Doctor Who: Test Runner

I reeled suddenly as several things happened in an instant. Firstly, a heavy weight appeared on my shoulders, causing me to stumble a bit as the unexpected shift left my balance to start to panic to counterbalance my body. Secondly, I could feel what I could only describe as a shift in my mind that did not help at all with my balance issues. Probably something to do with the inventory that I asked for. Thirdly, I was now on a sunny hill in the open air faceing a beach with a view of the ocean behind that.

The shift in location was instantaneous, going from standing in the forest clearing faceing two deities to being on a hill, a steep one no less, looking out across an ocean to the horizon that a split second ago was the face of a goddess with the smile of a crazy person.

“AHRG!!!” I shouted out in confusion as my balance lost the war it had against gravity and I tumbled to the ground, rolling out of control down the hill and coming to a rest face down in the sand that made up the beach at the bottom of the hill. ‘This was definitely the most disorientateing thing that has ever happened to me without any doubt whatsoever.’ I thought with a sense of nausea that I was trying to repress desperately so I dont throw up.

But even after all that I found the will to get up after a second or two processing the sudden changes that happened, and I got onto my hands and knees before sitting down heavily, very aware of a not so foreign weight on my back and shoulders as I did. Ignoring the sand in my clothes and on my body for now, I look at my shoulder quickly and then my eyebrows raise in shock at a familiar sight.

I reach my hand onto a set of familiar straps and I shrug them off quickly, swinging the reason of the familiar weight onto my lap to get a good look at it. My face breaks into an easy smile as I recognise the large object in my arms, it is a large brown leather camping backpack with two bundles of cloth tied onto it. My backpack, that contained all my survival gear from my time in the Canadian wilderness during the last summer. I had lived with this stuff for months in the wild without any contact with civilization. I had really needed the time away.

‘But now this might just be one of the only landlines to survival. I think that is how that phrase goes anyway.’ I thought to myself as I looked it over carefully, seeing that it was exactly the same as it had ever been. I opened up my pack and went over my inventory anyway, making sure everything was there.

“Sleeping bag, small tent, first aid kit with bandages, band-aids, a box of wet wipes, clean cloth, soap and empty medicine bottles…” I listed as I pulled things out of my bag, “My hatchet, my hunting knife, a full metal water bottle, four days of MRE rations, flint and steel, a trash bag, razer, multitool, compact mirror and my tiny pot.” I finished my list with a smile and a nod. “We can work with that.” I said with a smile as I packed everything back in and slinging the backpack onto my shoulder again to take stock of the new environment.

I was standing on what looked like a sandy beach, to what was probably an ocean judging by the fact that I couldn't see the other side, the beach was pretty long too and it stretched on for quite a while with a few rocky patches here and there. The shape of the beach seems to be quite rounded out so I could only see the small section I was on before it was covered by taller hills. There was nothing in particular on the beach, so I turned in a slow circle and looked out behind me. There were decently steep grassy hills after the shoreline, like the one that I rolled down on, which made it impossible to see anything beyond.

The whole area was practically barren, grass dirt and rocks everywhere, no large plants like a tree, no animals. Same goes for the beach as well for that matter, just sand and rocks.

“Now, I think this is a good time to figure out how my inventory works.” I comment, focusing on the weird new feeling in my mind that happened when I ended up in Fera. It felt a little odd when I didn't focus on it, but only in a constant ‘something is off’ vibe instead of anything serious. But when I did focus on it, something strange happened. It was almost as if the feeling in my mind almost expanded, like the neck of a bag opening up or a portal. I could feel a sense of emptiness after that shift. I suppose that would be my inventory? It's empty now, and the limits for placing things in my inventory were ‘you have to have made it, or it's a quest reward’ so I guess I can't really do anything now.

I doubt that the two divine beings changed the rule to let me store my backpack.

I stared out at the green and bright landscape around me, pulling my focus away from what I was sure was my inventory and back to the situation at hand.

“Taking everything at face value, I think I am on the beach of an island in another world after being teleported by a pair of deities.” I commented with a straight face, then I broke out laughing from my own statement. “God… What a day…” I said with a grin. Honestly I didn't particularly care about my new situation too much. Honestly this was practically a dream come true, though with considerably more lethal danger involved. And honestly, this was going to be fun. More fun than work anyway. I have always wanted more fantasy in reality. Let's get going!

I started to jog up the grassy incline, and after a minute I ended up at the flatter top of the hill I landed on and I looked out on the island in an awe that left me stop jogging and stand with wide eyes and a softer smile on my face as I admired the view. It was much better than the model that the goddess… oh, I don't think I got either of their names… Anyway, what she showed me.

The sky was the bright afternoon sky, the sun high in the sky above me, and around me there were large lush hills and deep green valleys, with the glimmer of a huge expanse of deep blue water that could be a lake surrounded by even more grassland that seemed to go on almost forever from my view. Except for the distant edge where I could see a line of trees from a forested area that seemed to take over a large section of the nearby area. But even beyond that, there was a rocky mountain that was letting a stream of dark smoke into the air alongside the clouds. An active volcano. That probably won't be a problem… but what is a problem is the fact that this island was fucking massive.

That lake was at least five miles of walking away, it looked bigger from here then the distance to get to it, and there was not even a ‘large’ lake on the island compared to the size of the whole thing, practically just dots of blue here and there. Either that was actually just another part of the ocean, or I had severely misjudged the size of this island.

I put my hands into my pockets with a sigh as I looked out on the picturesque landscape of bright color and I thought about my next steps.

“First things first, that goddess told me that there was magic and monsters on this planet. That is a pretty important fact.” I thought after a moment of realization, and I slung my backpack off my shoulder again. I dug through it for a second, taking out my hunting knife and its sheath which I attached to the side of my cargo pants, and my hatchet. They are probably the best weapons I am going to have for a long time coming. Steel blade and wood handles for both of them, though the hatchet's handle is getting a bit old and worn down with the leather wrapping starting to come undone around the edges.

I heaved my backpack onto my shoulders again and I lifted my hatchet into my arms before I stood up, standing at the top of the hill with the hatchet at the ready. Any weapon is better than no weapon, even against monsters. Probably.

“Now, I need to think about food, water, and shelter.” I thought as I scanned the landscape again. “If that is a lake, it could have drinkable fresh water, and animals would probably come to it to drink so it would be a good place to get more food as well. As for shelter, I have a tent so I can set up camp pretty easily.” I told myself, letting my tendency to talk to myself rise up as I thought.

“So, let's head to that lake.” I decided firmly and was about to start my hike when a screen blinked into existence in front of my eyes with a ping. I was instinctively confused for a second before I reminded myself of the quest system that the god and goddess had given me before I was sent to Fera, this world.

Writing appeared on the black surface of the system interface as if being typed out by someone. I started reading the message from my… I guess they counted as my patron deities? Does that make me a warlock? No, nevermind.

Good start so far, you are going to be getting a quest from each of us right now. -Monque, god of Trials and Challenge.

I read the words on the screen, but as I started to think about what it actually meant the screen shifted and I had two more sections of text appear, replacing the previous message.

New Quest received: Set up a defensible camp.

To see the details and rewards of this quest, go to the status page and look under Active Quests.

New Quest received: Survive for one week.

To see the details and rewards of this quest, go to the status page and look under Active Quests.

I read the notifications quickly as I read the message from the god, and I opened my status menu after a second to take a more detailed look at the quests.

Name: Killiad Jones

Race: White Human

Sex: Male

Age: 30

Active Quests:

Set up a defensible camp. -Monque, god of Trials and Challenge.

Details: The island you are currently on is a highly dangerous place, with high mana levels giving a high amount of both monsters and an above average manabeast population, so you need to create someplace that you can call home and rest without much fear of being eaten.

Instructions: You must establish a place to rest, eat and live in, that can be defensible.

Rewards if succeeded: A defensible camp. A small supply of wood logs in your inventory.

Penalty if failed: A higher chance of being attacked.

Survive for one week. -Nemunue, goddess of Survival and The Wild.

Details: Your purpose in this universe is to survive for as long as possible, and that is a challenge in the wild of Fera.

Instructions: Do not die.

Rewards if succeeded: You continue to live. First off world quest.

Penalty if failed: Permanent death.

Interesting. The factoid about high mana levels equaling danger was definitely not new to me, as I had guessed at something similar based off of fiction novels, but it was still good to know. Maybe I could leave the island eventually and get to a less mana dense area.

But other than that new tidbit of knowledge, the quests I had gotten were nothing spectacular and were pretty much exactly my current goals anyway. I was about to leave to find a better spot to set up camp, and I was definitely not about to try and stop surviving. But the reward and penalty section was nice. For the defensible camp quest, I would get a defensible camp once I made a defensible camp (Obviously), and a supply of logs! The logs were definitely going to be useful, especially as I don't need to go find and cut down some trees if I get the supply.

And for the survival quest from the goddess, well that was an even better reward. Or worse. I guess it depended on what the ‘in-universe’ quest actually was. But it should be interesting either way, and a break from Fera.

The penalty behind the survival quest was interesting as well, because I found it odd that the goddess specified ‘permanent’ death. Would there be a normal death penalty with the chance of my revival to life? Would my patrons do that if I died? I guess it is probably better not to find out if I can help it.

And I got the two deities' names and titles! It was so weird just calling them the ‘goddess’ or ‘god’. Monque, god of Trials and Challenge, and Nemunue, goddess of Survival and The Wild. They were interesting names at least. And the titles were interesting as well. They seemed to pair up quite well, trials of survival, and the challenge in the wild, but while they might pair up it definitely gave me a not so nice glimpse into the possible quests I could be doing and my future life.

But whatever.

I mentally minimized the system screen and started walking through the grass towards the distant lake.

It turned out that my rough distance was pretty accurate. It took me just over two hours, according to my watch, and the fact that the sun was only a few hours from setting by my estimate. Hum… looking at my watch, I realize that I forgot to check over my body to see if there was anything else useful that I might have. Maybe I have something in my pocket… Though I doubt it.

Despite the realization, I continue to scan my environment for a few seconds longer. I was standing a little ways away from what I found was definitely a freshwater lake, having taken a small taste of the clear water a few seconds before. The lake looked like it was decently calm, but there was definitely some flow, probably heading into the ocean somewhere. There were no animals or monsters around, though they could be over the next hill and it would be hard to tell. That's the problem with hilly landscapes. Which is why I choose a flat area on top of a hill overlooking the lake as the spot I would set up camp. It's over monsters, I have the high ground!

I chuckled to myself as I set down my heavy backpack that had been digging into my shoulders a bit during my long hike, and I looked down at myself for what I realized was the first time. Nothing seemed any different from what I had been used to, my body seemed in its normal muscular yet thin state. I was wearing my tan cargo pants, a black long sleeve shirt, a baseball cap which I didn't even feel until I checked myself over, my brown leather bomber jacket and finally my sturdy black and brown hiking shoes. It seemed I still had exactly what I was wearing before I died. I checked the pockets next, but I wasn't really hopeful I would find anything useful.

Nothing in my pants pocket, and nothing in every pocket except for the small pocket on the left side of my chest, right above my heart. There was a hard bulge there when I patted myself over, and I stuck my hand into my pocket curiously, my fingers wrapping around a slightly warm ridged thing and what felt like a slip of paper that I took and brought out of my pocket.

It was a stone circular pendant on a leather string, carved into the shape of a wolf's head. “How…” I muttered, stunned at seeing the pendant. I made this pendant with my own two hands, and I was never without it after… But I had taken it off when I was about to get into the fight that killed me. It wasn't right. I shouldn't have this. I don't deserve this.

I nearly let the pendant fall to the ground because my hands were shaking so hard at the sight, but I kept it in a tight grip as I took a slightly crinkled slip of yellowly paper and turned it over in my hand, noticing there was writing on it.

“Consider this a gift, Kiliad Jones. Know that she would want you to have this no matter what.. -Nemunue.”

I placed the pendant back inside the pocket I found it inside without a word. I knew that she was probably right… but that didn't mean that it hurt any less.

I stood up straight, and I looked down at my backpack with a steely look on my face. I would keep on going, and now doing that meant setting up camp and surviving on another world in another universe.