The first thing I noticed as I woke up was the cold and hard floor under me. Confused thoughts whirled in my mind like a hurricane. I thought I went to bed in the morning. As soon as my mind was cleared from its sleepy state I snapped my upper body up and opened my eyes.

Silence and darkness greeted me as I looked around. But it was not complete darkness. I noticed that I could see up to ten meters straight but not further. It was like a wall made of darkness cut off my vision after ten meters. It was also dark in the ten-meter radius in which I could see and by dark I mean like in a night illuminated by the full moon. So it was dark but I could see and discern things like the walls around me. I would have said I was in a cave because there was only one way forward and I was enclosed by walls that looked like they were made out of stone but the walls were far to smooth for cave walls.

The stone walls looked clean and smooth. Slowly I stood up while leaning against the wall beside me for support. The walls also felt like this. The space around me was slim. I do not think that I could extend my arms fully sideways.

Where was I and why was I here where the questions racing through my head? I pondered the questions and decided that they were irrelevant at the moment. I had to look for a way out first and if that was not possible then I had to find a way to survive. After that, I could start asking questions.

With that decided I took the first step forward because I could not go back. I meant that figuratively and literally because there was a wall behind me. I could only walk forward.

Just after I took the first step there was suddenly a noise. It was like a ping. As I looked around for the source of the noise I found nothing. But as soon as the thought formed what this noise was and what the meaning of it was a blue screen appeared in front of my face.

It floated in front of my face and no matter in which way I looked it followed my gaze. I looked at the blue illuminating screen and discovered something written on it.

You have acquired the skill Dark Vision Lv. 1.

Just as I wanted to touch it, the screen flashed and disappeared. I had acquired dark vision. How and what does it mean? Was it really possible? No, it could not be but I think I can see a little better in the ten-meter radius around me. What is Dark Vision and what is the meaning of the screen?

As soon as the thoughts left my mind another screen flashed in front of my face.

Dark Vision: Level 1(0/100) (Passive)

Dark Vision is the ability to see in low light conditions. With sufficient level, it is also possible to see in complete darkness.

Bonus for the Level of this Skill: You can see 5% in low light conditions and 1% in absolute darkness.

Adds 0.05 Points of Perception per Level of the Skill.

I was stumped as I read the text on the blue screen in front of my face. I doubted the screen for a moment but I could see the results with my own eyes. The dark was not so dark anymore and because of this, I thought I was dreaming. But my own mind refuted my thought because you can't read in a dream and I could discern actual words from the screen in front of my face. Also, the world around me and my body felt real.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

I pinched my arm for extra clarification and I felt the stinging pain I associate with a pinch. That confirmed the realness of this entire thing. That meant that I have to find out what is going on here? So I put my concentration on the screen in front of my face.

As I stared intensely at the screen I actually noticed something else. The screen looked like it was glowing but it did not give off light to the environment around me. It should illuminate my surroundings but it did not. That was physically impossible. I could not wrap my mind around it.

I ignored this thought because it was something I could not understand and changed my concentration on something I could understand. The box after the word Level 1 had changed. It was not (0/100) anymore but (1/100).

Was this box like my progress bar in a game and did I actually make progress with the skill simple by standing in the dark? My mind answered my question with a simple word. (Passive). I could level up this skill simply by being in a dark environment. The thought that just occurred me was mind breaking because it meant that not the boring real life I was thinking but the one seeking freedom. And also that the freedom I had accepted this place as reality. Ok it was also mind breaking that I thought of myself as two different I's

Let us just hypothesize that this was real then it would be the most exciting thing that ever happened to me and it could change my really boring life into something better. Ok, I will assume for the moment that it really and go with the flow in the manner of speaking.

Think with game logic. What is written on the screen that could help me? The word perception. The blue screen wrote that the level of Dark Vision I posse adds 0.05 Points of Perception. Did this mean I had a status of perception?

Ping!

Perception: (10+0.05) = 10.05

So I possed the statistic for Perceptions. Did that mean that I also posed other Statistics like in a game? Like a Status.

Title: None

Name: Nico Moore

Age: 21

Race: Human

Health Points: 92/92 (Health Points Regeneration: 1.15 per Hour)

Mana Points: 104/104 (Mana Points Regeneration: 1.25 per Minute)

Stamina Points: 94/94 (Stamina Points Regeneration: 1.2 per Minute)

Strength: 7

Vitality: 8

Dexterity: 8

Perception: (10+0.05) = 10.05

Intelligence: 9

Wisdom: 8

That’s really weird. I mean there is a screen in front of me on which I can read statistics about myself. What I am interested in is how it is calculated and how this screen can put something like wisdom into a static number and how it can do it with Health.

What is the relation between my statistics and Health, Mana and Stamina? What is the average number for a stat? Oh, wait. I think the average for a stat is ten because my perception is ten. Through the dark vision skill, I could see the relation between Perception and vision. Because my eyes are perfect and with that, I mean that I do not need glasses. You could say because of that that they are average.

My stats look a bit insulting now that I thought about it. I mean if my hypothesis is true and the average is ten then would that not also mean that I am physically and mentally below average. Ok, no more thinking about that just ignore it.

Mana was something that got me really excited. Because you know magic. But if I had it did that mean that every other human did also have it. If that was true, how had nobody noticed anything? Or did some notice it and hid it.

But I also noticed something else. I had no Level in a manner to speak of. In most games levels were used to upgrade the character after a point was reached but I did not have a level. That was terrifying because it meant I was alone in a kind of cave with nothing but my pyjama and this screens.

There was also the race part that put me off. Did that mean that there were more races in this cave because there would have to be more for the information to be relevant enough to be displayed on this, I think, Status Screen.

Being in this cave was getting more horrifying from second to second. But I steeled myself and did what our ancestors did. I took a step forward then another one and another. Slowly I advanced step by step because it was the only path possible. Because it was the only way I could survive.