"What the hell is going on?"
"Hello, Layton."
Huh?
A mechanical female voice echoed from the darkness.
"Uhhhh, hello creepy void voice. Am I dead?" I asked, trying to sound calm. (I was not calm.)
If I had to guess, I probably suffered a spontaneous brain aneurysm or something. Instant death. Damn.
Though… now that I thought about it, I was probably going to freeze to death anyway.
Okay, maybe not freeze, but I was definitely going to be really cold all night. Unless I just packed up and went home.
…Did I dodge a miserable camping trip by just straight-up dying?
"No, Layton, you are not dead. Congratulations! Earth is the 1,500,453,485th planet to be inducted into the multiverse."
The what now?
My brain, still trying to process the "not dead" part, latched onto another key phrase.
"Inducted into the multiverse?"
"Query accepted. Your world is now experiencing induction, like many others before it. Hundreds of eons ago, an anomaly in deep space flickered to life..."
The voice launched into a full sci-fi monologue. Apparently, some big space anomaly started leaking magic energy (mana) into planets, changing everything it touched.
At some point, Earth got hit. Now we were in the club.
Honestly? This sounded suspiciously like the intro to every RPG I had ever played.
"Okay, cool. But, uh… who exactly are you?"
"Query accepted. I am a construct designed to assist with planetary induction."
"So… not the anomaly itself?"
"No."
Helpful.
"Who made you?"
"Query not accepted."
"Okay, why not?"
"Query not accepted."
"Oh, come on—"
"Query not accepted."
I groaned. This was getting nowhere.
Fine. New question.
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
"What exactly is changing on Earth?"
"The pertinent information is as follows:"
Earth just absorbed three other planets.
The world is now four times bigger.
…What.
There will be many deadly threats. Teamwork is recommended. (I was alone.)
Most modern technology will cease to function. Cars? Dead. Phones? Dead. Planes? Uh… please don’t be midair right now.
I swallowed. Hard.
"Alright, alright. You mentioned something about class selection?"
"Query Accepted."
(I swear to if it says that one more time—)
"You will now choose a class based on your personality traits."
----------------------------------------
Class 1: Fighter
A well-rounded melee combatant.
Strong, reliable, adaptable.
Great start. Exactly my playstyle. Let’s see what’s next.
----------------------------------------
Class 2: Jester—
Absolutely the hell not. "SKIP."
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Class 3: Healer
Supports allies with healing spells and buffs.
Not strong in combat.
"Sure, a healer sounds perfect. Alone. With no party to heal." I muttered sarcastically, barely paying attention.
"You have selected Healer as your starting class."
…Wait.
What?
WHAT.
NO, NO, NO. HOLD ON. I WAS BEING SARCASTIC.
"Query accepted."
"NO, NO, TAKE IT BACK!"
"Unfortunately, all choices are final."
"WHAT?! THAT’S BULLSHIT!"
I felt lightheaded. I had just accidentally locked myself into the squishiest support class in existence!
This was the best thing that had ever happened to me—real-life RPG mechanics—and I just screwed myself into the worst possible start.
My parents warned me that my sarcasm would get me into trouble.
I just never thought it would get me killed.
“It is time to choose your starting gear. Below are choices suitable for your class choice.”
I scanned the options…Staff, spellbook, robes…
"There is nothing here that I want." I muttered. As soon as the words left my mouth I knew I messed up.
“You have chosen to skip gear selection. You will proceed without gear.”
WHAT.
"NO, I DIDN’T! THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT!"
“You will now be reintroduced to the world. Be prepared for anything. Good luck, Layton.”
And just like that—the voice was gone.
I was left alone. In total darkness. Still frozen, trapped in my own thoughts.
I had one job. Pick a good class. Get some decent starting gear. And I screwed it up.
At first, I wanted to rage against the machine. Curse the system for making me a joke.
But deep down…
This was my fault. I did this to myself. No use dwelling on it now. The darkness vanished—
And I fell flat on my face. I climbed to my feet, brushing dirt off my pants. Dang.
Where was my car?
I turned, orienting myself with the clearing at my back, and started walking toward where I was sure I had parked.
Ninety feet later, I stopped. No car. Even worse? No road.
That… wasn’t right.
There should definitely be a road. There had been a road. But now? Just endless forest. The only thing that looked exactly the same was the clearing itself.
If this was part of the “world expansion” that creepy voice mentioned, why did everything else change, but this spot stayed the same?
Was that weird? Or was I just overthinking it?
…What the hell do I know?