Chapter 1: Awoken [Written by Jim Murphy]

I laid there for a moment, as I regained consciousness. Groaning I rose up slowly noticing, almost immediately, that I’d awoken in the middle of a strange forest. Trees surrounded me on all sides, large oaks and thick pines.

‘What the hell? Where the fuck am I?’ I asked aloud my voice quavering slightly with fear as I slowly rose up to my feet.

I looked to the left and right, hoping that there was a familiar landmark, something that could tell me where I was. Dread began to well up inside me as I saw more and more trees surrounding me. Sunlight streamed down through a gap in the canopy, something glinted off of me. I looked down at myself and yelled in surprise! My clothes were different, they were outlandish compared to what I was wearing before. I was now wearing a leather jerkin with what appeared to be a light blue shirt beneath it. This contrasted with my grey jacket and Halo T-shirt, that I had been wearing before. I also appeared to be wearing some type of brown cotton pants, vastly different from my black jeans from earlier. Instead of my blue runners I was now wearing a pair of black boots. On my hip appeared to be a sword in a plain leather scabbard, this is what the sun had glinted off before. Looking closer at the sword, there appeared to be some rust on the pommel and on the scabbard itself.

Ok I need to calm down, I thought, what is the last thing I remember doing. I took several deep breaths and began thinking back to earlier that day, trying to recall what had happened and why I was now in this mess.

Ok, I was walking back home from Uni, my lecture had just finished. So, I decided to call my Dad to get a lift home. He said he couldn’t pick me up today because he was at work. With that in mind, I decided to walk home. Several friends had asked me if I wanted a ride, but I turned them down believing a nice walk would do me good, I began regretting that decision now. That’s when I suddenly had felt extremely tired, I had tried to ignore it and continue walking home, but my eyes had slowly drifted shut. The next thing I knew I’d woken up here in this strange place. I glanced down at my side, at the sword again. Placing my left hand on the scabbard to steady it, I shakily drew the blade. It didn’t look particularly special just an ordinary sword, with some rust along the blade.

It was slightly heavier than I thought, but nothing I thought couldn’t handle. Glancing at the rust along the blade, I leant closer trying to get a better look at the sword.

Suddenly, an orange screen appeared in front of me making a small dinging sound. I was so startled by this that I dropped the sword I had been holding. It made a loud clanging sound as it hit the ground before me.

After a few moments as my heart rate began to slow down I noticed writing had appeared on the bright orange screen.

Slightly Rusted and Used Iron Sword

Attack: 60 (-15) *

Value: 3 Silver

An ordinary iron sword. Some rust appears to have damaged it causing it to do less damage.

*Side note: Constant use of this sword will cause it to degrade further

After I had read the details the window closed. I tentatively reached forward, hoping the sword wouldn’t do anything else or bite me for that matter. I grabbed it and quickly sheathed the blade. Breathing a sigh of relief I wondered, What the hell was that all about?

I looked around again. I could see a small opening between the trees. Probably better than just standing around here all day, I reasoned walking towards it.

Going through the opening there seemed to be a path winding its way through the trees. Keeping a hand firmly gripped on the pommel of my sword I began to follow the undulating path, hoping that if I did follow it ’d eventually lead out of this strange forrest. I sure as hell wasn’t in Ballarat anymore, or Australia for that matter. The trees around me were vastly different to the ones I had grown up with. I continued following the path through the forrest for what felt like an hour only hearing the wind rustling between the trees.

Then barely out of earshot I could hear a wet crunching sound. I slowly crept forward, towards a gap in between the trees. I peered into what seemed to be another clearing.

There appeared to be a figure bent over something, but I couldn’t tell what it was from where I was standing just yet. I moved forward slowly wanting to get a better look at the figure, but then I froze. The figure had stiffened, it seemed to be almost twitching. Suddenly it looked to where I was hiding and what I saw then almost made me cry out loud again. But some instinct made me keep perfectly still and silent. The creature in front of me had pieces of flesh and blood dripping from its mouth.

Patches of hair seemed to be attached to some of its skin that hadn’t rotted away yet on its scalp. What skin it had appeared to be pale and discoloured. Shredded or rotted clothes still clung to its lifeless body. It turned back to the corpse it was feeding from because that’s what it surely was. Light started streaming through a gap in between the leaves as the sun rose higher. It lit up the corpse the creature was eating from, and at that moment I kinda wished it hadn’t. The corpses feet could be clearly seen from where I was hiding. The head had been ripped off and thrown a few metres away, the man's eyes bulging out from his skull. The creature bent back down over the corpse and started feeding on the dead body’s intestines. The stomach and liver were strewn around the creature. They appeared to be slightly chewed and then discarded for a tastier morsel. From where I was standing a sickly-sweet smell wafted towards me. As I continued to stare at this creature another window popped open near me.

Title: Lesser Undead (Zombie)

Race: Undead Human

Age: 32

Level: 7

XP: 20%

HP: 700

STR: 30

VIT: 30

DEX: 15

INT: 10

WIS: 10

LUK: 10

ATK: 75

DEF: 50

A living undead body. It hates the living and will attack if provoked. Its movements may be slow, but its strength is double that of when it was alive. Loves to feast on living creatures, preferably human in nature.

I couldn’t hold it in any longer, the sight of the entrails and now the smell that was beginning to waft towards me was beginning to overcome me. I turned to the left and emptied the contents of my stomach onto the ground. I looked up wiping my mouth just as the zombie turned its ugly head towards me. ‘Ah… Shit.’ I said shakily. It slowly rose up glaring at me. Suddenly it let out a blood-chilling scream with its arms stretched out. It looked back down at me and charged shambling towards me. I tried to move out of the way but slipped and fell. The creature was right on top of me by then. I scrambled backwards kicking my feet at it. The zombie grabbed my foot, halting my progress.

I kicked out at it again catching it in the midsection, propelling it a few metres back. I quickly got to my feet, shakily drawing my sword as I did so. I looked to my side towards the opening that I had come in from, hoping there would be a way for me to escape this situation. No such luck. Instead of a possible escape route, I saw more of the undead shambling towards me. There appeared to be three coming from the opening. One was a fat man with a pot belly whose intestines could be seen coming from a gash in its stomach, the one beside him was what appeared to be a young woman who was missing her jaw. The last undead creature appeared to be a young man. They all looked very similar to the one in front of me, they all had discoloured skin that was rotting away from there bodies, they also had bits of hair still clinging to their scalps.

I turned my head back to the undead creature ahead of me. It had slowly regained its footing and started walking towards me, with its arms held wide like it wanted a grisly hug. I breathed in, then out trying to slow my racing heart. I knew what I had to do at this moment, all I had to do was remain calm and attack them one at a time. I charged at the zombie yelling, ‘Take this you bastard!’ As I moved closer towards the creature a glowing red bar and words appeared above its head.

The words read, “Lvl 7 Zombie,” beside the glowing red bar it read; “700 Hp”

Ignoring this new-found information for the moment, I swung my sword with all my might horizontally at the zombie. As I swung the creature stumbled to the left causing my blow to only graze its side. After I had swung the sword I glanced back readying another attack when I saw numbers glowing in the air “–35.”

I glanced back up at the red bar above the creature’s head. It seemed to be slightly emptier and the number beside it now read 665 Hp.

A health bar maybe? I shook myself, I had to focus on the fight or else I would most certainly die. I gripped the sword with both of my hands this time.

I charged straight at the zombie again swinging for its side. This time I cleanly hit the zombies arm, which went flying off into the trees. I glanced at the Zombie’s health bar above its head, it appeared to be significantly lower than last time.

I moved to the side eying the creature before me. It looked down, noticed it was missing an arm, then charged at me with a roar. Slicing its arm didn’t really do anything other than just piss it off. There’s got to be an easier way to do this, I theorized. I swung my sword this time aiming for its left leg. I sliced through again feeling little to no resistance. I looked back at the creature as it clawed its way towards me. Its health bar now read, “400.” So, two-handing my sword does do a significant amount of damage. Huh. I strode forward confidently, planting a foot firmly on the zombies back. It tried to claw at me while I had it pinned.

‘Take this you rotten piece of shit!’ I yelled plunging my sword through its skull. This time I felt a lot more resistants. Blood and brain matter spurted out as I drove the sword ever deeper. Words appeared beside the zombie’s head, “Critical Hit”.

I glanced up at the health bar as it slowly drained. The Zombie continued to struggle trying to regain its footing. Glancing to my left and right I could see the three other zombies shuffle into view. All with the same red health bars and levels above their heads. I glanced back down at the zombie who I still had pinned.

When the health bar reached zero I withdrew my sword from the thing’s now, hopefully dead, corpse. I swung around to face two of the foul creatures coming at me. I slowly smiled, I knew how to kill them now. All I needed to do was swing at their heads and I would score a critical hit. Glancing at the closest zombie that was shambling towards me I readied myself.

Suddenly I jumped into action running forward towards the zombie dodging its clumsy swings as I did so. When I was close enough to the vile creature, I slashed downwards at its head. A sickeningly wet crunching sound could be heard as I drove the sword deep into its skull. I felt its skull give in slightly as my sword crashed through.

“Critical Hit” appeared above the creature’s head as I disengaged myself, removing my sword from its head. One of its eyes had come out of its skull from the force of the blow. I glanced up to the health bar above its head. It now read “300 Hp”. I chuckled to myself, one more swing and it’ll all be over soon, I thought to myself. I readied for another swing when suddenly I was yanked off my feet and fell hard onto the ground. I groaned then rolled over to find that the young woman had grabbed me. She slowly began clawing her way up my body. Panicking I did the only thing I could think of, I plunged my sword straight through her face.

The zombie kept crawling towards me though, pushing the blade deeper into its head groaning as it did so. Pieces of brain and blood were coming out of its skull as it kept crawling closer. It had its arms stretched out trying to claw my face. I glanced up at its health bar as it kept on coming, it was almost completely gone. In a last-ditch effort, it swung its claw-like hands at me.

I tried to roll out of the way, but it managed to scratch my shoulder. The leather jerkin absorbed most of the damage, but I could still feel some blood beginning to flow down my shoulder. Getting my knees beneath the creature, I struck out causing it to fall backwards. My sword made a slurping sound as it came out of the zombie’s head. Panting hard I rolled back over and got back to my feet. That was close, too close, I reflected. Still panting I looked ahead of me towards the other zombies, my shoulder stinging.

They were still there slowly shuffling towards me. I quickly glanced around me making sure there was nothing else that could sneak up on me. There appeared to be nothing, other than the zombies ahead of me. I breathed out slowly, wiping some of the sweat that was beginning to bead up on my forehead. Squaring my shoulders once more I charged the creatures. Going for the closest one to me which was on my left I back hand slashed, cutting the creature ear-to-ear. Half of its skull lay on the ground brains and maggots spilling out onto the forrest floor.

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I glanced ahead of me towards the final undead creature. It was the fat man from before, who’s eye had fallen out.  It gave a guttural howl then charged straight at me with its crumpled head down. Squaring my shoulders, I stood there waiting. Now! I swung diagonally slicing its thick skull wide open. “Critical Hit” appeared next to it. It stumbled slightly then slowly shambled towards me. I readied myself for a second strike. It never came, the zombie just walked another few more steps then collapsed in front of me.

I stood there for a moment eyeing the things health bar, breathing heavily. When it reached zero I let out a large pent up breath not realizing that I had been holding it. I planted the tip of my sword into the ground and rested my head against the pommel, closing my eyes, breathing deeply. Sweat beading off my forehead fell to the ground silently as I waited for my heart to stop racing. I thought about the passing battle and what I had just witnessed. It was too strange, health bars? Status screens and critical hits? What the hell was going on here. A few more minutes passed before I opened my eyes and looked around myself. I let a loud gasp, the corpses of the zombies that I had killed were gone! In their place where what I could only describe as several unique items.

 A small screen popped up in front of me, stating simply:

For vanquishing your foes, you have gained 80 XP

Shaking my head, I withdrew my sword from the ground then walked towards the nearest clump of items. I carefully poked what appeared to be a small bottle filled with red liquid with my sword. Nothing happened, I glanced around at the other piles of items. Sighing I began collecting all the items that laid around the area and created a small pile. Sheathing my sword, I hunkered down to study what I had gotten. I had found 3 small bottles filled with red liquid. I had also found several silver coins and a gold coin. I found a couple of purplish red gem stones, which I had no idea what they could be used for. A tattered cloth fragment that may have belonged to one of the creatures I had killed, and lastly what appeared to be a flint and steel. Sighing again I grabbed the items then deposited them into my pockets. I glanced up at the sun. It appeared to be lower than it was before.

My mouth was parched, and my stomach groaned in complaint. Ok first things first I need to find water, then shelter. After that I can worry about whatever the fuck is going on, I thought. Straightening up, I glanced around me trying to find a way out of the clearing.

I glanced at the corpse again, it appeared to be pointing to the side. Glancing to my left I saw an opening between the trees. I walked slowly forward, a lot more cautious than I had been before. After a while when it appeared like there was nothing that was going to spring up and try and eat me, I relaxed slightly and continued forward. I felt the time slowly trickle by, as flying insects buzzed around my face trying to get at the sweat that was steadily dripping off my nose.

I hadn’t really felt it until now, but the close confines of the trees caused all the heat to be trapped under the canopy. I needed to find a water source quickly, to parch my already dry throat, otherwise, I might die from dehydration. I kept on walking for what felt like ages. Then I heard something, a soft tinkling sound. I stopped walking, closing my eyes hoping I wasn’t just hearing things. There it was again! It sounded like water, I slowly turned my head towards the source of the marvellous sound. There! I opened my eyes and began striding purposefully forward through the trees and underbrush.

After a few more minutes I found the source that had made such a beautiful sound. It was a creek that was slowly trickling by. I sank into the water and began drinking from it until I was fit to burst.

After a while, I crawled back to the bank and lay there for a bit. Ok, I’ve found water, now I need to find a place to set up camp, I concluded. Groaning I slowly got back to my feet and began walking along the edge of the bank. It wasn’t long until I happened to stumble upon an overhang of rock.

This is perfect! Just what I needed. I looked around the area, it appeared that this area was fairly well hidden. I doubted anyone would be able to find it unless they were actively searching for it. I walked forward slowly taking my bearings. It appeared to be more like a shallow cave mouth than an overhang. It was about 2 metres deep, 3 metres high and about 4 metres wide. I put my hand against the rock wall. It was dry, so was the rock floor beneath my feet. Huh, so the water doesn’t reach this far in. Finally, some good news, I thought. I sat down leaning my back against the rock wall and began planning my next course of action.

‘Ok so, I’ve found a water source, and some form of shelter so what next? Hmm, well I guess I need food and a fire.’ I began thinking out loud, ‘So, I’ll gather some wood and then maybe try and catch some fish?’

Probably should do something about the floor while I’m at it I surmised. It may be dry but later on, it would get pretty cold and uncomfortable.

That said I got back to my feet and began walking through the trees collecting any dead branches on my way. Once I had a decent enough pile I walked back to my shelter and dropped it off. After another four trips, I went back out into the forrest. This time to find something that I could use as tinder. It didn’t take me long to find what I needed, there was a large amount of dried grass and leaves that I could use around some of the larger trees. After grabbing a sizeable amount, I went back to the campsite. I began to arrange the wood and the pieces of dried grass and leaves to create a tepee-like structure.

After completing that I decided to get some of the ferns that were around the area and take some of their leaves.

After grabbing enough fronds and layering the bottom of the shallow cave, I walked back out trying to find larger logs that I could use to keep the fire going throughout the night. I found one promising candidate, quickly drawing my sword, I began to hack away at the log. Collecting the logs, I had cut I made my way back up to the campsite. Huh, for a rusted sword it still did a pretty good job. Placing down the logs a twinge of pain lanced through my shoulder. I had completely forgotten about my wound from earlier. I checked my shoulder, it appeared the bleeding had stopped for now. Funnily enough, I couldn’t really feel any pain at all.

‘I’ll deal with that later, but first some fish.’ I decided. I walked steadily along the bank looking for a likely spot. After about 10 minutes of walking I found a large willow tree with its branches stretching out and over the creek.

I unbuckled my sword, placing it on the bank. Then I slowly rolled up my pants to the knee. Hesitating for a moment I took off both my boot and socks. I looked around hoping to find a bush or something to hide my gear. Not seeing any in site I shrugged and placed them all at my feet. Now! It was time for me to go tickling for trout, I just hoped that my childhood experience would help me in this situation. Smiling ruefully, I slowly dipped my feet into the cool water and began to make my way back quietly to camp.

I began to systematically look from the left to the right, backwards and forwards in a grid-like pattern. After a few minutes, I spotted what I was looking for. Underneath the bank, I could see a tail fin swishing back and forth. Slowly I crept forward, making sure to not cause too large of a ripple in the water. When I was close enough to the fish I sank down onto one knee slowly, carefully I placed a hand beneath the water palm up.

I carefully moved it underneath the fish, then I began gently tickling its underbelly. I slowly worked my hand further up until it was underneath the fish’s gills. Then suddenly I grasped it with my hand and threw it up onto the bank with a loud splash. It flopped around for a few moments then lay still. Standing back up I swept my hand back across my forehead, wiping some of the sweat that had appeared there. I had forgotten how strenuous tickling was.

A screen appeared in front of me as I did so. It read:

20 XP Gained for Fishing.

‘Huh, that’s cool’ I said quietly as the screen disappeared. Half an hour passed, and I had managed to catch two more fish gaining 40 XP all up. I had tried to catch more but was unsuccessful.

Slowly I worked my way back to where I had dropped off my gear and the other fish. I began to think about the blue window that had popped up after I had gained my XP from the last fish I had caught. It had read:

You have now gained a passive skill.

Fishing!

Increases the chance of catching a fish. Higher levels will allow the user to better identify likely spots to find fish. Increased knowledge of species of fish.

Wow. That’s cool. Hmm, I wonder when I’ll level up? I chuckled, I don’t really have time to worry about that right now, I reasoned. Shrugging I moved back to the bank to collect the fish I had caught and the rest of my gear.

That done I skewered all three fish with a stick I had cut from a tree and made my way slowly back to camp. It was steadily getting darker, I glanced at the sun and reasoned I had just over an hour of daylight left. Back at camp, I placed the fish next to the river. After doing so I began to empty out my pockets to gather the tools that I needed.

I grabbed the flint and steel from the pile and began to get to work on starting the fire. I just hoped that what they did on tv and in books would help me in this situation.

Firstly, I rearranged some of the dried grass to better catch a spark. After I did this I grabbed a small amount of the grass placing it on top of the flint. After doing so I squared my shoulders and began to strike against the flint with my steel extremely hard causing sparks to fly.

After a few minutes or so it appeared that a small piece of the grass was glowing, I began to gently blow on the grass. After a little while longer I moved the tinder back into the rest of the pile blowing gently, coaxing the small flame. Slowly but surely the small flame grew until there was a merry little blaze going. That accomplished I began to unbuckle my sword and placed it inside of the cave. After a moment’s hesitation, I undid the buckles and straps to my leather jerkin and placed it beside my sword. I gingerly poked at my wounded shoulder. It appeared all I had was a bit of a scrape. There was no pain at all. I’d have to clean the wound soon though, in case of infection. I grabbed the rest of the items I had pulled out and placed them back into my pockets. Moving back to where I had placed the fish, I glanced around me for a suitable rock that I could use.

Spotting two pieces of rock I began to chip away at one piece with the other, creating a makeshift knife. With rock-knife in hand, I began to gut and descale the fish. It took me slightly longer than I thought. By the time I was done it was well after dark. Panting I grabbed the guts and threw them into the creek. I just hoped that any scavengers that wanted the offal would find it further downstream. That done I washed the blood and scales off my hands in the river.

Then grabbing several sticks, which I had prepared earlier, I skewered each of the fish from head to tail. That completed I placed all three around the fire and began waiting for them to cook. While I waited I grabbed the scrap of cloth that I had found and begun washing it in the river. Believing it was clean enough I stripped off my shirt then began dabbing at my wound.

The scratch appeared to be a lot worse than what it actually was. After a few minutes of cleaning my shoulder, cleaning the rag and going back to cleaning my shoulder I checked my wound again. There appeared to be a small scratch about 4 centimetres long, nothing major. I still felt no pain from the wound, which was weird. Sighing with relief I put my shirt back on and hung the piece of cloth, after washing it, on a stick hanging by the fire.

After doing so I leaned back against the rock wall saying ‘Ah, fuck’ as I did so, letting out a heavy sigh. I finally had some time to relax after my long arduous day.

Pulling the rest of the items out of my pockets I began to arrange them beside me. Firstly the 3 bottles of red liquid, then the purplish red gem stones and beside them I placed the coins. Picking up one of the bottles of red liquid, I wondered if it was some type of potion or something. I thought back to my experiences of what happened today, I had to figure out how to get that orange screen to appear. This world seemed strange, it was as if I was trapped in a videogame. Status screens, health bars, XP it was the only thing that made sense.

I began speculating, Ok, first off when I looked at my sword, for a long time after I had drawn it from its scabbard, an orange window had suddenly appeared. When I stood there looking at that zombie after a while a window had also appeared. Hmm, I wonder if just looking at an object long enough can cause a status window to appear? Usually, in a video game, there’s a button or something that you can use. But I can’t see anything. Hmm, maybe its voice-activated? I might be able to open a window by just saying something. A key phrase or something. Hmm, what if I…

‘Look!’ I exclaimed

Nothing happened. Damn maybe…

‘Scan’

Again, nothing happened. What if I try?

‘Survey’

Still nothing. How about?

I tried for another 5 minutes without getting a result. After a while, I decided to just stare at the bottle hoping a window would appear. After 30 seconds a blue skill window appeared it read:

A skill has been created!

Observe!

Through constant observation, a skill to find out about targeted objects, Observe, has been created.

At higher levels, more detailed information can be obtained through Observation

Looking down at the bottle in my hand I tried it out and said ‘Observe!’

It worked! An orange status window popped up in front of me making a small beep sound. It read:

Minor Potion of Health Restoration

Grade: Rare

Heals: 25 Hp

Value: 6 Silver

This potion can be drunk to heal minor wounds. It cannot regrow limbs.

This mysterious potion speeds up healing of wounds and removes any scars that have recently been given.

After I finished reading the screen the window stayed open. Instinctively I swiped at the window. It disappeared with a faint bleep. Looking back down at the small Health potion in my hand, I unstoppered it and drank from it.

It tasted, strangely, like strawberries. I started feeling a warmth going through my whole body, slowly taking some of the fatigue from my body. Suddenly my shoulder started to itch unbearably, but then it just stopped. Hesitantly I started to take off my shirt. I glanced at my shoulder. The wound that was there had disappeared! Instead there appeared to be pink skin where the cut had been. It had healed in a matter of seconds. Shaking my head, I ruefully put my shirt back on glancing at the fish as I did so. They appeared to be almost done.

I chuckled, Man If I had known that was going to happen I wouldn’t haven’t gone through the entire process of cleaning the scratch and making sure it wasn’t infected. Oh well, lesson learned I guess. Now time for some grub! I thought moving forwards grabbing one of the fish.

Blowing on it carefully I took a bite. The soft flesh of the fish melted in my mouth, my stomach growling in compliance. After I had finished eating the fish, when all that was left was its tail fin and head, I threw the stick into the fire and grabbed another fish. Biting into it, I savoured each bite, I was only able to eat about half of the fish before I was sated.

Feeling full I moved the remaining fish back from the fire that way they could still be warmed by it but not burn. After this, I moved back into the small cave to take another look at the other mysterious items I had collected. I collected the small gems and looking at one.

I said, “Observe.” With a dinging sound a status window appeared before me, it read:

Small Soul Stone

Grade: Uncommon

Value: 2 Gold

Crafting item

This stone can be dropped by beings who are undead. These crystals can be used to craft useful Items. Used for Alchemy and Black Magic. Also, can be used for some forms of healing magic

I swiped at the window, closing it. Leaning back, I sighed. ‘So, I have Soul Stones and Health Potions,’ I began trying to put things together, ‘Ok, I also seem to be able to gain experience and skills by doing something repeatedly, I think. I managed to gain a “Passive Skill” in fishing after all. Hmm, I wonder?’ Pausing for a moment I said, ‘Status Window’, with yet another ding a new window appeared in front of me.

This time there was a list of my abilities and how much experience I needed until I levelled up. It also indicated what level I was currently at among other things. It was a lot higher than what I had guessed. Smiling ruefully, I read it:

Name: Lucas Frost

Age: 21

Title: None

Race: Human

Job: Student

Class: The Gamer

HP: 120/120

MP: 100/100

Level: 4

Current XP: 140/500

STR: 12

VIT: 12

DEX: 11

INT: 10

WIS: 7

LUK: 8

I studied my stats for a few moments, scratching my chin. I wasn’t surprised to see that I had no title or that my “Job” was that of a student. It surprised me though that where it had said “class” it read that I was “The Gamer” whatever the hell that meant, instead of a warrior which I had thought.

What the hell did it mean? It also surprised me at how my intelligence was higher than my wisdom. By the looks of things, it appeared that my Mana Points were based on my current Intelligence Stat. Whereas my Hit Points were based on my Vitality Stat. Must be something to do with how I interact with things I thought. After closing the status window, I leaned back soaking everything in. I’m just like a video game character, I concluded, surprised at my revelation, I can level up. I can probably gain skills by doing an action repeatedly. What else can game characters do? I shrugged. It was getting late and all the excitement of the day was slowly getting to me. I can think about that later, I should probably try and get some sleep.

Sighing I moved my sword, so the pommel was resting against my shoulder. Then leaning against the rock wall, which had been warmed by the fire, I fell asleep still thinking about the world I had woken up in.