reach of your magical torch. You can head in either direction, or just sit and chat with your new friend.
>>
No. 1114161 ID: 4c750c

Walking and talking seems like a good use of time~ We should probably clear up what a Grade F treasure and/or a Grade C creature might look like.
>>
No. 1114164 ID: fd169b

Hmm the page doesn't say anything about a time limit does it?

Get to know them. Ask them what they'd like to see on your journey.
>>
No. 1114171 ID: 091137

>>1114157
...Is that a hat, or is your head being eaten?
>>
No. 1114485 ID: 06a3f3

Let's go to the right. Crawling is annoying.
>>
No. 1114486 ID: 94d85e

You have to crawl before you can walk.
>>
No. 1114553 ID: 2f9d29
File 175922646523.png - (12.92KB , 593x765 , Backview Color PnG.png )
1114553

>Ask them what they'd like to see on your journey.
Well you don’t see any need to rush, even prey animals get to stumble on their feet for a few minutes before running off with their mother.

You find an especially comfy looking rock and sit yourself down with a soft sigh before crossing your arms and looking at your companion.

“So what do you wanna find down here? Other than what our mistress wants, you must have something you wanna do with this oh so wonderful life we’ve been gifted.” You’re pretty sure you gave enough of a sarcastic twinge at the end there, but you’ve only been alive for five minutes, so you may need to work on that.

Your partner looks up in deep thought for a minute, and then another… and then several more…

“Hello~? You still in there?”

They snap back to reality and an awkward smile creeps onto their face.

“My apologies, I was thinking about all the things I’d like to do. At the top of the list I would most love to increase my magical proficiency, but if you are looking for something less focused on business… I’d like to take a bath. A hot one, to be specific.”

“A bath… all the things in the world now that you have legs to walk around and you wanna soak in some water? When we were chunks of trees that’s all we did.”

“You really are no fun… I wanna eat some meat, learn to dance and sing till my whole body aches! Active things! Take advantage of this body of mine!” You hold your arms up and wiggle them a bit for emphasis.

“I see. I didn’t take you as the masochistic sort… wishing pain on yourself, how very peculiar.”

>We should probably clear up what a Grade F treasure and/or a Grade C creature might look like.

Now that you’re done with the casual talk, clearing up these terms makes some sense…

“So do you know what exactly the stuff we need to get actually looks like? Do they have big shiny letters or something?”

The mage shakes their head and walks closer to you, opening up the tome and waving their wand in the air so the tiniest bit of flame singes at the tip of their wand, leaving soot to write with.

They quickly sketch out a small diagram for each question.

“Irakallian Wonders, mystical treasures found in the depths of this underworld, are rated from F to S, with F being the least useful, and S being the most amazing. The scale is basically a price range for their market value. An F ranked Wonder is worth about a tenth as much as an E rank, an E is a tenth of the price of a D, and so on and so on… Which isn’t to say that an F rank treasure is worthless, a single one could fetch a year's worth of labor!”

Your eyes twinkle at the sound of that, at that rate an S ranked Wonder could buy you a kingdom, no wonder your creator has you down here if you have a chance of finding something so pricey.

“And so monsters follow a similar scale? The more they’re worth the higher the rank?”

“Well not exactly, monsters are scaled on their lethality. An F rank monster could kill a single man, an E rank could kill 10-”

“-Wait wait wait, that means… She wants us to kill something that could slay a thousand men?!”

“Well the scale isn’t measured on their ability to do that all at once… but basically yes.”

You suddenly realize just how grim a task you have been given.

“Though men from the land of our creator are incapable of using anything but the most minuscule of magic. Even our abilities would be amongst the most powerful, due to the amount of mana we are able to absorb here. There is practically no mana on the surface, hence why we could only become sentient upon arriving here.”

“That makes me feel… slightly better.”

>...Is that a hat, or is your head being eaten?
After taking a few moments to collect yourself, you look back up and shiver as you eye up your partner

“S-so uhm… is that a hat or are we being attacked already?”

They raise a brow and give you a quizzical stare before they look up at their head covering.

“Oh this? Well it’s actually a hood, it’s connected here in the back, perhaps it is made like this to scare off potential predators, what with the ever staring eyes on the front and back. That would also explain your bright coloring, an imitation of poison signage?”

“Or maybe she just threw together a bunch of scraps and chucked us down here… Maybe my tunic was part of an unfinished quilt her nana left before she croaked.”

You look around, an antsy feeling finally overtaking you.

“Enough chitter chatter, we gotta get moving. I have a feeling that just because this spot is safe right now, doesn’t mean it will be forever…”

You eye the two paths before you, the idea of squatting down and crawling out of here doesn’t sound too pleasant, but it means you’re less likely to run into anything too big like the other passage. Where shall you go?

((if there's still a tie im flipping a coin, update took a bit longer than expected, sorz))
>>
No. 1114562 ID: 9c547f

I'm inclined to go with the more uncomfortable but less dangerous cramped path.
>>
No. 1114567 ID: 5d7815

Crawl time!
>>
No. 1114568 ID: fd169b

The thing is, anything you meet in a small tunnel is probably adapted to move in a small space. You aren't.

It would actually be safer to take the larger passage, at least you would have the option to try and run away.
>>
No. 1114796 ID: 2f9d29
File 175977825305.png - (30.18KB , 1495x881 , butt 1.png )
1114796

>Crawl out of here

You nod to yourself after having weighed the ups and downs to either path for long enough to give your companion a look of slight concern.

“I say we head out through here, limits the size of any enemies we encounter, and if you lead us, a couple fire balls will singe anything slithering at us.”

“Quite smart, I shall lead the way then.” Their soft voice chimes as they shuffle over toward the small crevice and begin to crawl forward, brushing small vines away as they begin to delve forward.

You get down on your hands and knees behind the mage and slowly follow. Your bodies, though small, weren’t made with the intent of crawling everywhere, so it was rather awkward at first, though after a few minutes of slowly moving through vines and brushing away grime, you both got into a steady rhythm.

This tight tunnel leads quite far, and you lose track of just how far you have moved your starting cavern, but thoughts of the logistical variety exit your mind as you start to find your eyes glued to the posterior of your companion. Their thin skirt and tight leggings give quite an accurate shape of their behind, and having never stared at one before, you are suddenly filled with odd thoughts.

Do you like this posterior? Did you like posteriors in general, or were you more of a chest person? When you were a piece of a tree you never really had to worry about anything like this, your kind just stood still and allowed other beings and the winds to spread your genes, but you were beginning to understand why more mobile beings are constantly frolicking about and chasing the tails of their own kind.

You also begin to ponder the shape of your body where it was hidden from prying eyes. You hadn’t exactly thought to peek between your legs when you first came to, so you were unsure of what, if any, sexual characteristics your body had. You would doubt any honorable craftsperson would have given a mere puppet genitalia, though perhaps your creator was a particularly raunchy woman. Or maybe she had no control over it, the tree you were cut from was a variety that had split sexual roles like humans did, so perhaps that had some effect?

Did you long for a certain set of genitalia? Did you wish your companion was equipped with something specific? It might be easier for the both of you if there was nothing between your legs. You were a magical being, you most likely didn’t need to eat food or excrete waste so their presence wasn’t needed.

As you lose yourself in your sexual awakening, your companion suddenly stops and leans down as they examine something of interest. You nearly headbutt their… butt.

Your companion hums with thought, giving you all the time in the world to stare and contemplate your existence as a mobile, sexual being.

You could toss aside your thoughts and just ignore all this mental talk of genitals and ask what your companion was looking at, or you could delve into the nitty gritty and figure out exactly what you, and perhaps your companion, were equipped with.
>>
No. 1114797 ID: 00aa68

You should proooobably focus on what's happening at the moment. I would imagine there will be more opportunities for introspection over the course of your journey.
>>
No. 1114798 ID: 00aa68

Not to mention, learning to control those thoughts are part of being a mobile being, so you should probably not let them get too far ahead of you right out the gate.
>>
No. 1114804 ID: 7d659e

There’s (unfortunately) a time and place for these thoughts. An investigation of this manner, though prudent, would be better conducted in an area where you can stand. I insist though, that we keep these sexual thoughts in the back of our mind for later!
>>
No. 1114811 ID: fd169b

You have to put such thoughts aside for now. don't want to get too distracted, or make your partner uncomfortable.

But hold onto these first steps to being an independent being. Screw what your creator intended, new sub-mission goal to find a wonder that will give you your preferred bits.
>>
No. 1115121 ID: 2f9d29
File 176056029749.png - (23.51KB , 1110x666 , butt 2.png )
1115121

>Stuff these thoughts away for now, you have business to attend to

That’s probably for the best, you resolve to stow away these complicated thoughts and worry about them when you aren’t skulking through the dark covered in grime. Repressing sexual thoughts probably won’t have any adverse effects, this should be easy.

You shake your head and return to being a conscious being just as your companion looks back over their shoulder.

“Hello? Did you hear what I said? There seems to be some writing carved into the stone we’re crawling on.”

You peek down and realize that the stone you are crawling on does seem quite even, and with a closer inspection you even notice small creases between the slabs of stone. It seems that someone or something set these down many many years ago. It makes sense that there would be civilization down here at some point, someone had to make all of those magical items you’re scrounging for.

“Well that’s neat, can you read it?”

“Not currently… this script is unlike the one our creator uses so I have no knowledge of it, I can write it down in the book and attempt to examine it later.”

“That sounds smart, I’ll leave the note taking to you.” You didn't exactly have a means of writing even if you wanted to, unlike your sorcerous companion.

After a minute of note taking, the crawling resumes. You feel your eyes lingering on that behind again, but you steel yourself to focus.

“It’s rather odd that there are stones placed down here, either the race that placed them were of the most minute of stature, or the tunnel shrank after some sort of cave in.”

“Or maybe they just really liked crawling around, who’s to say they weren’t some kind of quadrupedal race of road makers.”

“I suppose we can’t rule that out, these caves are quite perplexing…” Your companion trails off as you both begin to notice a slight gust of wind blowing against you, hinting at an opening close ahead.

You both begin to crawl faster, your limbs already craving a good stretch after what must have been half an hour of scrambling forward like determined infants.

Once you arrive you quickly spring to your feet and groan in relief as you stretch your arms and legs, flicking them about and even prompting a surprising pop from your elbows as you shake the aches out of these fresh limbs.

The both of you stretch for another moment before you look around, finding a drab space that was about as wide as it was tall, if you jumped your head would likely bang up against the countless dripping spikes that poke from the ceiling.

A small stream of water runs from a hole in the cave wall and slowly trickles forward in this tunnel and takes a right as a fork appears before you.

You could follow the path to your right and see where this water leads, or you can take the left and investigate a faint cyan glow that you see off in the distance. Or you could just sit here and eat moss, if you really wanted.
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No. 1115131 ID: 1fae0c

Cyan glowing sounds full of potential; try investigating that. ...Carefully, quietly.
>>
No. 1115136 ID: 4c750c

Eating moss is a reference I’d LOVE to make, but it’s probably better to dismiss that and instead investigate the glowy. Cyan is a very neutral color for a glowy, so be a little wary.
>>
No. 1115138 ID: fd169b

All the cool kids eat moss. You could keep some to snack on the go.

Cyan glow seems promising


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