Jake thought his defeat of the boss would be met with cheers, but for some reason, everyone else in the party left instead. Were they really just jealous that Jake could finish the boss by himself, or just mad that he didn’t listen to them and let himself die instead of trying to win?
He did his best to put himself in their shoes, but he just could not understand how they could be so upset. He looked over to the loot he had earned with a sigh.
While it was important to progress his own character with better equipment, he was more looking forward to having a team to take on the next dungeon. Still, there was nothing for it. He would have to find a new party to team up with and take on the dungeon again to proceed through more bosses, as the Infernal Demon was not even the last one.
It was at that moment he noticed he had earned an achievement, [Last Man Standing – finish a raid boss as the last one alive from over 5 percent health]. The effect of the achievement had an odd, perhaps ominous, statement: “Account Marked.”
Jake finished his usual post-raid tasks of replenishing his potions and reviving his summons and logged out of the game. Jake contemplated, there were several dungeons beyond the one they took on, but a party that didn’t put in the kind of effort Jake did would be hard-pressed to ever reach them.
He sighed as he looked at his photos next to his computer. Each picture showed him at a different school, with different people. Orphaned at the young age of 8, he bounced from foster home to foster home until he came of age and was able to live on his own, moving into his own place before even finishing high school. He could not immediately afford college, so he had gotten a job working the third shift so that he could both afford his own place and save up.
Jake always felt that he only had himself, so personal improvement had been high on his list of priorities: he had taken up boxing for personal fitness and to also have something to focus on. He had also worked hard to keep all his grades up. While he hadn’t earned the Valedictorian at his school, primarily due to his switching schools almost every year: he had still come very close.
He yearned for family and thought that was perhaps why he had chosen the Summoner class in the first place: he wanted to be useful, to be desired, as he felt that this class had a lot to offer teaming up with anyone. He also didn’t like being alone, something that a Summoner hardly had to worry about; an escape from his real life.
Not only was his world of gaming running into roadblocks, but his career and personal life, too. He had recently quit his job working the third shift at the warehouse to finally look for a job that would use his computer science degree he had earned online, but it appeared there were no true entry-level positions. Every company wanted years of experience, even those jobs labeled as entry-level. On top of that, the few internships he applied for scoffed at his online degree.
Then on a personal level, he had struck out enough times on the dating app that he was losing confidence there as well. It’s not that Jake was bad looking: 23 years old, at 6’1, brown hair with hazel eyes, and in decent shape.
Jake felt he was attractive and had plenty going for him. The problem he had thought was due to working the third shift–his available time was simply not meant for being involved with normal people. This was one of the main reasons for leaving his third shift job. To be honest with himself, between work and schooling, he did not feel he had the time for a relationship previously.
Jake got up from his gaming desk. He would not spend any more time feeling bad for himself. He would continue to work on and improve himself, and things would change naturally on their own. Jake would continue to focus on the things that he could change and acknowledge the things that he couldn’t. That was why he pursued his degree online despite working full-time at the warehouse and why he kept in shape.
If they wouldn’t hire him because he had no experience, then he would write his own application or make his own game. He would be his own boss and be successful at best, or he would at least have something in his portfolio to show prospective employers at worst.
Jake decided he would also take a small break from his game and go back to volunteer work. Jake had given it up before due to simply not having enough time between work and school, but now, he had nothing but time. Volunteering both felt good and was a great place to meet people. He decided he would go for a run outside. Just as he was about to head out the door, he heard a voice.
“That was a good showing, kid. You even had a few more cards to play if that blight dragon wasn’t quite enough, didn’t you? Jake Hart, isn’t it? Your drive and ingenuity are exactly what we need.”
Jake was shocked by the voice. His apartment was locked, and the voice came from all around him. He began to wonder if he was hallucinating–
“You’re not imagining me, kid. I’m very real. I’ll start from the beginning. Nice to meet you, I’m Odin.”
The last few words came from behind him, and Jake spun around. In front of him was definitely someone that looked like he could be the god Odin. He had an eye patch, white hair, and a wizened face despite looking middle-aged, wearing some kind of armor that exuded power and a spear.
There was palpable energy leaking off of him, giving Jake a feeling he had not felt before. His body felt heavy, as if the man’s mere presence would push him to kneel. Was this divinity?
Odin had a smirk on his face, and he was holding out his hand for a handshake. “Are you going to just gawk at me? I greeted you–you are being a little rude. Yes, I’m hearing your thoughts as if you were speaking them aloud, and yes, you are experiencing my divinity,” Odin said.
Jake shook himself out of it and reached out and grasped Odin’s hand to give it a shake. “I- I’m Jake. A pleasure…”
His hand was engulfed in power, and he felt like the other man could crush him with ease. Odin released Jake’s hand and replied, “Yes. It is. Now, as I said, we need you. I’ll do my best to bring you up to speed here. Many of the fantasy races and settings that you know of are actually real, and their respective universes are part of a greater multiverse.”
Jake was about to ask a question when that bomb was dropped, but he was cut off by Odin, “Save your questions. They will all be answered, in due time. My time here is limited, however, and the information I can provide you is restricted. We, The Alliance, are fighting a war with outsiders: eldritch-like beings as you know them. Their goal is to consume and consume until nothing is left. Their attack on our multiverse is an insidious thing, an expansive web spanning all over the multiverse as something that you might know: a dungeon. Tartarus, an infinite labyrinth.”
Jake was surprised, as this felt a lot like the game he was playing. Still, he wondered what on Earth this had to do with him and why a god was now in his pathetic living room.
Odin interjected, “I’ll get to that, in time. Just listen for now. Maybe this will help.”
Odin gestured to his side, and what looked like a hologram of a giant tree appeared. As Jake looked, the leaves were made up of what looked like bubbles with worlds inside, with the branches being some sort of pathway that connected them.
A giant black being of darkness and hate appeared, encroaching upon the tree. Jake saw a bunch of gods he recognized, from Greek gods such as Zeus or Ares, to Nordic gods like Odin himself, to Ra on his skiff, an Egyptian god. There were many others from all over the world and many that he had no idea who they were.
“This being arrived ages ago, consuming everything in sight. Us gods fought it, and many of us died. With each one it consumed, it became stronger. The war against it was a losing battle, so we had to change how it was fought. We formed [The Alliance], and together, we created a barrier called: The Framework.”
Odin continued, “The gods all worked together, gathering their various energies and powers.”
A large barrier formed around the tree with a brilliant golden color. Millions of hexagons formed this sphere, and as Jake looked closely he saw pathways for entering the barrier. The being entered the barrier and how it moved or even looked became completely different.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“With this barrier, we created a trap. In order for it to enter our multiverse, it would have to fight us using rules like a game, similar to The Labyrinth you played. In order to consume or enter our worlds, it would use its dungeons and various other means, such as contests. These resemble aspects of MMO games you are familiar with. By doing this, it gave us a path to victory, as The Framework would allow us to take power from the enemy itself, instead.”
Jake looked on in interest. The sphere began to move with the tree and the outsider inside. Eventually, a world not inside a bubble appeared and started to enter the shield.
“The tree floats through the cosmos, and new planets it encounters are called Fringe Worlds, such as Earth. They must go through a Trial to be integrated into the Yggdrasil and protected from the outsiders. During this Trial, it spawns dungeons as a form of contest. Enough victories of dungeons or trials by the inhabitants and Earth will be forever protected, or with enough losses, the world will become Contested, where it will have a chance to be consumed.”
Small tentacles split off from the creature, made of blocks. It surrounded the world on its way into the barrier, several streams from the monster.
Odin continued, “For everything they destroy, the beings they kill, and their soul consumed, Tartarus expands more. It spawns more incursions and so on, and it will continue until it has consumed everything if we do not stop it. We have slowed it down, but we are not winning. It was a major victory in the battle against Tartarus, creating the barrier that is [The Framework]. But so far, it has only prolonged the loss of the war.”
Odin let that ominous statement sink into Jake’s mind. “Earth is lucky, being on the fringe of where the outsider can reach. Its inhabitants are kept mostly unaware, as us gods and goddesses choose who participates in the first contest, but it is still under attack.”
Odin continued, “If things get worse, monsters can spawn on Earth and the invasion begins, everyone would be forced to fight this evil, making the world Contested,”he sighed. “But still another chance to save the world.”
Jake saw as the tentacles reached Earth, and the view of it enlarged, the world taking up his whole room. Portals appeared all over Earth, evil creatures emerging, attacking the people on it. A progress bar appeared, and as the invaders succeeded in destroying cities, the bar progressed for the invaders.
“There are countless worlds that are at this stage, where they are actively defending against dungeons and the creatures that Tartarus spawns on the surface, but it is a losing battle. With every death, they are only empowering their enemy. While we have won back some worlds, we have lost many more.”
The progress bar completed with the invaders winning, and then the world was surrounded by black tentacles as the view zoomed out once more. Almost as if it was a result of it consuming the Earth, more tentacles grew out of it, approaching other bubbled worlds on the tree.
“To combat the outsiders, The Alliance has come up with many methods for accumulating power to fight them, and means of recruitment. I like to use games like [The Labyrinth] on Earth, to test people’s mettle and introduce them to the concepts needed to be successful.”
The hologram shifted to show a warrior that almost looked like Odin himself. An orb floated near the warrior and overlaid on top of him.
“My Einherjar, and those that I recruit to The Alliance, make use of The Framework. You can think of The Framework as an artificial intelligence, template and guide all in one. Its purpose is to guide us in the war against Tartarus and raise warriors. Like the game, you can choose a template or class that fits you. It then quantifies your advancement, and awards you for defeating enemies in the dungeon, granting skills and knowledge as you progress, as your soul grows, to contain them.”
The warrior fought through enemies, and with each enemy he killed, the orb grew slightly. The warrior’s attacks became faster and stronger, and he eventually powered up. He then cast a spell that looked like a flame.
Odin continued, “It also guides your advancement, helping you become better at your spells and skills, becoming a better warrior. Time is a valuable commodity, and those able to train you are often better used pushing back the outsiders. You might know of fighting through boxing, and that will help set what I consider the bare minimum, but you are not a warrior, at least not yet. The Framework will help make you into one in no time. “
Jake was filled with doubt. Him, a warrior? He was hoping to be a computer programmer!
The hologram shifted back to the tree and the evil invader. Tentacles grew out from Tartarus, and golden orbs or portals blocked them.
Odin continued, “Lastly, there’s the Artificial Intelligence portion of The Framework. It connects incursions from Tartarus to what we call Refuge’s, allowing the initiated to destroy them and take that power back for themselves and to grow The Framework. It is like a general that directs our war against the outsider.
Drafting or initiating people into The Framework has a cost. It has various benefits, but that cost is part of the reason we don’t just draft everyone. A large portion of that cost is protecting the soul so that those defeated are not used to grow Tartarus, and instead, those people’s souls can be revived or used in various ways to continue the fight against it.”
Jake took that in. It appeared that those so-called drafted into The Framework were effectively immortal, or even more like how a video game character was. Still, despite this long introduction about this Framework and the alliance, Jake wondered what this had to do with him–
Odin once again interrupted Jake’s thoughts, “So, I wanted to congratulate you. You’re being drafted! Welcome to The Alliance.”
Jake gawked at Odin, “Wait a minute! Don’t I get some sort of choice?”
Jake thought that such a major task was not for him. He was no warrior, as Odin pointed out. Surely Odin should grab some Navy SEAL or something? Odin snorted but replied.
“Don’t you know what being drafted means? Of course, you don’t get a choice,” Odin smiled. “Now, you accepted the agreement when you joined The Labyrinth that said that you would join The Framework if you were called upon, does your word not mean anything?”
Jake was wide eyed. Was Odin talking about the terms and conditions nobody read when logging into the game? Odin laughed. “You should really read something before you agree to it! Now, you mentioned the Navy SEALS. I have recruited a few of those guys, and they do well enough. A few have even become [Einherjar]. But they are few and far between, and at the end of the day: they are only human.
The multiverse contains a myriad races, and Earthlings are extremely soft. Those SEALS train, becoming the best of the best on modern Earth. But do you really think they compare to Spartans that trained their entire lives to use weaponry that works well against outsiders practically from the day they are born?
Let alone the equivalent of those but as a Titan, or Dragon, or something like this? That’s not even mentioning the other paths to power in advancement in the multiverse outside of those that use the class templates you’re familiar with in The Labyrinth. The rules that the Framework forced outsiders to use outlaw advanced weaponry such as guns. This goes both ways, as now the dungeon won’t be able to spawn gun-wielding goblins or shoot a fire cannon at you for setting off a trap.”
Jake realized that, of course, Odin was right. Just within The Labyrinth, Jake didn’t even play a Human for his character; they were just not very good.
Odin continued, “With that said, there’s only so many Navy SEALs, and many of them have lingering attachments. Drafting them is still done, but sparingly. For recruitment, we have to cast a wider net. We have hundreds of methods of finding people to draft, The Labyrinth was just one of them that I or many of us use. And don’t look down on humans. I started out as one, after all.”
Jake resigned to his fate. He tried to look on the bright side that he would be a part of something greater, but he had a hard time picturing where he would truly be successful as a warrior. Even in the game, he did not focus at all on doing damage himself, even if there were offensive summoners.
Even fighting that boss, he only had creatures that could situationally produce a lot of damage, usually meant to be working together with his allies. He had a hard time imagining being some kind of immortal warrior, clearing dungeons of monsters.
Odin looked at Jake, and his one good eye glowed. The feeling Jake got was that Odin’s divinity spiked and grew, and he guessed that he was drawing some of his power. He fondly smiled at Jake like a father to his son, and Odin spoke,
“Jake Hart, know this. It takes a special person to be alone and kicked while you were down over and over again, yet still remain positive and continue to improve yourself and even help others. Many would give up or be filled with resentment instead. Continue to work hard as you always have, and you will find what you have been searching for all your life: a family and to matter in the world. Work hard on yourself like always, and you will be an excellent Summoner that helps us fight the outsiders and obtain glory and love beyond belief. I know that you will be mad that I forced you into this, but it is for the best.
I will be turning this place into your Refuge. A shame that it’s a dump, but everyone has to start somewhere. At the very least: it will be familiar to you. Even your computer will remain, but your ability to contact the outside world will be removed. I know you have no lingering attachments; that’s part of why you were drafted. You will find new bonds, and you will find new happiness, that I promise you.
This is all the time that I have and all the information I am allowed to give you without both of us paying for it. I will now initiate you into The Framework, activating your possibility for magic. I will even leave you some gifts. Good luck to you, child. The Einherjar will welcome you once you are strong enough to complete your Trial and can visit worlds outside your Refuge, but you are welcome to join any faction within The Alliance. We are all a part of the same team, after all.”
Odin reached out his hand towards Jake faster than he could react. All the hair on Jake’s body stood on end, and his heart nearly stopped from the pressure building in his chest. He felt a burning sensation, and then his vision went dark as he lost consciousness.