Dex’s vision returned to him. Slowly, he scanned his surroundings and, as expected, he was in the middle of a forest. Tree tops struck the sky high above him in all directions. Branches, bushes and dirt covered the ground in all directions, separated by the trunks of a seemingly endless line of trees. He spent a moment going over his possessions. Dex fit the poncho over him and slid the sword into a strap on the side to avoid carrying it. The bag of meat fit into his jean pockets and the juice bottles he fit uncomfortably into his back pockets. I have to find a bag or something soon, Dex thought.

Wasting no time, Dex decided he needed to come up with a plan to get out of this forest. If I go left of the Sun and assume that is north, I can at least ensure I won’t head in circles. His thought process was interrupted by a screen popping up in front of him.

[Tutorial Quests Available]

[Accept Tutorial Quests?]

[Yes] [No]

Well, I guess I asked for this. It would have been nice if Gib gave me literally any information about what was going on in this world. Without any hesitation, he reached out in front of him to press “yes” on the screen. Nothing happened as his hand slipped right through it. After some confusion, he remembered pulling up his Personal Sheet. Dex simply intended to accept the quests, and he did just that.

[New Quest: Survival 1]

[New Quest: Slayer]

[New Quest: Familiar]

[New Quest: Class Acquisition]

Several popups appeared in front of him, each with a new quest gifted by the tutorial. He felt like he really was in a video game at this point, nearly deciding to pinch himself. No, there is no way he was dreaming. This all felt too real. Feeling like he was figuring out the protocol, he thought about the first quest, Survival 1, and intended to see more details.

[Quest: Survival 1]

[Welcome, adventurer, and thank you for participating in our exchange program! The most important lesson a new adventurer has to learn is surviving the elements and escaping from threats. The next lesson is finding water and nutrients.]

[Survive until morning: 0/1]

[Find water source: 0/1]

[Forage for food: 0/1]

[Reward: Survival 1 Skill]

Alright, Dex thought, pretty straightforward. The first requirement made him shudder a bit at the thought. Simply not dying was good enough for a quest completion? Choosing not to dwell too much, he checked the next quest.

[Quest: Slayer]

[Welcome, adventurer, and thank you for participating in our exchange program! Defending oneself is of the utmost importance! Fending off hostiles will sometimes be the only option.]

[Slay hostile opponent: 0/3]

[Reward: Class Gem]

This one was interesting, although a tad scary. Dex already had a feeling when he was given a sword that he would have to fight for survival, but seeing it spelled out in front of him made it all too real. However, the reward seemed like it tied into the fourth quest, Class Acquisition, so he checked that one next.

[Quest: Class Acquisition]

[Welcome, adventurer, and thank you for participating in our exchange program! Your starting class will determine your initial suite of skills and abilities. Choose wisely!]

[Use Class Gem: 0/1]

[Reward: Select a Class]

Cool, I can do two quests at once and get a class. I wonder what my options will be. He moved on and checked the final quest.

[Quest: Familiar]

[Welcome, adventurer, and thank you for participating in our exchange program! Find your destined familiar!]

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[Find your familiar and bond to it: 0/1]

[Rewards: Your Familiar. +1 Resonance]

A familiar? That’s awesome! He thought. Images of pixies and dragons flew through his head. Was he really going to bond with a magical creature? The thought excited him at the prospects of what he could have. Maybe a giant tiger he could ride around, or a rhinoceros that could charge through groups of foes. Noticing the last reward, the gain to his Resonance stat, he realized he hadn’t really thought much about the stats or what they meant at this point. Wondering what it did, he tried to summon any sort of help window or description, but nothing came up.

Deciding not to waste too much more time, he followed his earlier plan and went north, at least what would have been north in his world.

It wasn’t more than twenty minutes of pushing through brush and maneuvering around trees that he began to hear a rustling in the distance. He had a strong gut feeling that he shouldn’t make his presence known, if he hadn’t already. Stepping carefully to the nearest tree, he stood against it on the other side from where the noise was. More rustling, and it was coming closer. Dex gripped the hilt of his sword, his hand trembling. The shaking of his sword caused it to clink against the tree bark, making a loud thud. Clearly responding to the noise, whatever was nearby picked up the pace and Dex heard what sounded like half a dozen legs scurrying towards him.

Choking down his fear, he decided to be proactive. Dex drew the sword and rushed out from behind the tree. Everything he pictured in his mind of what could be making that noise did not prepare him for what he actually saw. A spider twice the size of a house cat was coming right at him. It only took a second for it to leap at his face, fangs as long as pencils and twice as thick dripped a radiant green venom. He reacted in time to hold up his sword in front of him as a shield, realizing in that moment he had never swung a sword before. It was heavier than they made it look in movies.

Holding the sword seemed to work, as the spider was moving so fast and was currently air bound, it couldn’t do anything to change its course. The spider smashed into the blade and was split in two. A mix of blood, viscera, and venom showered Dex’s face as he stood there with his eyes closed in pure terror. He heard the spider halves hit the ground on either side of him. Wiping his eyes to avoid getting any goop in them, he looked around and finally realized what had happened. How sharp is this sword? was somehow his first thought when he saw the mangled and still twitching spider corpse.

[Slay hostile opponent: 1/3]

A small popup appeared in front of him. Shock and disbelief filled his mind. He had done it! He killed his first hostile. But had he really? It was more luck than anything, but at this point Dex was happy to take any victory he could get.

Regaining his composure, he realized he really needed to find that water source, at least to clean off all this gunk. Considering where to go for a moment, he decided to shift his direction away from where the spider came from in case there were more. He wasn’t so sure he’d be as lucky next time.

Dex continued through the forest without interruption for what felt like a couple of hours. No sign of water, food, or any other creatures. The sun was getting high in the sky, and he realized that he was put here in the morning. Back on Earth, he had just finished a whole day’s work before being abducted, and it was nearly night there. He hadn’t had any rest since then and had likely been awake for more than twenty hours by now. This was the first time he went to check for his cellphone, somehow not even realizing it was missing since he was on Earth. Right, I left it in my cupholder. He remembered.

It was nearly another hour, at least, Dex assumed, before he heard more rustling in the distance. This was different, however. It was fast and sounded like it was moving with intention. He barely had time to try to hide before the creature burst through a bush in front of him. A wolf with dark red fur charged out towards him. Dex drew his sword in an attempt to defend himself, and the wolf ran straight past him.

“Help me, it’s trying to kill me!” he heard in his mind.

What the hell, now I’m hearing shit. The extra voice in his head felt like his own thoughts, but he clearly wasn’t the one making them.

“You aren’t hearing shit, Dex. Please, kill this beast!” the voice in his head said. It knows my name?

By now, the wolf had charged past him around thirty feet and he felt there was no way he could catch up. On top of that, he hadn’t even seen what the beast was charging at. Or was it the wolf itself that was asking for help, and there was an even bigger, more powerful wolf chasing after it?

Figuring he should do something, Dex let out a guttural howl. It worked. The wolf stopped in its tracks and turned its head, looking back at Dex. It snarled as saliva dripped from its jaw. This is the aggressor, Dex thought, and my dumbass just challenged it.

Holding up his sword and widening his stance, as he had seen many times in video games and movies, Dex prepared himself the best he could. He steadied his breathing to avoid panicking and locked eyes with the red wolf.

It let out a brief howl, piercing Dex’s ears and causing him to flinch, before it charged right toward him. It took about two seconds to bridge the gap and Dex swung his sword down, aiming for the creature’s head. He missed. The wolf’s front right leg was lopped off in the swing, but it swung with its other leg, slashing Dex in the shoulder. Blood sprayed from the corpse, as well as Dex’s shoulder, like a couple of crimson fountains. The wolf whimpered and tumbled as it hit the ground. Dex fell to his knees and clenched his right shoulder, attempting to stop the blood flow. The wolf began limping away, falling over on its three remaining legs as a trail of blood followed it.

Fuck this, Dex thought as he stood up and readied his sword in just his left hand. He felt a bit woozy as he stepped towards the wolf. Pulling up his sword, he sent it crashing down into the wolf’s back. Dex felt the sword pierce the wolf’s skin and bones, shattering as the blade destroyed its spine. Red fur darkened as blood pooled on its back.

[Slay hostile opponents: 2/3]

A relieving popup caused Dex to fall back against a tree and take a breath. He felt like he was going to pass out from the blood loss. He was only allowed to rest for a moment when he heard something else approaching him, and it was close.