by Jamey Sultan
To get his bearings, James peered out of the cave entrance. Moonlight sparkled off of water as a river rushed past the cave entrance. A heavy fog obscured his vision of the opposite bank but didn’t cross the water, leaving James’ side unobstructed.
Squinting through the darkness, James could just barely make out towering cliff faces rising on either side, He was on a patch of gravel that ended at the river. In short, he was trapped.
Another notification appeared.
You have gained the skill Night Vision.
Night Vision (Skill Rank 1):
+1% better vision in low light.
Immediately, his vision took on a slight green tinge, but he wasn’t able to see anything clearer. He guessed that he would need to level up the skill more before he saw the benefits of a high Night Vision skill. The green tint brightened the starlight almost imperceptibly. The brightened starlight reflected off of James’ hand.
That was when he noticed the ring nestled innocently on his right ring finger. When he tried to remove the ring to study it, it tightened painfully.
“Ouch! Fine.” James cursed. “I won’t try to take you off.” He held up his hand and examined the ring. As its crystal band caught the light, it emitted a strange bluish glow and black script floated to the surface, crawling along the inside of the band like the crafter had trapped a wisp of smoke inside it.
James stared at the ring, trying to bring up its information. How did I use this Death’s Stare ability? After a moment, with a small ding, a box of text appeared above the ring.
Sytar’s Gift:
Rank: Epic
- Greatly reduces experience required to level up.
- 3 charisma
Given to Sytar’s chosen, this ring shows a connection to the god. Be warned, some people may look unfavorably on anyone who openly wears a gift from the god of the dead.
You have unlocked a hidden stat: Charisma.
Hidden stats are special because you can’t put points into them. You can only adjust them through actions, items, or quest rewards. Charisma affects the rate of change in your reputation. A lower charisma score means that you will be more likely to lose reputation than gain it when you interact with people. To put it in simpler terms, the more people interact with you the more they’ll realize what a greedy bastard you are and the less they’ll like you. You can mitigate this by trying not to be an asshole, I guess…
The god of the dead? What was going on? James was having trouble processing his feelings, so he did what he always did when he couldn’t figure something out. He pushed it deep down inside and ignored it. He focused on the positives. The ring gave him an insane boost to levelling speed. James tried to pull up his statistics page. In Role-Playing Games, statistics were numerical values assigned to different character traits. Players could get points that they could then assign to their statistics, or stats. These points could then be used to improve their character.
James’ first attempts to access his stat page failed, but he finally figured out that he could pull up his stats by thinking the words “Statistics.”
Statistics
Strength: 10Dexterity: 10Constitution: 10
Intelligence: 10Wisdom: 10Endurance: 10
Charisma: -3
James stared at his stats, glaring at his Charisma. It looked like each stat started at ten, and Charisma started at zero. That was probably something to do with hidden stats, so he ignored it. Instead, he read over a description for each stat.
Strength:
Increasing your Strength will strengthen you (obviously). This means you will be able to carry more and hit harder.
Dexterity:
Increasing your Dexterity will make you quicker and more agile. It will increase your ability to dodge attacks.
Constitution:
Increasing your Constitution will increase your resistances and health, making you harder to kill.
Intelligence:
Increasing your Intelligence will increase your ability to learn and retain knowledge. It will also boost your Mana capacity and spell damage.
Wisdom:
Increasing your Wisdom will increase your decision-making capabilities. It will also boost your Mana regeneration and spell damage.
Endurance:
Increasing your Endurance will make you heal faster and regenerate stamina quicker.
James sat back and leaned against a rock to finish reviewing his notifications. He was much more comfortable now that he was clothed. The leather was much softer and more pliable than he expected.
He took a deep breath to calm himself. He was reasonably convinced that he wasn’t in a dream anymore, and was on the verge of freaking out, but he knew that pretending to be calm could trick his brain into actual calmness. It was the same tactic he’d learned in paramedic school: You walk to an emergency scene, don’t run. If you run, then you’re setting yourself up to freak out and kill someone by accident.
Taking controlled breaths, James read the rest of his notifications.
You have been given a quest: Temple of Sytar.
Temple of Sytar: You have been chosen by the god Sytar. Travel to the Temple of Sytar in Fallmire and speak to the high priest.
Suggested level: 0-10
Reward: More information about your brand
Penalty for failure: Unknown
Brand? What brand?
As the thought ran through his mind, he was struck with a burning pain on his calf. Fumbling with the leather pants, James tried to pull them off to reach his calf and see what was happening. Instead, he tripped over the cuffs and landed face-first in the pool of water. Sputtering, he scrambled out of the pool and sat back down. As quickly as it had come though, the pain passed, leaving an ugly scar in the shape of a scythe seared into his flesh. Gingerly, he poked at it, but it had already fully healed.
You have been given a brand: Mark of Sytar.
Effect: Unknown
This brand shows a powerful connection with the god Sytar. Be careful who you show it to. Their reaction may not be positive.
Well, that was helpful. James had a ton of questions, but at least he had one thing going for him.
James was a gamer. His familiarity with video games helped him understand the prompts in a way he wasn’t sure would be possible otherwise.
A skittering noise from above drew his attention from his notifications, and James looked up. An enormous spider, at least five feet wide, emerged out of the shadows of a stalactite and launched at him. He screamed in surprise and instinctively threw out his forearm.
The spider’s fangs sank into his bracer, just barely short enough to miss penetrating his arm. There was a dull burning sensation as poison leaked inside the bracer and onto his arm, and James vowed never to insult leather again. With his free hand, he punched the spider in one of its dinner-plate sized eyes. It screeched in pain and yanked its pincers free; the motion sending James flying backwards.
It backed away cautiously, chittering angrily, one eye leaking a blueish ichor. James drew his dagger, suddenly remembering that he had one, and held it in front of him, not taking his eyes off the arachnid. Words appeared above its head in the same way they did for the ring.
Cave Spider (Level 2)
The spider lunged again. This time James blocked it with his left arm and stabbed it in the eye. Back on earth he had taken some MMA classes, but only a few, and never with a weapon. Still, any training was better than none.
The spider backed away again, its eyes glowing dark green.
James didn’t like the looks of that. He backed away from the spider and bolted. A sticky thread hit the ground behind him with a splat. He sped up, dodging another bolt of webbing.
When its web attack didn’t work, the spider launched itself after James, giving chase as he dodged through stalagmites and over small rock formations.
James stopped when he heard a crunching sound and turned to see the spider stumbling after him with a mangled leg. If James had to guess, it
had clipped one of the rock formations and hurt itself. It fell down in pain, but still took a swipe at him.
Unlike James’ legs, the spider’s were tipped with a razor-sharp claw. James fell to the ground, a line of blood welling up from the back of his calf.
The spider wrapped another spindly leg around James’ calf and pulled him towards it, slowly dragging him backwards. He tried to resist, furiously clawing at the ground, but it was futile.
He remembered he was holding a dagger and stabbed deep into the grasping appendage. His first couple strikes did nothing to penetrate its armor, but he kept stabbing until the ruined limb hung limply, attached by a thread. Then he kicked, snapping it in half.
He struggled to his feet and rounded on the spider. He took a few unsteady steps towards his enemy, close enough to slash at it, but it dodged his knife and countered with a venomous bite.
James braced himself with his dagger held defensively. Instead of trying to jump away from the spider’s bite, he moved towards it, jamming his dagger into the unprotected flesh inside its mouth. Wrenching the dagger backwards, James sliced the creature’s head in half, showering himself with ichor. His health bar—a red bar in the corner of his vision—flashed green as the spider’s poison coursed through his body.
You have been poisoned:
- 3-5 health/second for 10 seconds.
James checked his health bar. He had 51 health left; just enough to survive the poison. He read through his notifications, breathing heavily.
You have gained the skill Small Blades.
Small Blades (Skill Rank 1)
+ 1% to weapon damage and attack speed when using small blades
You have killed a Cave Spider (Level 2).
+ 5 experience points
Level up! You are now level 2.
Congratulations!
You have gained your first level and been given 4 stat points to assign. Open your character screen for more information.
James pulled open his character screen and looked. Now that he had gained a level, he could see more information.
James
Human (n/a)
Level: 2
Health: 27/100Regenerates 1/hour
Mana: 100/100Regenerates 1/hour
Stamina: 100/100Regenerates 1/hour
Stats
Strength: 10Dexterity: 10Constitution: 18
Intelligence: 10Wisdom: 10Endurance: 10Charisma: -3
Spells
None
Abilities
Death’s Stare (1/7)
Brands
Mark of Sytar
Achievements
None
Armed with this knowledge, James considered where to put his points. He wanted more Constitution, because he’d almost died in that fight, but he wasn’t sure it was the best idea. Sure, being able to take hits would be nice, but being able to tank a few extra hits wouldn’t be a game changer. He knew these choices would determine how he progressed in this world. With that in mind, he assigned half of his points into Dexterity and half into Constitution. It would help him avoid getting hit and help him take hits when he couldn’t avoid them.
James yawned; overcome with a wave of exhaustion he couldn’t avoid. He didn’t have any sleeping gear, so he found a rock to use as a pillow and shifted his body until he was at least a little comfortable. He thought it would take more time to fall asleep, but after the excitement of the day, he sunk into the darkness without a fight.
Chapter 3
Aspider launched at James, its mandibles open wide with venom dripping down its fangs. Staring into the monster’s mouth, James was overwhelmed with the stench of fetid, rotting flesh. It was the smell of death.
He woke with a start, cold sweat dripping down his back. He shuddered, then adjusted his position before looking around, trying to get his bearings. He was snuggled into a rough, bristly pillow, like a beanbag with an overgrown beard.
A pillow? I don’t remember falling asleep with a pillow.
The events of the previous night came flooding back, and with a rush of adrenaline, James shot up. He screamed, backpedaling away from the corpse of the spider he’d been inadvertently cuddling. In his attempt to escape, his foot caught on one of the spider’s many legs, knocking him off balance. James fell, every movement trapping him further into the tangle of spider legs.
He was in his own personal hell. “Oh God, no. Please let this be a nightmare.” He begged as he scrambled backwards, frantically trying to extricate himself from the mess of limbs.
I slept on that… that thing! Oh, God. Or Gods. Not sure who I should be cursing to in this world.
He still couldn’t believe this was happening, but waking up spooning a dead spider convinced him he wasn’t dreaming. There was no way his subconscious could be that cruel.
If I’m not dreaming, then what is this place? And why me?
Unsure of what else to do, James sat up to look around. His neck and back groaned in protest as the pain from his fight and stiffness from a night spent on a rock floor made itself known. He wanted nothing more than to curl up and lay back down, but he knew that the only way to combat the stiffness was to move, so he stood and tried to roll out his muscles.
First, he rolled his neck on its axis to work out some stiffness. Then he started swinging his arms in large concentric circles, working on his shoulders. He continued moving through a series of stretches for a few minutes before a gurgling sound interrupted him. He looked around nervously for the source of the noise, worried it was another spider, but couldn’t see anything. When the noise came again, he realized that it was his stomach, and that he hadn’t eaten before going to sleep the night before.
Sighing, he pulled a stick of jerky out of his bag, and a savory scent tickled his nostrils. When he took his first bite, a blast of flavor overwhelmed his senses. He smiled. at least this world had one good thing going for it. He followed
it with a sweet fruit that reminded him of a Devil’s Fruit from his favorite manga.
After eating, James tended to his other needs. Maliciously, he relieved himself on the spider’s corpse and washed his hands in the pool. Immediate needs met, he set out to explore the cave, but a notification blinked in the corner of his vision, just waiting for him to read it.
I have to remember I’m in a game.
Achievement Unlocked: Dumb luck.
Dumb luck
+ 1 Luck
- 1 Intelligence
Congratulations! You slept through the night in an unexplored cave where you had already been attacked by one monster. I can’t imagine what was going through your mind when you thought of that genius idea.
You have unlocked a hidden stat: Luck.
Luck can affect many things, or it can affect nothing. That doesn’t sound right. I‘ll consult the book. Nope, that’s the description they gave. That’s stupid. Either way, it doesn’t make a difference because you can’t put points in luck, anyway.
What the hell was up with these notifications? They were weird, as if someone were writing them specifically for James as he progressed. They were also a little insulting. James chuckled. He had to admit; they were funny.
Luck sounded interesting, even if the description had made it seem lackluster. He was interested in what, exactly, Luck would do. If he were basing his guesses on a video game, then he would assume that Luck could affect loot rarity, or maybe increase the chance of a critical hit.
But he wasn’t in a video game. This was a real universe with its own rules. There was no way to know how Luck affected anything in a real universe.
Is there?
While James was considering the implications of the different stats, his eyes landed on the spider corpse. Back on Earth, he identified as a pacifist. The thought of killing anything terrified him.
Except spiders. Fuck spiders.
But here, in this world, he knew he would have to resign himself to killing other creatures, because this wasn’t a friendly place. If he hesitated, he would
die.
He went over his options. The cave was well defended and would make a great base, but he hadn’t finished exploring it yet. If he left the cave to explore outside, he’d be exposing himself to danger without a safe place to retreat to. He had no idea what was waiting for him outside of the cave but, based on his experiences so far, it wouldn’t be pleasant. If he finished searching the cave and killed any other monsters he found, he would always have a refuge he could return to.
He crouched, creeping deeper in the cave, trying to watch where he placed his feet, so he didn’t make any noise.
You have gained the skill Stealth.
Stealth (Skill Rank 1):
+ 1% harder to notice when sneaking.