Sven let out a sigh as he locked his car and briskly walked over to the door of his moderately sized semi-detached house, the chill evening breeze unsettling the combed white hair atop his head.
He inserted his key into the lock and a moment later he pushed down the handlebar and waltzed on into his home, discarding the coat he carried in his arm onto the coat rack he had nearby.
Then, after locking the door to his house again, he meandered on into his kitchen where he, acting on auto-pilot mode, filled up the kettle with water as he prepared a mug with a teabag.
The boiling process didn’t take too long, so it was only a few minutes later that Sven was slumped on his sofa, his feet resting on an ornate ottoman he’d bought, drinking a cup of Earl Gray tea.
“Ah!” He instinctively let out after taking the first sip, his left hand moving to nurse the cup as now that he had his tea in hand, he let his aged mind begin to wander. As it did, however, his facial expression only grew more neutral as the reality of his situation kicked in properly for him, and he wasn’t sure that he liked it.
For his entire life, he had always considered himself a bit of a workaholic. Someone who was never more at ease with the world than when stuck into a project or a task.
It was a disposition that had served him well throughout his life as his bosses could never fault his work ethic as he was a tireless worker whose contribution could not be overstated.
In fact, the only times that he'd ever found himself in hot water with a higher-up at one of his workplaces, it had always been because his relentless dedication outshone his immediate superiors. Yet, now, he had retired and he didn’t really know what he was going to do with the rest of his life.
As, for a whole host of reasons he didn't want to even think about, he had never really been interested in the prospect of having a family. So, as a result, he lived alone, and the only regular company he’d had over the years were his friends.
Most of whom, unlike him, were now beloved grandparents, if not great-grandparents, which made them a very troublesome lot to wrangle for any sort of meeting or interaction which didn't take place via the assistance of a mobile device.
Which, call him old fashioned all you like, just wasn’t the same as a face-to-face interaction. Hence, he didn’t see all that much socialization going on in his future.
So that just left him with all the things that old people normally did once they retired. Traveling on a cruise around the world, or just sitting at home doing nothing but watching old tv soap operas all day.
Neither option sounded particularly appealing to Sven which made him let out a tired sigh. It was, however, an unavoidable reality. His best days were, after all, long behind him now.
Or, so he thought. Until, out of nowhere, an ethereal blue panel appeared before him, scaring the everliving daylights out of Sven to the point where he almost spilt his tea all over himself. Luckily, though, what tea did escape its cup splashed onto the cushion beside him rather than his worn-out black work pants.
Once Sven had then calmed his shaking hands, and slowed his beating heart, he read over the strange box full of white text that had just appeared out of the blue.
—
Heavenly Transfer Available!
Congratulations, mortal, for you have qualified to be transferred to the world of Empyria, an impossibly superior planet to this one for it is Heaven Touched!
On Empyria, a whole world of opportunities awaits you, Sven Mikhailov. From becoming an unrivaled emperor and thereby gaining untold power and might, to achieving true immortality!
All of these things and more can be achieved if only you are willing to accept this transfer! Only an idiot would turn down this once-in-a-millennium opportunity!
Accept Heavenly Transfer?
YES / NO
—
“Did someone hack my brain just to scam me?” Sven muttered to himself as he sipped at his tea, a not amused frown growing on his face.
He recognized all of the shameless marketing tactics at work in the blue box’s contents, so he was immediately skeptical of this so-called “Heavenly Transfer” business.
Thus, instinctively, his mind hovered over selecting no. But, before he could finalize his choice, the panel was suddenly overlaid with another - this one even more shameless.
—
Heavenly Transfer Brochure
Are you a mortal from a nondescript planet with a soul worth its weight in gold? Well then, you should consider agreeing to a Heavenly Transfer.
Heavenly Transfers, unlike the holidays you are familiar with, are permanent, at no extra or hidden cost to yourself! Hell, the whole package is provided free of charge!
You may be wondering what are the benefits of agreeing to a Heavenly Transfer? I’m so glad you asked! Apart from the boundless opportunities that come with a whole new world, as a transfer you shall be granted a special boon dependent on your soul!
Oh? And have I mentioned that accepting Heavenly Transfers is all the rage these days? You don’t want to be the lone poor soul that misses out on the opportunity of a thousand life times do you? Do you?! Afterall, that would just be terrible!
So, why not accept a Heavenly Transfer today?! A whole new life of adventure awaits!
Accept Heavenly Transfer?
YES / NO
—
“What in the-“ Sven began before sighing and shaking his head as he realized there was really no point in getting worked up over the panel’s shamelessness.
As, firstly, the thing was most likely not even real. A figment of his twisted imagination. Or, the first symptom of a greater underlying mental condition he’d yet to be diagnosed with.
But, secondly, and more importantly, because it seemed as though whatever the cause of the blue box was, it really didn’t care about what he thought, only in what he did.
And, on the off chance that he hadn’t just suddenly gone senile, and the weird illuminated box did turn out to be real, getting mad at it wouldn’t do him any good.
So, after letting out a last grumble about the blatant use of marketing tools, Sven considered what he truly thought about the proposal in front of him.
More as an intellectual exercise in analyzing the hypothetical scenario where the panel contained a real offer than any sort of serious belief on his part that he was making a real choice.
The pros of accepting this Heavenly Transfer seemed pretty obvious as were the cons.
On the one hand, should he accept, the panels hinted at him being able to attain power, as well as the chance to potentially avoid the need to retire by gaining immortality.
On the other hand, should he accept, the new panel explicitly stated that he’d be unable to return to Earth, which meant he’d effectively be saying goodbye to everyone he knew.
After weighing up the two sides, he came to a conclusion at around the same time, totally coincidentally, that he ran out of tea. His hypothetical winner had been decided.
If he was ever to be truly presented with this offer, he would accept it. But, as the panel wasn’t re-
Suddenly, Sven’s vision began to warp as space and time distorted all around him, and he realized too late what was happening as he was then sent hurtling forward.
His old bones collided with a hard surface as everything snapped into right order again.
Pain muddled his thinking as he raised his trembling form until he was kneeling and only then did he manage to take in his new surroundings.
Gone was the cozy comfort of his living room, replaced on all sides by cold black rock that thrust up into the sky all around him, making Sven assume he was on some kind of mountain plateau.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
An assumption that proved correct as he carefully shifted forward and glanced over a nearby ledge and took in an incredibly steep, maybe 50ft, drop.
Sven rarely cursed but as he observed his new environment he couldn’t help but mutter, “Shit…”
The regret at taking the choice he’d been given so lightly that had began to build up the moment his vision had gone crazy fully came into its own when a new damn blue panel appeared.
—
STATUS:
Name: Sven Mikhailov
Titles: N/A
Realm: [1st Layer of the Novice]
Classes: N/A
Skills:
[(Mortal) Analysis (Early)] - You can learn basic information about anything that your gaze lands upon so long as it is not protected from scans, or too high level.
Boons:
[Golden Elder] - Rank: [???] - ???
—
“Is any of this supposed to mean something to me?” He grumbled expectantly, hoping for at least an explanation of what was going on from whoever or whatever was giving him these odd panels.
However, no explanation seemed forthcoming, so Sven could only shrug his shoulders at the new text box before averting his gaze back to his surroundings. Trying to figure a way off the tiny plateau upon which he now found himself.
A goal that was then formalized with another stupid panel.
—
Quest Gained!
Quest Name: Descend! Descend! Descend!
Rank: [Profound]
Objectives: [Reach the bottom of the mountain (0/1)
Reward: ???
—
Having not a single clue how he could turn off receiving these blue pop-ups in his vision, Sven could only just sigh at this newest source of irritation before he returned to scanning his primary objective.
But, just as before, he could only see one way down from his current position. He’d need to climb down the rockface manually.
Well, that or slide down, but he suspected that his old body wouldn’t be able to handle it without enduring serious, debilitating damage.
So, drawing upon what courage he had, Sven started his descent down the mountainous cliff with a nerve-wracking dangle off the edge. His body kept from falling from a perilous height by his straining grip alone.
Using his shaking hands, he then searched for a rocky handle upon which to grip. After frantically patting down the cliff around him, Sven found what he was looking for.
And, taking a deep breath as he did so, he shifted one of his frail trembling hands downwards and gripped a crack wall hard, and, as if by sheer luck alone, Sven was able to hold his grip tight as he lowered himself.
‘Only thirty-nine more feet to go.’ He thought to himself as he continued his slow vertical descent down a perilous cliff face as the rookie climber that he was.
However, despite his inexperience, it wasn’t until he was only about ten feet off the ground that it truly became clear to him why usually people don’t start climbing on mountains like this.
As, when he moved to lower himself after gripping onto what he thought was a stable rock, the air left his lungs in anticipation as he heard a scraping sound and the stone came loose, precipitating the end of his amateur rock climbing career.
He landed back first onto a bed of smaller jagged rocks that dug into his skin as he let out a gasp at the pain that came from the sudden impact with a hard surface.
Yet, surprising him somewhat, Sven felt only a moderate difficulty in struggling back to his feet. It was astonishing as, at his age of 73, one could expect much worse injuries from such a fall.
Sven didn’t let his mind linger on that fact though, only letting his gratitude for it remain in the back of his mind as he looked for any kind of pathway further down the mountain.
It took him a minute before he saw a wide-ish crack in a nearby rockface that seemed to bend in a downward direction as far as he could tell.
He thus decided to walk over to the crack, and, to his pleasant surprise, he was met by a staircase that had been carved into the mountain side.
Sven didn’t know who did or why someone would mine out a staircase up to the peak, but he was for sure grateful for the fact that someone had as he didn’t fancy any more rock climbing.
As he made his descent, the ebony rock that flanked him on either side began to give way, and it wasn’t long until he had to be increasingly careful as he took each step down. The howling wind buffeting his frail body making every step potentially his last.
He then reached a point in the staircase where he began to notice a worrying trend. With every step he took, the gap between the next step that he needed to take grew greater and greater. Until, at last, he was confronted with a gap between his and the next step that was so wide that he couldn’t imagine simply stretching his leg over it and thereby passing it with ease.
He’d need to jump.
But, with the wind having decided that now was the best time to grow more intense, and an unbelievably steep drop awaiting him if he failed to make it, Sven was naturally rather nervous. And the growing numbness of his bare hands was the only thing that kept them from shaking anymore. He panned his head to the side and then back up the stairs he’d just walked down, and he hoped an alternative path might open up for him. But, he had no such luck.
Thus, without there being any other choice, Sven returned his gaze to stare down the path it seemed fate was intent on making him traverse and frowned. For the jump in front of him wasn’t the only one. As he eyed the fractured path ahead, the gaps he would need to jump over only grew wider and wider the further that he glimpsed.
The only reassuring thing about his situation was that the individual steps seemed to grow bigger in proportion to the size of the chasm that separates them from the last one.
That way, at least, he’d have somewhat more flexibility when it came to sticking the landing.
Sven let out a sigh as he shook his head clear of thoughts as there was really no point in delaying what needed to be done any further, and so he began to muster his willpower.
Then, after acheiving better footing, he got into a semi-crouch as he prepared to be reckless for perhaps the first time in almost 20 years.
Knowing that his old body simply didn’t have the power it once had, Sven made sure that he had drawn upon all of his strength before he sprung upwards and outwards.
The wind made his carefully combed white hair as he heaved out a great breath before he crashed down on the step he’d been aiming for, his knees thwacking against the hard rock.
“Agh!” Sven exclaimed as pain pulsed up from his knee as a new blue panel appeared in his vision.
—
Level Up!
Your Realm has increased to the [2nd Layer of the Novice]!
—
Sven mostly ignored the damn pop-up as he slowly got up back onto his feet, his lower legs numb as could be.
Naturally, he waited for that to change before he glanced at the next jump and prepared himself a second time to potentially leap to his death.
He then repeated what he’d done only a few minutes earlier, but this time his strength carried him only 99% of the way and he had to desperately swing his arms out to catch the step’s ledge.
Thankfully, he succeeded in gripping the rock hard enough, but his action sent his upper body hurtling into the column of stone, and Sven swore he heard his rib break before he felt it.
The pain he felt thus only grew more intense as he dangled desperately from the step’s edge.
He tried, and failed, to pull himself up onto the wide-ish step thanks in large part to the numbness he felt in both his legs, and the pain that he was enduring nullifying any focus that he had.
But, not desiring to die right here and right now, Sven kept on trying. Until, after exhausting all his body’s energy reserves, he almost accidentally tapped into a stranger form of energy within him.
An energy that he didn’t express or control with his body, but with his mind.
Guided by an unfamiliar instinct, Sven pulled on that energy and it began to course throughout all of his body - rejuvenating and enhancing his strength.
With this extra boost, Sven was, finally, able to pull himself up and onto the step. The instant that he succeeded in doing so, yet another prompt appeared.
This time, however, Sven spared the pop-up and its predecessor a curious glance.
—
Level Up!
Your Realm has increased to the [3rd Layer of the Novice]!
—
As he finished reading the short prompt, Sven’s mind’s eye turned inward to the weird energy that he’d just now discovered he had within him.
And, just as he had suspected, it was now more abundant than it had been a second ago. Meaning that whatever his “realm” meant, it was directly related to this ethereal new energy.
Furthermore, somehow, his realm was connected to the staircase. With each new stair that he was able to traverse granting him a new layer, whatever that meant.
Sven wasn’t sure exactly how to process such information but he kept it tucked away for now as a short rest break was in order to recover his strength.
Ten or so minutes later, he climbed to his feet and with a resolute face, he glared at the 9 steps he could see ahead of him, and without a second to waste, he prepared to jump.
The process pretty much repeated itself for the next nine steps. He’d jump, receive a prompt, then take a break, before jumping again.
Thanks to his new strange energy, he only had one more close call, and also seemingly thanks to it he was taking less and less damage with every collision.
His old bones now feeling as tough as they’d ever been, if not tougher, and it wasn’t just his bones that felt stronger than ever.
Thus, when he finally rose to his feet on the 12th step, he felt amazing. The prompt he received an explanation as to why.
—
Level Up!
Your Realm has increased to the [12th Layer of the Novice]
(System Note - You’ve reached the peak of the [Novice] realm! To progress any further you must break into the next realm: the realm of the [Apprentice].)
—
Sven had no idea how exactly one normally went about breaking through to the next realm, but as he stared out over the edge of the step he was on, the more he got a sinking feeling in his chest.
“It wants me to jump down there, doesn’t it?” Sven mumbled to himself as he spotted a small dark stone ledge jutting out of the steep mountain side over 50 or so feet down.
Now, Sven had never considered himself someone who was particularly scared of heights, but he was born with human survival instincts like everyone else and they were screaming at him that he would be an idiot to go through with the jump as it could only result in a bad time for him.
But, again, he quashed his fear as there wasn’t exactly a litany of other options open to him. If he didn’t jump, he may never make it down the mountain.
And, if he didn’t make it down the mountain, he would be forced to live in what little luxury that a mountain can provide, which pure and simple wasn’t good enough for him.
For example, the thought of never having a cup of tea again truly disturbed him to his core. So, it became only a matter of time before he had let out a sigh and launched himself off his step and, most likely, toward a very painful, if not fatal, landing.