⧪ Player created successfully.
⧪ You have a new message.
↬ Quest: First Quest. Collect…
Those were the last sounds heard by Hue, before time seemed to have taken back its normal course, unsuspending him from the air, making him fall head first on the ground, fainting.
✤✤✤
“What do you think happened to him?”
“I’ve got no clue, we found him passed out near the fisherman.”
“What about him, what does he have to say?”
“We couldn’t find him anywhere. He seems to have disappeared…”
Voi… ces? What’s going on-Ahhh. My head. It feels like I’ve been hit by a hammer.
“Ahh…” murmured Hue.
“He’s awake! Everyone! He woke up!”
“What happened to you?!”
“What? Who are you?” said Hue, his eyes unable to process their facial figures due to the blinding light coming through the window.
“It’s alright.” a soothing voice reassured Hue.
“Is that you… Anna? What’s going-?”
Hue instantly shot up.
“Where’s that man?! Is he here? We need to run-” yelled Hue, shocking everyone.
“Calm down, please. What man? Why would we need to run? How do you know my name?” said Anna while tightly grasping his shoulders.
“What… is going… on?”
Hue’s head hit the pillow. He had fainted once again.
“Let’s leave him alone so he can get some more rest… ” said Anna to the rest of the crowd gathered around his bed.
✤✤✤
On the opposite side of the town, two Players were having a heated conversation.
“What are the devs doing?! Where’s the librarian at! He’s been missing for days already… I need to finish my quest to get a C ranked skill!”
“I have no clue either. I think I might go for a refund… ”
For an NPC nearby overhearing their conversation, some sounds were unintelligible. He could hear just fine, but some of their words, such as ‘devs’ and ‘refund’ were swapped by a static noise by the time they reached his ears.
Hmm. That must be the Player Noise I’ve heard other NPCs talking about…
➣ New System Message. Read? (Y/N)
Unbeknownst to the NPC, both the Players heard in unison the reverberating voice throughout the city, starting at the entrance, going through every building as if walls were not even present, the voice filling each room.
“The devs sent us a message?”
“I wonder if it’s about the librarian bug.”
“It better be, and they better have fixed it, or I’m refunding and spamming negative reviews… ”
At the city’s hospital, where Hue was located, things were no different. The voice hit each and every single one of the rooms, until it reached his.
➣ New System Message. Read? (Y/N)
“Ahhh! What’s that voice?! It’s so loooud!” woke up Hue screaming at the top of his lungs.
New System Message? What the hell?! The guy chasing me… What happened to him? Was I just dreaming? But… Why am I in the hospital in that case?.....
Hue, frustrated with the lack of answers and bundles of questions, responded to the voice.
Yes.
➣ Dear Players, we have detected a game bug regarding the disappearance of the librarian in Starter City Yrego. The bug has been fixed, and the librarian is back in the library. We would like to apologize and show our appreciation for your support by giving everyone a special gift.
Huh?! HUH?!!!!!!!!!!! What’s a game? Or a bug? Starter City? Are they talking about me? What do they mean by `back in the library`? I’m still here…. HUH?!?!! The voice as well… where is it coming from? It’s not the usual one. It sounds as if it’s coming from everywhere as opposed to the usual one inside my head… I need to get back to the library… Maybe I’ll find some clues there…
✤✤✤
Almost there… Hue was now sprinting towards the library.
Huh… Is it my imagination or is running easier now? This is such a crazy day… I really need answers-
His thoughts stopped as he caught a glimpse of himself on a nearby shop’s mirror, stopping promptly in front of it.
?! Whoooooo is that? That’s my hand moving… but…but… my face…
Hue’s reflection stared back at him, only to be met with disbelief. His face, a pale white tone, now was wearing a warm ivory complexion. Not only that, but his previously pitch black hair completely changed colors, now a snowy white with the occasional flame red spots.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
His build was no different. Previously he was of average height and had what women told him was a `cute` stubby mid section. Now however, it looked as if he grew another head, and the previous unimpressive stomach area transformed into a six pack, each looking as if made from steel. The legs and arms had impressive veins coming through the skin and it looked as if his chest was about to burst through his tight clothes.
Is that… me? But I look nothing like that! Ahhh! I’m so confused right now… This has to be a dream still, right? A dream inside a dream perhaps? Maybe I’ll wake up once I make it to the library… hopefully…
✤✤✤
Huff. Puff. sounds came from a tired Hue, now in front of the library.
Finally…
After opening the heavy door, Hue was welcomed by the all too familiar line.
“Hello, dear customer! How could I help you today?”
“.....”
Hue was too shocked to utter a single word. He could not believe his eyes. Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him?
“You’re… me?”
“Huh? What do you mean?” said the Hue lookalike.
That’s me… That’s what I should have seen in the mirror previously…
“What’s going on?! Who are you? Why do you look like me?!”
“What do you mean, look like you? YOU look nothing like me! Get the **** out of my store, crazy NPC bastard.”
“Stop this charade! How can you sit in front of me and act like that! Like… me?”
Hue was left speechless. The person in front of him, not only had the exact same appearance, he was mimicking his speech and mannerism down to a tee.
“.....”
He… is me. Somehow. I don't understand how that’s possible but he really is me!
“Piss off already! I’ve got shit to do.” said the lookalike while pushing Hue out of the library.
….. This is just too weird… Just to make sure, I’ll check if my name's still the same on the menu at least…
Menu.
To Hue’s surprise, nothing appeared.
Menu.
His vision was once again not filled by the all too familiar screen.
Menu.
Menu.
MENU.
WHAT THE HELL? This can’t be happening… I can’t even open the menu. Ok, Hue. Think. No need to panic. Let’s solve this mystery…
“So… I was attacked by some strange guy, and I think the time somehow froze… Then what?
?!
“That’s right! The voice!!!” yelled Hue, startling both Players and NPCs.
Oh shit. Too loud… Yeah, the voice! It said something like `Error` a buncha times, and then… Play Game? And I responded with yes… The other voice I just heard mentioned the word `game` as well… It’s a stretch but…
“Hey, you!” said Hue while pointing to an NPC nearby.
“Uh… yeah?”
“Did you hear a weird voice, not like the usual one we get from quests, around twenty minutes ago?”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“Let’s leave, honey. He must have gone crazy. That’s probably why he was yelling by himself before…”
“Wait! I’m not crazy! I just wanted to-”
But before Hue could finish, the couple rushed away from him.
Ok… Now to REALLY confirm…
Hue asked the same question to another person, a Player in this case.
“Yeah, those were the devs sending us a message”
“Devs-?”
But the Player interrupted.
“Sorry mate, I gotta go finish this quest.”
That confirms it… I’ve become a… Player. And weirdly enough I can still interact with the NPCs the way I used to… This still doesn’t explain why I can’t open the NPC Menu or why-
Before his eyes, the familiar menu appeared.
[ Menu - NPC ]
Name: Hue Nightworth
Level: 3 / 99
Health: 100
Status: Strength: 1 (1) ⧫ Defense: 2 (3) ⧫ Stamina: 2 (2) ⧫ Agility: 1 (1) ⧫ Magic: 5 (7)
Skill: Librarian Knowledge (D) - Passive Skill - Skill Growth requires 10% less coins.
Job: Civilian
Equipment:
Cheap robe ⧫ + 1 Defense
Cheap wand ⧫ + 2 Magic
Coins: 137 Nopper
Messages: None
Quests: Stock up. Search for the fisherman and purchase 2 lbs of squid ink.
Huh?! It works… now? Wait… Do I have to say NPC Menu instead of-
[ Menu - NPC ]
Name: Hue Nightworth
Level: 3 / 99
Health: 100
Status: Strength: 1 (1) ⧫ Defense: 2 (3) ⧫ Stamina: 2 (2) ⧫ Agility: 1 (1) ⧫ Magic: 5 (7)
Skill: Librarian Knowledge (D) - Passive Skill - Skill Growth requires 10% less coins.
Job: Civilian
Equipment:
Cheap robe ⧫ + 1 Defense
Cheap wand ⧫ + 2 Magic
Coins: 137 Nopper
Messages: None
Quests: Stock up. Search for the fisherman and purchase 2 lbs of squid ink.
Yeah! That’s it! Why did the wording change though? Oh! There’s health in there. That wasn’t there before… Does that mean every NPC has a certain health but it's hidden?
“?!”
Hue’s face opened up with excitement.
Could it be?!
Player Menu.
[ Menu - Player ]
Name: Hue Nightworth
Level: 1 / 99
Health: 100
Status: Strength: 1 (1) ⧫ Defense: 1 (1) ⧫ Stamina: 1 (1) ⧫ Agility: 1 (1) ⧫ Magic: 1 (1)
Skill: ??? ( ??? ) - Passive Skill - ???
Equipment: None
Coins: 0 Copper
Messages:
1. Welcome to the game. Thank you for joining our ga…
2. Receive: Random Skill? (Y/N).
Quests: First Quest. Collect stick (x1) and stone (x2) and talk to the blacksmith. 0 / 3.
“NO WAY!!”
Once again Hue drew attention to himself.
Shit. I need to stop doing that… HOWEVER! I have the menu of a Player… as well as that of an NPC!.... It seems to be similar to the NPC one, but it's missing the Job… There’s also two messages…
Read message 1.
➣ Welcome to the game. Thank you for joining our game, dear Player. We wish you luck and plenty of fun adventures while you explore the world of Etheria.
“Etheria? Is that what the Players call our world? We’d been born with the knowledge that this place was called the `System`... but apparently it has another name… There’s so many questions!! My brain can’t take it… I’m just guessing here, but something tells me I need to advance as a Player in order to find clues about what happened to me and reveal the secrets of this world…