Observing the End, Volume 3: Protagonism
Blurb of Observing the End, Volume 3: Protagonism
Michael Cinagra, an antisocial psychotic author, battles to survive the apocalypse… while keeping a diary in his spare time.
Observer 131, a Personal Reconnaissance Drone that was sent to spy on him, is still accurately recording everything that occurs because that is how it was designed to work.
The two of them embark on a three-volume adventure during which they move around, kill things, pick up new skills, and attempt to keep their sanity as the world around them implodes…
Observing the End, Volume 3: Protagonism Chapter 1: The Arcane Orb
Observation Log: 153435
Observer 131, reporting on our situation.
One rotation of Orcheim is approximately 7 hours. Although the days are typically longer than the nights, they are slowly becoming shorter. It has been 113 days since my last official report. Although observation is important to me, there is another matter that has consumed all of my attentional lately.
The Arcane Orb and the White Cube within, along with the study of magical phenomena have become my primary focus. Michael”s routine has stagnated, making him less interesting than this strange piece of technology.
First, the Arcane Orb in its natural state, has the exact same dimensions as my own body. Could that be a coincidence? Certainly not. No, I discovered within less than 40 hours, that I am able to adjust the size and shape to a certain extent. In order to perform tests safely and unobserved, I wait until Michael leaves the tent for the day. He usually leaves me along with the Arcane Orb,”safely” stored within a leather pouch.
It does not require much effort to escape and take the sphere with me, to the center of the room. Using my nanites, I am able to infiltrate the very outer layer of the Arcane Orb, which is covered with microscopic runic symbols. There are 900 languages, all of which I already know. The problem is understanding, rather than reading.
Eventually, I realized that if I sacrificed some nanites and energy, I could activate a singular rune for a time. Then from there, it is possible to form words or commands. My first test was related to “Help” or “Settings”, “Tutorial”, “Search” and eventually, “Open”.
There is no help menu, settings, tutorial or search engine, but “Open” literally opened a small extradimensional portal. I was almost pulled inside… Fortunately, I was able to retreat a few meters away and the dangerous suction ended shortly thereafter. The amount of energy and nanites required to open the portal is far more than simply activating random runes.
Nearly 10 days of siphoning Michael”s energy later, I was able to restart my investigation and open the portal again. I was prepared, so the time it was able to be sustained was much longer. Thus, I peered inside and saw the White Cube. Yes, oddly enough, even though the exterior is spherical, the interior space is cubic.
Although the massive space was almost completely empty, there was something rather familiar, resting within…
Observer 77, Warsteed, a Combat Drone in the form of a metallic silver horse. It is a self-sufficient model, capable of consuming various organic materials and converting them into energy. It went missing thousands of years prior to my creation. Thus, I never even placed it on my list of items to procure.
Unfortunately, even if it is right before my optical sensors, I am unable to figure out the method with which to remove items from the extradimensional pocket. It is so frustrating to have something you desire, placed before you, yet being incapable of seizing the object of your obsession…
If I had an organic body, I would have most likely lost my patience long ago. However, without hormones to influence my thought processes, I can continue endlessly searching for the answers I seek. Eventually, I shall solve this conundrum and unlock the mysteries of this Arcane Orb.
For now, I have been focusing on writing and implementing”magical” algorithms. Programs designed to replicate various magical phenomena that I have encountered recently. Most importantly, the method to absorb and store mana effectively.
After being exposed to mana-radiation for so long, I was able to develop a separate optical sensor. One which has been designed to observe mana, in its various states and forms. I used Michael”s novels as a reference point for the most basic factors, but I still needed to fill in a lot of blanks. Obviously he never attempted to use any”real” scientific explanations within his stories. Only rough estimations and guesses, based on his own flawed understanding of both magic and physics.
The problem is that from what I can tell, the mana-radiation within this planet”s atmosphere is negligible. Compared to what I experienced within the Kitsune Territory, the planet is much closer to Earth in its mana-density. Yet, there are still places that have a higher concentration of mana. For example, those planetoids that are orbiting Orcheim.
Each of them radiates mana in pulses, but most of it is dispersed in the upper atmosphere. Only small quantities of the ethereal substance are able to be collected and stored within my primary”Mana-Core”. From there, I am able to channel it through my nanites and simulate various unnatural phenomena. Such as the alteration of gravity within a specific field, the manipulation of localized temporal anomalies, creating or obliterating matter. The possibilities are endless, but my time is not.
I can”cast” magical spells now, but only within the limits of my insignificant power. Also, from observing the Riverstone Tribe, I have learned that magic can be extremely harmful. For example, acceleration of fetal growth can cause birth defects, but the true danger is with the mother. Although Michael”s nanites were able to counteract some of the cellular damage, they are not designed to function within an orcish body.
All of the women that Michael has been breeding with, are aging rapidly and beginning to suffer from various unpleasant disorders. Their bones are becoming weaker, muscles atrophy, they need more food and water, yet their bodies absorb less of the nutrients. Aside from the Prophetess, the other three are dying.
This is not a particularly surprising piece of news however… At least not to the three women and the Prophetess. They were determined to make the sacrifice for the tribe and their offspring, since the very beginning. In fact, although he is unaware, Michael”s vitality was also drained as well. Fortunately, his constitution allows him to recover rather swiftly. Perhaps that was what happened to the previous Chieftain?
Regardless, the camp is being moved again today. Their goal seems to be the mountains in the distance, which are covered with lush forests. Redwoods on Earth were able to grow over 100 meters tall and incredibly thick, but the lower gravity of Orcheim allows even Birch trees to reach that height, much less the Redwoods that I can see along the base of the mountainside. There are also some massive pine trees near the summit.
However, at the snowy peak, there are artificial structures… I suspect that this mountain range was originally a resort or perhaps, within the interior lies an ancient fallout shelter? Many human military facilities were built within mountains and inactive volcanoes. It would not be strange if thousands of such facilities existed throughout this world.
Logically, at the late stages of pregnancy, the four women should take this time to rest and prepare for labor. Yet they are pushing their bodies instead. Michael created some simple wooden wagons to carry the tents and various other items, but the hand-carved stone wheels are not very efficient. He attempted to use slices of wood from some trees he found on the prairie, but within a few days, they were too eroded to use properly. Even the planks of the cart were infested with termites and other insects, but they were able to hold out for a short time.
For now, I will continue researching the Arcane Orb. Hopefully I will make some progress…
Observing the End, Volume 3: Protagonism Chapter 2: Solving Problems
Scarface died last night. f**k, god damn it! I tried to tell them to stop! I did… But they just couldn”t understand me! s**t!
Phew~, I”m just so pissed off right now. Not sad or depressed, just infuriated. I”m angry at myself for not realizing what was happening sooner, but there”s nothing I can do now. The others are in rough shape too.
I know it”s the Matriarch”s fault. She used her magical bullshit powers to speed up the pregnancies. Hell, maybe she even drained the life outta us so that she would be able to stay healthy too?
The worst part is that I don”t have anyone to take it out on. I can yell at her, even punch her in the face, but it wouldn”t solve anything. Now I have another daughter to take care of. A premature hybrid baby with heterochromia and no mother to breastfeed from. Yeah, I know that there are still pregnant women left, but I can”t tell them what to do. I guess I”ll just hold them down and force them to let Talia drink their milk.
Why wouldn”t they take care of Talia like their own? How the f**k would I know?! I can”t f*****g talk to them! It”s like dealing with a pack of dogs or cats. You can try to talk or teach them s**t, but in the end, they have no idea what you”re saying. They also don”t share your beliefs or morality.
I think it”s because of the way she looks. The left iris is silver, while the right is golden. Her skin is dark green, while her hair is black. Orcs tend to have wide and flat noses, but Talia”s is much closer to mine. Although she”s just an infant, and really small, I can”t help seeing a lot of features that she inherited from me.
f**k, I”ve never been so scared of anything before now. It”s only going to get worse. If the other two die, who the hell is gonna take care of all these kids?! Rune is almost an adult now and she”s been making advances on me lately. I”m afraid that the Matriarch convinced her to sacrifice herself next…
***
I finally snapped. I reached my breaking point. When they came and started screaming, it woke Talia up. She started crying and wailing. I tucked her into the leather and fur basket I made just for her, then left her alone in my tent. No, I guess she wasn”t really alone. I gave her my balls to play with. Something to keep her occupied while I dealt with the Grey problem. Oh, and the Matriarch was there too, but she was too busy trying to calm down her own babies to worry about Talia.
After putting on my armor and taking a few basic weapons with me, I purposefully fell into their little trap. There were only five men yelling that night, so it was easy to kill off a few, before following the rest back to their camp. I honestly didn”t expect there to be so many of those bastards though.
Every Grey guy was at least eight feet tall, while the girls were pretty damn close as well. There were less differences in muscle-mass and overall size between their sexes, than with the Greens. Their tusks were also much longer. It reminded me of an elephant, rather than a boar.
Still, in the end, it didn”t matter. They probably thought that the biggest and strongest Orc was the best. So they used that as their ideal matting composition. Unfortunately, what they ended up with was a bunch of giants with really brittle bones. Their muscles looked heavy and powerful, but they were mostly just for show.
They had no battlefield tactics and probably no experience fighting with someone as small as me. The most important factor in any battle is morale. I slaughtered at least twenty men and five beefy women, before literally ripping their chieftain”s head off with my bare hands. Okay, I was wearing metal gauntlets, but you get the point. It was a dramatic and f****d up way to get my message across.
“Don”t f**k with me! Don”t f**k with my tribe! Don”t f**k with my family! I will murder anyone who even thinks of trying to hurt us!”
It worked… A little too well. They didn”t run away or flee in terror. No, they surrendered. A chubby grey-skinned orc, with huge black tusks, came out of the biggest tent and”commanded” everyone to kneel down to me. Then she came up to me, got down onto her knees and started rubbing her bald head against my metal groin armor. Before going even lower than that and licking the blood of her own tribesman off my f*****g boots!
A few of the other women tried to do the same, but I yelled “Okay, stop! Cut that s**t out! This is way kinkier than I”m used to!” Before pulling them up off the ground and making some miscellaneous hand gestures. It took her a while, however, the crimson eyed woman growled at the others. Then the survivors began disassembling the tents.
Yep, the others are still afraid of me, but now our camp has a secondary ring. I”m at the center, with the two chubby Matriarchs, while the Greens have the inner ring. The Greys are staying in the second ring, since the two tribes don”t really want to mix together completely.
Anyway, although I did decimate the Greys pretty badly, they still have about fifty people altogether. There aren”t many children though. I”m not really sure why… Maybe they”re having virility problems? The ratio of women to men is pretty high, with only about ten adult males left. I have a feeling that they”ve all been castrated, but I don”t really wanna go checking to make sure.
The point is that I”m basically the only guy that can make babies, in a group of thirty horny orcish women. Hopefully I won”t be expected to have s*x with them all, because that”d be ridiculous. Also, we wouldn”t be able to take care of that many children. We have too many as it is…
It seems like solving one problem always leads to a fuckload more.
Writer of Observing the End, Volume 3: Protagonism
Michael Anthony Ciotta, also Mike777ac, the writer of Observing the End, Volume 3: Protagonism. He is addicted to writing web novels and spends a lot of his time Binge Reading random stuff. He loves science fiction, and his novels are always full of creativity and imagination.
