~~~~~~~~

Minnesota 2014

“When are you going to get a job,” a woman complained to a man. “All you do is play video games all day. When was the last time you even showered, ugh?”

The man just stared at her, blank-faced, while he was lounging in his recliner. He was tired of the never-ending nagging and complaining coming from her. It wasn't like he didn't want to work, he had six different jobs in as many months. He was just tired of looking. He was tired of not having a purpose. The only thing that made him feel anything was video games. The games he played every day made him feel like he was a part of something. This woman didn't understand, and it wasn’t like he didn’t have money. He had his checks coming in every month from his disability.

The man lived by himself in a studio apartment. It was small but affordable. The woman was supposedly his girlfriend, although lately she just seemed like a never-ending headache. At one point he did care for her, she had brought some life back to him. It had been two years since they began dating, and it was obvious she was looking for more than what he was ready to give. He had met her parents, they were decent folk. She was pushing to meet his parents, but they lived out of state. The man didn't want to pay for flights. His budget didn't allow for that kind of expenditure. The first few months were great, but then came the never-ending stream of nagging. "When are you going to do this, when are you going to do that." He wasn't sure how he lasted in a relationship with her for so long.

"What, are you just going to keep staring, ANSWER ME," the woman yelled.

The man sat up, he closed the footrest to his recliner. He took a slow deep breath and exhaled loudly.

"I'm done," he said quietly.

"What," the woman asked.

"I said, I'm done. I'm done with you," the man replied.

"Huh? You're done with me? Really? What the actual fuck is wrong with you," the woman yelled.

"Please leave," the man answered. "We are done, it's over."

The woman had tears forming in her eyes. The man just stared at her still blank-faced. No emotions were present on his face.

"I, I, ugh I can't believe you right now," the woman said.

She had tears falling on her cheek now and walked out of the apartment. She slammed the door as she left.

~~~~~~~~

Bob couldn't see anything. Everything around him was black. He thought he could feel his body, but was unsure. There seemed to be no detectable sensations.

A screen flickered into view.

Welcome to the world of Aldrion

You have drank from the cup and chose your new destiny

You chose Grenadier

Please stand by as character build initiates

Bob now couldn't see anything else but this screen. He thought he was moving his head but he couldn't tell. The lack of stimuli from his surroundings was confusing. Thoughts started to race through his head. He remembered The Barkeeper handing him the drink. He ate the cherries, then downed his drink. The drink was very spicy, as promised. His thoughts became interrupted.

Anomaly detected

Standby

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"Woah, that doesn't look good, what anomaly. That drink was awful. It tasted like spicy gunpowder and diesel fuel," Bob said in his head. His thoughts were becoming more scattered as he tried to remember the bar, or his life up until that point. The only thing he kept coming back to was the awful drink.

"System Administrator Override"

Anomaly disregarded

Please choose your avatar

A Vitruvian man came into view now. There were sliders to the right of the body and pull-down menus. Going through the menus the first one was race. There were only two options available, Human or Elf. Bob left the selection on human. He didn't want to have pointy ears.

"Pointy ears," Bob thought, distracting himself. "I seen something like that didn't I?"

He was losing more and more memories from his past. He went back to the menus, almost feeling like he was being urged to do so.

The second pull-down was for hairstyle choice. He had more options this time but chose the buzz cut. It felt right to him. The third and final pull-down was for accessories. He mentally scrolled through the options settling on a necklace. It was a simple silver chain with a little tag. It looked like there was supposed to be something written on the tag. Of all the choices offered to him, the chain felt familiar, like he had to wear it.

He moved down to the sliders. The first dictated height, he slid the bar over to make the man around five-ten. The second slider was for muscle mass. He moved it back and forth intrigued by the muscles rapidly growing or shrinking. Again he chose on the average side of things. Tone and lean, not too muscular or wirey.

Bob felt like he should have more options. He thought about eye color and facial hair.

System notice

Please finish avatar creation

With a mental sigh, Bob selected the create button. His whole being was suddenly became racked with pain. His awareness was lost immediately. The only thing he knew was pain. It felt like his soul was coming apart at the seams. The pain stopped. It was a sudden and instant relief. He wasn't sure if he was panting as he was still in the strange blackness.

Avatar selection complete

assign attributes

A new screen was in Bob's vision. He had 15 points to distribute.

Please assign points

Health - 0

Stamina - 0

Strength - 0

Dexterity - 0

Intelligence - 0

Wisdom - 0

Bob tried to get a description of what the attributes did. He instinctually knew some of them, but others were unclear. He decided off the bat five points into health. The health attribute went to five, he couldn't take back his choice.

"What stats are going to benefit me most," Bob thought. "What stats does a Grenadier need?"

Information request detected

Grenadiers are a ranged class specializing in explosives

Dexterity and Intelligence are required to handle explosives without harm to avatar

"OK then," Bob mentally said.

He dropped five points into both Dexterity and Intelligence.

Attribute points assigned

standby

Bob's vision filled with a bright white light. Crowds were screaming and cheering. There was a slight breeze in the air. The air itself had a coppery and dusty scent. Bob blinked his eyes a few times trying to clear them. He was standing there naked in the middle of an enormous arena. The stands went up hundreds of feet in the air. Different colored banners flew from balustrades. Bob looked around dumbstruck. This arena was massive, he felt like an ant, trapped in someone's sandbox. There were private boxes all around the lower part of the stands. The arena walls looked to be twenty feet in height. Every seat looked to be taken. Bob kept looking around, he was at a complete loss. The scale of everything surrounding him, the noise from the people, the smell in the air, all of it was too much for him.

"Ladies and gentlemen," an announcer called out to the audience. The announcer's voice boomed through the arena. "The gods welcome you to the grand coliseum. We have our first fighters of the day. Fresh from creation, which man will be victorious?"

The crowd cheered louder. Bob did not like the situation he was in. He kept looking around trying to get his bearings. A quick flash of white light made him turn his head back to the center of the arena.

"Today's game is a bare-knuckle brawl," the announcer said with savage glee. "No weapons, no clothes, just raw strength. Which fighter will be victorious?"

"Oh shit," Bob thought. "I didn't assign anything to strength. Stay calm, stay calm. Remember your training. Wait what training?"

Bob looked over at his opponent. He was a skinny elf. The elf had sharp features and a lanky body. He had shoulder-length silver hair and an earring in his left ear. The elf was frightened, pissing himself as he stared up at the arena. Bob looked down at himself to make sure he hadn't done that. He didn't.

"By the will of the gods," the announcer's voice came back. "Let this match begin!"