Gary shifted uncomfortably in his chair, wondering if buying a new keyboard would help ease the pain in his left arm.

I never should have eaten all those pork rinds, he thought. Maybe I just need the bathroom.

He put his computer in standby and started to get up only to fall back in his chair.

Nevermind. It doesn't hurt anymore. Actually this chair is really nice and comfy. Maybe I should just take a little nap…

“WELCOME TO YOUR AFTERLIFE!!!” a deep triumphant voice thundered down from the sky waking Gary from his nap.

Wasn’t I sitting? Who are all these people? Why am I outside? What did he just say? Afterlife!?

Gary's life flashed before his eyes and left him disappointed. What did he accomplish? What did he leave behind? The answer he came too was, 'not much'.

Gary stood in a grass field with countless others all dressed in simple old fashioned tunics with jeans and a wooden sword on their belts. Most of them simply looked up to the sky, however Gary had started to draw the attention of a few of them by cowering.

“As a special reward for being the first to reincarnate, you will all receive special bonuses for being the first to complete the following tasks in the next 24 hours!” the voice continued as Gary fell to his knees and started to whimper. “Help a living soul reach The Afterlife, Wash the sins of your life away, Find your wings and Kill 25 slimes.”

About half of the people clapped and most of the rest ran off in random directions while Gary tried to calm himself down.

“What’s up with that guy?” some of the similarly dressed people pointed at Gary who didn’t respond. All the clothes looked exactly the same except each looked tailor made for the person and brand new, but at the same time cheap and simple.

“Excuse me.”

Gary looked up to find a serious looking woman with a ponytail look down at him.

“Oh good. I’m so sorry about all this,” she said mildly “You aren’t really dead.”

Gary stood back up and took a nervous look around, sliding his hands around on his pants trying to find the pockets that weren't there.

“I tried to tell them it would make a poor first impression,” the woman continued. “The three of you have been in a coma for some time, but this game… The Afterlife-” she said with exaggerated air quotes. “-Can interface with your brain.”

“That’s why I didn’t remember logging in,” a young man came up and said. “Game looks sparkles as heck. It just launched, right? We are in the grand opening? How many years was I out?”

With another quick look around Gary realized there were a few buildings with cliche wooden signs with objects carved into them like many old RPGs. The nearest building was a low brick building with a sign shaped like a sword. He supposed that meant it was a weapon shop.

“My wife!” an older looking guy shouted, shaking Gary out of his reverie. “She was in the car with me! Is she alright?”

The serious woman put her hands forward in a gesture for them to wait. “Please calm down. Your brains will need time to adjust to all this. I don’t want to worry you, but we hardly know anything about what this will do to someone stuck in a coma. For now just try to get used to your new body.”

“No! I need to know about my wife now!” the older guy yelled.

“Just calm down and walk with me.” The woman took the man’s arm then pointed to Gary and the young man. “You and Mikey can stay here and relax, okay?”

They nodded.

“So, want to party up? What classes do you like?” Mikey said while darting his eyes back and forth over the landscape in random directions. Gary started to wonder if he had some kind of neurological disorder.

Mikey looked between 12 and 14 with tousled blond hair. Even with the same clothes as everyone else, he looked more at home in a game world than anyone else and his expression said it the same

“Uh… Sure, but I don’t know what classes are good. How can I get a class anyway?” Gary asked.

“It's on the main menu.” Mikey said like it should be obvious.

“...and where is the main menu?” Gary asked.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Oh. Well, you just… sort of try to read it. It should just come up when you look for it. Then you can pick classes and search for what you like.” Mikey said with a smile.

Gary closed his eyes and tried to picture a menu like the ones had had seen in games before. After a moment of concentration a panel came into view.

Main Menu: Stats Classes Tasks Equipment Chat Help

After that, it didn't take him long to open the classes option and he was then presented with an explanation that he could pick up to three at the moment and was given the option of searching for the classes he wanted.

Gary tried to tune out all the sounds of people laughing and playing or talking to friends and focus on the menus. He liked being creative and making things so first he searched for “smith”.

Five available close matches found: Stonesmith Geartinkerer Soulbinder Engraver Bolter

“Oh, cool!” Gary said aloud at all the options. Then made up his mind to try the one that sounded most like what he searched for. “Stonesmith!” He tried to pick, but after a moment he found that it worked the same as the rest of the menu where he only had to focus his attention on it.

A description popped up, but vanished as he glanced down at the ‘Confirm’ button.

Shit! I better be more careful with these menus. I hope I can fix it later.

Gary continued to pick his other classes with his eyes closed in concentration as apparently more and more people joined the fun. It was starting to get loud around him, but he didn’t want to keep Mikey waiting.

For combat he found a class called a Knifejuggler that he couldn't resist after the description: “Feared for high damage and long range throwing attacks, the Knifejuggler attacks unsuspecting targets with such ferocity that even the hardest armors will break if the knife does not.”

Knifejuggler 250% to all knife attacks Skill:Knife throwing Skill:Ready hands Skill:Blade crusher Skill: Ambush

The last class he wanted would be something for stealth. There was a lot of classes to pick from, but he tried to hurry and picked Shadowedger without reading the description.

Shadowedger 25% bonus to agility when the threshold of a shadow is cast across your body. 25% stealth for the part of your body covered in shadow. 25% physical and magical power for the part of your body covered in light.

Gary, feeling quite proud of his new classes, opened his eyes back up.

Now that he knew it was a game he found the realism stunning. Looking close at some objects he could see a little bit of blur from the textures not being at exactly the right focus, but other than that it was perfect.

Mikey was blushing and looking away and there was a crowd of players looking at him and laughing.

One of them imitated Gary by closing his eyes and shouting “Cool!” while others fell over laughing. He was about to say something else, when his face turned deathly serious and his eyes darted around like he was looking at a bug about to land on his nose. “You gave me a black mark, old man?” he asked Gary. The laughter stopped.

Gary just froze in his fear and embarrassment.

“No. He doesn't know how to do that,” Mikey said. “But if you have a problem with the rules, play something else.”

Mikey and the group of five laughing people stood facing each other and did some bizarre motion with their eyes. Then after a beat the guy sneered “This isn't over,” and left.

Oh! I get it! They are navigating the menus!

“Don't worry about scum like them. Everyone is new at some point right?” Mikey smiled and rocked back on his heels. “So what kind of character are you going to make?”

“Thanks. I found Stonesmith, Knifejuggler and Shadowedger.” Gary answered.

“Oh, God. Don't pick those!” Mikey said with a smile. Then the smile dropped when he looked at Gary's face, which had turned pale. “You picked one already?... All of them?” With a nervous flush Gary looked down and nodded.

Mikey was about to say something more, but the serious woman from before finally came back. “I'm so sorry, but he insisted. So Mikey…”

“It's fine. I already know my way around,” Mikey interrupted. “Sorry Gary, but I think I want a party of more experienced players. I hope we can stay friends though. ” Then he flashed a grin and ran away.

The woman yelled after him to wait and looked just about ready to run after him. Then she sighed and looked back to Gary.

Gary watched Mikey run off to a forest filled with players fighting and killing monsters. Wasn’t he a friend? Hadn’t Gary been worth something? Gary felt a fire light inside him. He would learn this world and prove Mikey wrong. He would show them all that he wasn't worthless.

Now, what to ask first...