The beginning can come at any time. You might think it is your birth, but that doesn't have to be. Here is my beginning.

I was on my way to the cafe from morning classes where I was learning about game theory and programming. Most of my free time was spent reading either an RPG manual or my favorite kinds of books. Erotica, LITRPG, fantasy, or some combination of those were the best, but some others were good too. My literary hero was Anita Blake. So powerful. So vicious. My deepest fantasies involve going into a truly immersive game, and becoming someone spectacular, someone noteworthy. Someone not like me. Back to the topic.

The first fully immersive virtual reality gear had just come out, and I wanted to be able to join a team creating something truly special. The launch game is nothing like everyone wanted. It was nothing like the hit anime SAO, or the books by so many LITRPG, Isekai, or GameLIT authors. The magically deep books, like Ritualist by Dakota Krout, or wide-reaching books like The Wandering inn, were great examples of what it could be. The launch game was showing off the technology and hyping up the potential for some other company to get behind. That game was a shooting simulator that was so realistic that there were rumors of the army using it for training. There goes my mind, off in 20 different directions.

"To the cafe," comes out of my mouth without thinking. I clamp my mouth shut, embarrassed, then mutter under my breath, "Good going Ria, now everyone thinks you're crazy." Time to get a bite, bring up the RPG manuals on my laptop, and stop embarrassing myself. I have been trying to come up with systems that would be complicated, yet easy to understand. Mixing systems to create a deep but simple rule set. Arriving at the Lunar Latte, a 24-hour coffee shop/eatery, I went inside to see a crowd of people dressed very strangely. One person even had cat ears. The decor had changed from this morning too. This was quite strange. It was also busier than I was used to, so I backed out only to discover this was not where I had entered. Everything was different.

"Ummm... hi... I'm lost," was what I thought and heard. A young man looking as confused as I felt was who spoke. "My surroundings suddenly changed, and I'm wondering if you know where the magic was cast from..."

"Magic?!?" I blurted, "I just went into the cafe. As I entered, everything was just... different, unless this is some elaborate prank. If not, then I am somewhere else somehow."

"Oh... so you were affected too. A couple more people are looking lost over there." That blonde-haired boy pointed at a couple of people also looking confused. "My guess is a lot of people were affected. The real question is.... where are we? We are not in my hometown, but there is a resemblance. How about you?"

There is so much going on. The architecture is so different. Everything seems to be in English and the people have some features I've never seen before. Realizing I was just asked a question, I thought back. "No... it's not where I'm from, but the buildings are in similar places.'' Confusion still coloring my tone, I continue, "It looks like we are both kinda lost. Would you mind if we stuck together?" I add in a small voice.

My voice is growing smaller and smaller, "You said something about magic, and I don't want to be alone. I understand if you would want to go on your own, but I really...`` I was mumbling, I knew I was mumbling, but I didn't know how to stop. Lucky for me, this stranger stopped me.

"Woah woah woah... hold on. I am sure two minds are better than one. I would be honored if you would join me. There is a lot to take in about our situation. We should walk, and see if we can determine the source. Have you noticed the signs above these establishments? The now-hiring sign, the menu, it almost looks like a sign printed on glass, words appearing as you look at them. I've seen... blah blah yadda yadda" He was speaking, but I stopped hearing him. There was an overlay in English saying the name of the cafe and listing menu items. Moons Bar and grill, serving bacon and eggs till noon, lunch will be venison and vegetable stew... I looked at the window only to notice a sign saying "night help wanted" overlayed like a piece of paper stuck to the window.

My mind was reeling. Those looked like video game pop-ups in the windows. That made me wonder.... Was this a game? How did I get here? That means there might be other things going on... So I began to experiment. "Hello.... you there?" I heard from the cute guy that did not appear to have stopped speaking. I ignored him for a moment, and started to say things like "menu" and "settings". It was only when I got to "status" did something happen. Blondie was looking at me strangely, but I couldn't be bothered. This was exactly what I was looking for. Another screen appeared.

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unknown.png [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/923417654935576646/1028805285168562247/unknown.png]

"Eeeeeee," I squeed, "I have a character screen!"

"A character screen? What is that?"

"It appears that I am in a video game. I don't know who made it, but it is out of this world. It looks like it's trying to make me think I'm in another world. I brought up the menu by saying menu and wanting to see it." I explained.

"Oooook... Status," he sounded skeptical, then his eyes bugged out. "Whhaaat. What is that? It has my name, classes, ... . it's showing under traits I have water affinity, and light affinity... but I only can use water magic...." and he made a complicated gesture with his hand, and a small stream of water started to appear from his index finger.

"Holy shit" he exclaimed. "Another screen.... this time saying... 'Skill Gained Water magic at Rank F'"

"That's awesome!!" I yelled. I may have been a bit loud, but it is hard not to be. Now I was getting strange looks from people around me. So in a quiet tone, I motioned down the street, "we should probably stop standing around, and find somewhere to get our bearings."

"Yes, maybe somewhere to sit in private," he agreed, so I began walking down the street. I looked at the sky trying to orient myself.

Navigation acquired at F Rank

I examined the screen. I was just trying to use the sun just like in my world, but it showed up as a skill. Neat. I was still wearing my backpack.Iit had my laptop in it, and... "Ohhhh... my phone," I accidentally said out loud, and pulled out my smartphone. To my surprise, it turned on. Unsurprisingly, it didn't show any data signal, but it appeared to have my files. I tried opening my music player. It worked. I'm glad I had my phone download a lot of music for offline playing.

"That looks interesting. What kind of magic item is that? It looks intricate." The boy whose name I have not asked yet says.

"Oh... it's not magic, it's just my phone" I said, now knowing he must be an NPC if this is a game. "I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Ria. What's your name?"

"I am Jet. Pleased to meet you. How did you know to say Status?"

"Oh... I just guessed. Once I saw the store overlay that you pointed out, I was able to deduce this must be a game, and it must have commands. I have to say, it is much more intricate than I thought was possible, but someone must have gotten ahold of the specs of the tech coming out and built this. What confuses me is how I got here from the cafe. I was clearly just entering the Lunar Lattes, but then I was apparently in the Moon's Inn and Tavern."

"Ohhh. That's easy," Jet was nodding, "You and I were transported here via a magical accident. There is no other explanation. The person who brought us here would have said so by now. I guess there could have been a wild magic storm in the area, but those were really really rare where I was from, and I had never heard of them jumping worlds."

I was not sure if I should believe him, or not, but we were coming up on some gates, and I was thinking we should turn around. "Whatever happened," I stopped and looked at him, "I'm glad I could make a friend so soon."

He smiled back at me saying, "We should turn around. Looks like we hit the town limit, and I have no idea if there are monsters, or if there is even something required to get back into town." Just then, there was a new message being read into my ears that sounded like a synthetic voice.

Greetings Travelers, I am the Knowledge unification matrix, also known as Kum. I am going to be the Arbiter in this new world. As general templates were used for the initial seeding, you all will be special, well…. Some of you will be. Your Personality profile and body template have been uploaded to a new and exciting simulation. We have kept your memories to potentially help with your transition into a new world. As the first wave of Travelers, we are providing some guidance to help you along your path. You are all from different worlds, but the world that spawned this new and amazing idea was earth. Planets and realities with Values to determine ability. Seems so simple, yet provides something for people to strive for. Also, Dying isn’t the end. Find a temple to a god of healing, and bring back anything left of your friend, and you can bring them back. Isn’t that exciting?

If you can prove you know how to do something, you will be granted a skill. That will round out your knowledge of that topic. The only advantage is how you use it. We have brought many different kinds of simulations. Both magical and non-magical, and even some magic-esk places. In any case, you were all assessed, and we determined your defining abilities and assigned some as your lesser attributes. Some got special attributes. If anything else super important comes up, more announcements may be incoming. Good luck.

sincerely,

Kum (K-oo-M)

Now that was helpful. "Were you from a magic world? You must have been." I was curious about my new friend.

"Magic, it was called Korax, that means you were from non-magic?" Jet intuited. "What is a Knowledge unification matrix, and why does it sound so bland when it speaks?”