This is getting weirder by the moment.

The appearance of floating blue boxes of runic text that he could somehow read was not enough to distract Zack from the fact that he was very alone at this moment in time, and terribly vulnerable. As brave as he was, he didn’t like the feeling of the cold, damp, vermin infested underground.

The black stuff crept forward on the walls of the subway station, pulsating and oozing despite appearing static when he looked carefully. An ominous silence hung over the abandoned platform. Zack quickly hoisted himself up again onto the platform floor, eager to get out of the way of the incoming train.

Whatever just happened, one thing made itself clear– the earthquake was no mistake. Someone or something had designed this series of events to throw him down here. No real earthquake would end conveniently the second that he landed on the floor and inundate him with these blue boxes with text in them.

This was one of those times where reality transcended reason, and Zack Baker found himself confused about his current predicament. Confused, yes, but not quite scared like a normal person would be. He felt strangely calm, as if he had experience with this before. A more likely explanation was that his calmness was some kind of psychological defense mechanism against the evils that lurked around the next corner.

And most of all, more than anything else, Zack was a Baker family man through and through. Stubborn as a mule, just like his father raised him, and there was no chance in hell that he’d die in a shitty place like this. Not when he had so much left to accomplish. He couldn’t afford to die here.

He’d face obstacles head on and with his chin up, no matter how horrifying the circumstances.

“Who’s there?” he called out again.

The hanging neon sign creaked as if to respond. Other than that, silence.

Guess I’ll have to deal with this alone. Well, no one ever said that life was going to be easy.

A changing number flickered in the periphery of Zack’s vision, prompting his eyes to dart over to that blue box message.

The next train will arrive in 9 minutes.

The ten had flickered into a nine like a countdown. This floating blue box… it reminded him of tooltip notifications in a video game, as strange as that sounded. This was real life. How could something from a video game show up here?

He felt a bit sheepish at that thought, having possibly scrolled through one too many graphic novels on his phone, but the blue box remained squarely in his sight, as if to announce that it most certainly was real. And… to block his vision.

How do I get rid of this thing? Maybe… like this?

Zack brushed the notification to the side with a sweep of his hand, which worked to his surprise. Hm. Oddly convenient.

Now that the immediate problem of a blue box obstructing his vision was gone, the next step was to get the hell out of here.

He turned around and looked at the staircase, now covered in rubble. Undeterred, he placed his shoulder on the largest piece of rubble and shoved as hard as he could, pressing forward with all of his strength.

The meter high piece of ceiling debris budged ever so slightly before Zack let out a grunt, letting go. It settled back to its original position immediately alongside the other rocks. He let go because he had seen a peek of the endless debris behind the rock he was pushing, and he knew that with so much rubble to get through, he would die of hunger or thirst or something before he got even halfway through.

With one way out of this mess foiled, he turned around and began to examine the platform as the timer continued to tick down.

What exactly would happen when the train arrived?

He wasn’t sure, but given everything that had happened so far, it couldn’t be good.

The next six minutes were spent looking for another exit rather fruitlessly. All the exits appeared to be conveniently blocked by debris, as if to contain him to this particular station.

The next train will arrive in 1 minute.

Zack took a deep breath, grabbing a steel pipe that had fallen from the ceiling during the earthquake. It used to be part of some kind of pumping system, tap water still dripping from it, but it’d have to do as a makeshift weapon for now.

Haha. Here he was, standing with a steel pipe gripped like a club in his hand, waiting for some strange train to arrive. It’s not like he was expecting monsters to pop out or something. What was this, some kind of movie?

He laughed at the silly thoughts, but couldn’t shake that feeling of uneasiness. Something at the very core of his being was telling him to be careful. He just felt safer with a weapon in hand.

…

An image flashed into his head.

Searing pain. Teeth digging into his thigh. An otherworldly canine beast, looking down at him, its eyes glowing red. The smell of blood, sour and metallic. Then the sound of gunfire, and a hot sensation in his abdomen, like he'd been impaled.

…

The image faded, leaving Zack thoroughly shaken.

What the hell was that?

He knew that it was just a vision, but it all felt so… real. Like he had been there, and experienced it.

He had heard of something called a death premonition before on the internet. Perhaps he was experiencing something of that sort, but premonitions were supposed to be of the future. For this particular vision, he felt like this death was already in the past, and he had experienced it personally.

…

A clanking sound came from the tunnel ahead, accompanied by two blinding headlights that roared into sight. It was a subway car, the sound of metal on metal blaring into the open as a neon illuminated W encroached the station.

Zack stepped back cautiously as a gust of wind displaced by the arriving train blasted him in the face, throwing up his somewhat long hair into a rugged mess.

A new runic block of text appeared in front of him, quickly turning into something that he could read.

The W train has arrived at Wharf Street Station.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

A robotic human female voice began to speak from above, giving him a bit of a startle before he realized that it was not hostile.

Current passengers, 0.

Current passengers waiting at Wharf Street Station, 1.

Maximum capacity, 10.

Please watch your step as you board.

As the robotic female voice paused, the doors to the subway train slid open with a hiss, revealing several rows of brightly colored seats, the floor swept spotlessly clean, a clear contrast from the off-white seats and general filth that Zack had familiarized himself with in Neon City’s subway system.

The car was deathly empty, the lack of any signs of life causing the hairs on Zack’s forearms to stand up.

Looking around sheepishly, Zack knew that his hesitance was unfounded. The only way forward through this mess waited patiently in front of him, with its doors wide open.

Doors will close in two minutes.

Whelp, that meant he had to hurry. Zack stepped forward onto a creaky subway car, the lights flickered as if he were in a cheap horror movie. A foreboding presence lingered over the empty car.

A passenger has boarded.

Welcome, passenger Zack Baker.

Ding!

New Achievement! [First Traveler].

You are the first human to enter the Underground from your respective world.

Reward: You’ve received the [Right of First].

Seriously, was this some kind of game?

Zack’s eyes adjusted to the boxes of text appearing before him magically. His eyes darted through, taking note of the achievement. He had questions, so many questions, but that would have to wait until after the stream of text boxes ended.

New Achievement! [Bumpy Ride].

You are a passenger on the way to explore the unknown.

Reward: A map of the Underground has been added to your system.

New Achievement! [Hold On Tight].

The next destination is Delver's Alcove. This will be dangerous. Expect to encounter hostile creatures at your next destination, so prepare to hold on tight.

Reward: You have received a fair warning about Delver's Alcove.

He had been nodding his head to everything up until he saw the two words hostile creatures. God damn it. The steel pipe in his hand would get a bit of action after all. He had no plans to be some monster’s chow tonight, death premonition be damned, and he’d fight till the very end to prevent that.

The train is now departing for Delver's Alcove.

With that line spoken by the calming robotic female voice, the subway car lurched forward, sending Zack flying forward until he grabbed the handrail above the seats. Yes, there were seats available, but Zack didn’t feel comfortable sitting on his ass when monsters were supposedly going to come out and try to eat him.

He swiped away all of the blue boxes from his vision, but one could not be removed no matter how much he swiped at it.

Reward: You’ve received the [Right of First].

The right of first is a high privilege, granted to the progenitor of a world seed. It is common for those who receive this privilege to rank highly within their world’s dungeon leaderboard. Please select a boon. Time remaining for selection, 9:27.

Shit, he had less than ten minutes to make a choice for this weird [Right of the First] thing. He had absolutely no idea what that fantasy sounding gibberish meant, but he had a strong feeling that it was important.

He tapped the screen, and a serving tray menu full of options spilled down in his vision. His eyes lit up with curiosity when he saw what they contained.

[Strength of the Werewolf] Grants the ability to transform into a werewolf, and +5 strength.

[Blessing of the Sun] Increased health pool when under sunlight.

Before Zack could read any further, something stopped him in his tracks.

Scroll down.

“...”

He froze. A voice had just spoken in his head. Its volume was faint and slightly staticy, like a television with poor signal, yet it carried a jovial but unmistakably authoritative tone. Zack looked around the subway car, worried that someone might be standing right behind him. To his relief, there was nothing behind him.

Zack Baker, I highly recommend that you scroll down.

The lackadaisical voice spoke again, and now it was referring to him by name.

“Who are you?” Zack asked out loud, unsure of if the entity speaking into his mind could hear him.

The voice responded immediately.

I am what you may call… your benefactor. Someone interested in keeping you alive. In some parts of the world I am known as the Fool. In others, I’m known as just another god. Now, I’m sure you’re very interested in how everything works, but there is no time to waste.

The voice paused, and Zack quickly interjected.

“Where is this place? Who are you people and what do you want?” he asked loudly and clearly, speaking into the empty subway car that rattled with every twist and turn. He swore that he just saw a bat fly by the window, but that didn’t matter to him right now. All that mattered was what the voice in his head would say next.

Let me be clear, my dear disciple. It would serve you best to ask less questions and simply listen for now.

As the voice began to speak again, something felt different. It sounded layered, as if coated with magic, the kind that Zack could not begin to comprehend as a normal person. Each word sent shivers down his spine.

There are two things I must inform you of.

One, our time is limited, and the Council will do everything in their power to terminate you if they discover our relationship.

Zack gulped, nodding nervously. If this god entity was telling him that other gods wanted him dead, he knew that it would be wise to just keep his mouth shut and follow its directions.

Two, you are destined to die. If not tonight, this week. If not this week, this month. If not this month, then up to four months from now. The stars are clear–you will not live past four months.

A cold bead of sweat dripped down Zack’s arm as he felt the truth in the god’s voice.

A stellar destiny is nearly impossible to change, especially one so rooted in failure like your own. My powers alone are not enough to keep you alive. It will need help from you. You must stay strong and fight. The road ahead of you will be treacherous, but you must persevere.

Now listen closely human, if you wish to survive the nights ahead of you.

You currently have a menu in front of you, correct?

“Yes.” He spoke politely.

Scroll down to the very end.

Zack began to scroll, glancing every so often at the options. There were so many different choices, all wonderful sounding and intriguing.

Do not stop to read. Go to the end right now.

“Understood,” he replied, a bit taken aback by how urgent the god’s tone sounded.

As he scrolled, he realized something. The list appeared to go on forever, and his hand was starting to get tired.

“Is there an end to this?” he asked, a bit perplexed.

Yes. You should hurry if you wish to reach the end.

“Alright then.”

Gritting his teeth, Zack scrolled as fast as he could, zooming past countless options offering various kinds of stat boosts, titles, and items. Hell, he even saw an option for a pet.

Posthaste, human! I cannot conceal it from them for much longer.

The screen appeared to be flickering, just like the lights above them. Zack scrolled as fast as his hands could take him, blitzing through results until the words were simply a blur.

The timer had reached five minutes left, and he had still not reached the end.

Zack pressed on, the urgency in the god’s voice striking him deeply. The god’s jovial tone sounded strained.

Finally, at the two minute and thirty seven minute mark, he reached an entry where he could not scroll any further. There were three entries on the screen, and the bottom half of the screen was blank.

[Wrath of the Imp God] Allows the caster to call forth the imp god.

[Master of Plants] Grants heightened attunement with living plants.

[Boon of Requirement] Bestows the caster an ability most fitting for their need.

Do you see the Boon of Requirement?

The tenor of the voice changed into a thundering boom.

“Yes,” Zack replied, clasping his hands around his ears.

Unlike the options above, the last option flickered as if it struggled to stay in existence.

The voice softened.

Take it. This is my gift to you, Zack Baker. I have observed you for many lifetimes, and have grown rather fond of your antics, even if you manage to die every single time. Whether that is due to poor luck or simply fate, even I do not know for sure.

You may have failed many times in the past, but there is potential within you, the sort that even gods may fear given enough time for it to grow. I’ve decided to give you a chance this time around. Do not squander it, for I will not be able to do this again for you. It has been many, many moons since I have last taken a disciple.

Now, I have to take care of some things on my side. We will speak again in the future. In the meantime, remember– do not tell anyone of our arrangement. If they ask, say nothing. Do you understand?

“I understand.”

Good. Make haste, young human. And heed my warning–stay away from the Lion’s apostle.

As the subway car began to grind to a halt, the voice cut out, leaving Zack even more bewildered than before.