"Where am I" - those words were my first thoughts. Or not. Maybe not. It was such long time ago. 

"I am falling" -  Demeter thought to himself.

"I have been falling for such a long time, but there has been no stopping."

"Maybe the problem is that I weigh"- he surmised.

Well in this particular case, he was certainly right.

He was falling, because he weighed. Because people are made of matter. Or so it seems.

'Is falling a journey?' - he was asking himself.

'Cause it certainly feels like it.'

'I wonder if this is how Gandalf felt.' 'Lol.'

One could see a snickering boy, falling in the darkness.

"Will I ever arrive?"- he could have asked aloud. Would have been a rhetorical question anyways.

"Maybe you will, human, maybe you won't." - answered a deep voice, lullingly.

"Am I hallucinating? Yaay. At least I got a friend. Haha. Lol"'

"What a tard you are, my child."- said the voice sounding defeated. "But that is why..."

"Why what?" - asked Demeter.

                     "You are necessary."

As I was heading towards the bottom, myriad of thoughts were passing by in my head. Of how I can be in this situation. Of where I was heading.

As I was thinking all this, I suddenly saw the bottom. It was complete blackness. No trees, no sign of life, nothing. As I was surveying, the wind made me tear up, I just felt warmth and warm light envelope me. 

It was getting brighter and brighter as I was nearing the bottom. Nothing could stop me from being a blob of blood in seconds. Or so it seemed. When suddenly the falling stopped. Completely and abruptly. The voice in my head was laughing mockingly: "Did you really think I would let you die, you fool?"

"Why would I have worked so hard just to get your puny little soul, mortal?"- something was muttering derisively.

"Calm down, you are not the first, nor the last to pass through here. Keep your pants in position. Cause it will hurt a big time. Good luck and don't forget to thank me later."

"Greetings from your Father, Uruk."

And my consciousness faded out.

As the brightness faded, I was welcomed into a wonderful world. It resembled the world of wuxia novels.

The birds were chirping, the sun was shining. Everything was lustrous green, mountains and trees atop each other, hugging.

All in all it was an exquisite painting. But why was I here? This question confused my mind relentlessly. How did I get here? Where am I?

When suddenly a whirring sound awoke me from my stupor.

"Welcome Earthling to the Trials of Wuxia, the newest edition of intergalactic MMO.

I hope you will find this experience to your liking. Oh! And a kind reminder: Everything is real."

Said a robot hanging upside down in front of me. It just popped up into existence without me noticing it. Then when I opened my mouth to ask about this world, it was already gone.

"What a funny place it is. New tech, old World? What a combination it is. But if it is a "real" game, then let's be real about it."

My first thought was to run. But I had nowhere to run. I was standing in the middle of a meadow, naked. With no idea where to go forward.

"In these cases what does one usually do? Kills himself off?" I found that idea plausible, but I didn't particularly liked the idea of going through the same shit again. Ehm, ordeal. Ordeal it was. 

So I looked around, thinking how does it manifest, that it is a game. I guessed, it shouldn't be that complicated, so I just cried out loudly: Stats window, moth...!

Nah, just kidding. I just whispered it, cause I am a shy person.

Then like a hologram, a stats window opened in front of me. Felt like I was wearing VR glasses, just the better ones. 

Stats of Demeter:

Earthling (all stats minus 1)

Strength : -1.

Dexterity: -2.

Vitality:  -3.

Mana:    -4.

Skills: -

Special attributes: 

Earthlings have a connection with their so called Time. Some can manipulate it well, some not. Have fun finding it out.

Well, I was fucked. But the last bit of info did perk my interest. I wondered what it meant.

Anyways it was time to work on my stats.

"Here I go World!"

One could see a boy, naked, with his limp part flailing around, hoping for a better future, with his cheeks shining with exuberant naivety.

"Trials of Wuxia" - was musing to myself, as I parted the trees in front of me.

My stats didn't worry me in the slightest, don't get me wrong. This game sounded like an intergalactic survival Battle Royal or something. 

What I didn't like was my complete lack of clothing, to be honest. Now, that was worrying. It was pretty cold, if I say so myself. And my better part didn't really appreciate that, that is for sure. If you catch my drift.

As I was roaming around, trying to find something living or at least something similar, I got a glimpse of something shiny at the edge of a clearing not far ahead. So far, I was feeling like an amateur scout, who had no idea how to even make fire.

 As arrived at the place where I saw the light from my spot, my heart began to beat out of my chest.

In front of me lay a chest. A shiny, massive treasure chest. Closed. With an aura of majesty, it gave off the feeling as if it contained the most divine item in the universe itself.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

The chest sadly didn't have an asshole, I mean a keyhole. Keyhole, it is.

I don't know why, but I felt like putting my hand on top of it. Slowly, my hand began to draw near it, as if a something was pulling it.

"Maybe it is my lucky day? Is it destiny?"- thought to myself elated. "Maybe my suffering is coming to an end, at last."

Yeah...

What a naive chap I was.

As my hand reached the top of the chest, a sharp light shot out from the chest, like a main character entering the stage with every reflector pointed on it. It blinded me and my naked bottom, as warmth surrounded the clearing.

"It must be something good, please, daddy, gimme something good, pleaaassseeee..." - was muttering to myself, like crazy. If someone had seen me, they would have seen a naked guy with sweaty ass juggling, with a crazy look in his eyes. Drooling...

I just hope to this day, that nobody did.

The chest was opening, slowly, enticingly, as if it knew what kind of effect it had on it's opener. With my heart beating fast, my hand reached inside to feel the contents up.

"Bamm" - the chest closed hurriedly. Some pinkishness could be seen on its cover.

"Pervert" - I was sure I hadn't misheard it. But I had no idea where the voice-like cry could have come from as I was screaming my lungs out.

"Shiiiittttt!!!! Mo---fuckerrrrr!!!" - I screamed and screamed, but my hand still didn't budge from the stomach of the chest. 

"Khmm. Khmm..." - a sound of throat clearing could be heard and the chest was slowly opening up again.

If I didn't know better, I could have sworn that the chest had the character of a shy, little girl.

And it wasn't meant to act like that. Just a hunch.

Anyways, I timidly reached my hand towards the belly of the monster, I mean chest. Felt something soft. Grabbed it, then took my hand out as fast as it was possible. 

"Bamm" - thank god I did, cause the chest closed again. Fast. 

I felt bad a bit about grabbing it the stuff in it, no idea why though. "It is just a chest" - I told to myself.

Now, I was really curious what kind of treasure I fetched. What invincible item I found. 

I looked at it and I fainted from surprise.

— "Player Demeter found the Great Equalizer Underwear" —

Experience : + 3000 points.

Only equipable by the Human Race.

Armor - Rare

"It is a must for the human race, as it destroys the limits of humanity, elevating them into Godhood." " Well, almost" - thought to myself as I fainted again. Technicalities...

When I came around, a pair of black underwear was hugging my hips, which filled me up with warmth and security. Then I remembered everything.

"Stats window!" - I shouted excitedly.

Player Demeter:

Attack: 0

Agility: 0

Defense: 0

Strength: 0

Skills: -

None...

It was a good day, indeed.

-----------------

Somewhere where there is summer, I thought I could grow up peacefully.

But somehow fate had other cards for me. Life was everything, but peaceful.

Time flowed so restlessly, slowly, dripping drop by drop incessantly.

"Okay, just shut up!"- I tried to put a stop to my wandering thoughts abruptly. 

"Concentrate on the task ahead of you" - "Yes, Sergeant!"

If conversing with oneself is not worrying then I don't really know what is.

So focusing on the matter at hand: I had an underwear at least. My stats were not in minus, which is a plus. 

"That pun though." 

"Well, they are all zero, so they are not really in plus technically."

"Smartass."- I scolded myself.

Anyways. I was trotting forward like a maniac with my underwear on. If I came across a beast or enemy in this state, I was sure to be killed. In a blink.

I needed a weapon. As soon as possible. So I left the clearing with an aim in mind.

It was really a beautiful world, one that you would be happy to spend your days in. The kind of VR game, you would be glad to be immersed in. 

You could hear the birds chirping, vibrant colors, slight breeze caressing your face.

Everything felt so alive. No wonder the creepy robot said that everything is real.

They really did a good job with this shit "Trials of Wuxia, the newest edition of intergalactic MMO" or whatever they called it. But I still had no idea where I was. What was the aim of this game? 

Who was Uruk?

All of this was so foggy. One thing for sure was that it seemed like a dangerous game.

As I was pondering my predicament, on the right side, hidden behind the bushes I caught a glimpse of a small stream. 

As I drew nearer, the sounds of laughter entered my ears. It was weird, because it was a mixture between snorting and growling. I was not sure what was going on. So I decided to check it out.

Slowly and carefully, of course. Just like I usually handled things. Sarcasm Over 9000!

The stream was getting closer and closer. I could clearly hear voices, but I was sure they were not from humans. I got to the edge of the stream, an area hidden by bushes. Then took a look in front of me, curious, what was going on.

Well, just to my luck. Two naked half-beasts were having fun in the water. I was like what the hell. But still it looked funny. They had the upper half of tigers. They looked like humans just with a lot of fur, we could say. They seemed like docile beings, we were just enjoying the weather.

"It is really an intergalactic MMO or whatever" - I wondered. "Maybe I will have to find the Infinity Stones or what." - was chuckling to myself a bit. But I think I was a bit too loud, because the half beasts stopped playing and looked at my direction.

Whops!- I ducked up. As I was contemplating what to do, I heard them saying:

"Bro, did you hear that?" - the bigger one was asking.

"No. Not really?" - said the other.

Honestly I did not know that beastmen could speak, but there is always a first time.

They were looking confused and seemed not sure what to do. The wind was beginning to pick up.

The sun began to get clouded. And I was still standing there in my underwear in the bushes. 

"Oh, my boi Demeter. What are you gonna do?" - thought my smartass self to myself.

"Gonna run?" "Gonna make friends?" The first option definitely sounded better. 

They began to move in my direction. I was looking around where to go, what to do, when I noticed clothes on the floor next to me. And weapons. I was thinking to myself, maybe I could threaten them, although my stats were bad. Really bad. I had no skills. But I needed a weapon. So I went for it.

It was a sword and a mace. They were both medium sized, not that big. I lunged for them, blowing up my cover. The beastmen seemed surprised and shocked a bit, to say the least. I would have been too. But then their shock turned to anger and pissed-offness. Who was this human to make a move for their weapon? This little weakling without clothes dared. The audacity was hurting their pride very much. They trudged out of the water, they were totally not taking the "midget" seriously.

That midget was Demeter. He sped towards the weapons which lay next to the rivers and some clothes and grasped the sword in his hands.

< Beginner Weapon - Sword- >

'It is an an ideal weapon for beginners to learn the way of the sword. 

No requirements needed to equip. Use it with care.'

Attack: 2-5

It was a good weapon overall. He was thankful that no status points were needed to equip. Very thankful. The beastmen were closing on him, looking menacingly. Now, he still could run, but he doubted he could overrun them. They were beasts after all. They must have gotten better a better starting point than him, he was sure of it. But somehow he didn't feel afraid. Something about that peculiar sentence of humans and time interconnected made him feel at ease. He couldn't explain it why though, as if something was making him to go for the weapons.

The beastmen arrived in front of him with big steps, unhurried, loudly discussing among themselves: 

"So what do we do with this midget?" -asked the bigger one, as if Demeter wasn't there.

"Chop him up into little pieces then eat him?"- answered the thinner one.

"That is not a bad idea. I have a question to it." - said the big one, then turned to Demeter, then looked at him as if he was an unintelligent being, then asked:

"Why would you even come?" 

Then both of them lunged at him.