As I’m thinking about how to start this, I’m reminded of how I started qi.biography. However, I think my problem is trying to present things perfectly, and when I go through it again to edit, I Long story short lol that didn’t make sense. TL;DR (as HQ says), my storytelling flaw is that I set up too much context before getting to my main point, and it’s something I hope to improve the more I record this story. I’m just excited because last night, I was wishing I had a “proper journal” besides all the tools I currently use, and I think this format is a wonderful decent solution.
One of the System’s hacks that I was experiencing just now but has pretty much passed is that in looking up any digital footprint of qi.biography on Google (which turned up nothing that was relevant), I clicked an Instagram link that intrigued me, which was the profile of @sorta.draws. I saw the thumbnail showing a person in 1995 and how they looked in the future. At first glance, it piqued my interest because I wondered if it was the artist drawing themselves over time, and possibly being vulnerable about weight gain and feeling older.
I’m all about experimenting to find whatever it takes to generate magic, because “whatever it takes” is different each time. It doesn’t help that the purest form of magic I currently have access to comes so rarely and spontaneously that I find myself unprepared in efficiently using it or properly bottling all of it up to store. Nevertheless, I believe yesterday I realized discovered a little more how my magic works.
Since 2021, I’m a little apprehensive of the days around July 4th. It seems to be an annual timeframe where my reality could shift dramatically based on my choices. Up until now, I couldn’t figure out why it had to be around Independence Day. Upon reflection, I think it’s because it’s right in the middle of the year, which makes it perfect for a second try to become what we envisioned at New Year’s, except the NPCs people around me are focused on it being a national holiday.
This year was no different. HZ, his friend HQ, and HQ’s girlfriend CC happened to visit my city from the 1st to the 4th. HZ entered my realm of consciousness reality life nine years ago, but I haven’t seen him for over four years. MT and I met up with them on the 1st for dinner. I was so excited that my brain shut off and I simply existed according to how I was feeling. As HQ and CC asked questions to get to know MT and me, we were able to share what we’ve been working on or struggling with these past few years. In honestly answering some of HQ’s “what are your thoughts on” questions, I was even able to share my interpretation of reality. The scenario primed me to be in such a frenetic mindset that when HZ asked again if we wanted to go to Universal Studios with them the next day (because I declined the opportunity when he first brought it up the previous week), I said yes because it was such a fun and easy way to split my reality identify a split in realities. The feeling was reinforced when I casually asked them about their car rental.
“Haha, oh my goodness, when H was offered an upgrade, he said yes, and they gave him a Mustang convertible.” We all laughed at what HQ said. HZ shook his head. “I wanted a Camry!”
I just realized that enjoyable stories have dialogue, so I tried switching up my default writing style.
The idea of the five of us riding in the convertible with the roof down was so amusing that I blurted it out as a suggestion, and it was so. After dinner, we found ourselves squeezing into the sleek sports car. CC had been stuck in the backseat for each ride, so she relished sitting at the front while HZ, MT and I figured out how to fit in the back. The minute I slid into the middle seat and was a head taller than everyone else, I knew our joyride had to be limited to going around the block. We laughed the whole way at how it felt and how we must have looked to onlookers. Only when we got out and I looked at the backseat did I realize it was definitely just a four-seater.
On our way back home, I chattered happily to MT about the hangout. “I know you kept periodically asking me if I wanted to go to Universal Studios and I would say no…sorry it took a moment of spontaneity for me to want to go!” I sheepishly said. “I guess…I don’t like how uncontrolled I am when I get so hyper. Was it too hasty of a decision to make?” MT shrugged. “It was something we were eventually going to do.”
In trying to recount this conversation, I realized that I’m not really sure how MT responds to my chatter. This either means he generally does not respond, or that in those instances, I talk to MT simply for myself, without really regarding his responses. Either way, this was an appreciated realization, and I will need to observe which is the case.
Also, in double checking if “realm of consciousness” makes sense, I stumbled across this page (https://www.panharmonic.com/5-realms-of-consciousness). I think there’s some ideas that are relevant, but for the most part I feel repulsed by a lot of it.
I wasn’t entirely convinced. Sure, it might be something we were always going to do, but I could have decided earlier to prepare spam musubi to bring. Nevertheless, worrying about food was unnecessary. We were going to be with people who weren’t afraid to spend money for amusement park food.
Universal Studios ended up being a very pleasant experience, especially because we chose the single rider line each time and barely had to wait for rides that had up to 200 minutes of wait time. By the afternoon, we had blasted through all the major attractions.
I also ended up storing some magic to switch realities. While I’m still unsure how my magic works, I have a good idea that magic is more likely to be generated when I do something I wouldn’t do as 1st Person. When we finished eating at Toadstool Café and started heading out of Super Nintendo World, I eyed the dauting stairs next to the escalators.
“Wouldn’t it be like, crazy, if I climbed the stairs?” I joked to MT. The second I spoke those words aloud, the tiniest spark of willpower lit up in my heart. “Yeah, because we just ate, so I can try burning some of it off before our next meal.” I started, trying to convince myself. In his usual monotone voice, HZ chimed in. “I’ll join you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, you don’t have to do it alone.”
In my growing mania, I was touched. I excitedly confirmed with MT that I was going to do it, and asked for help carrying my belongings. As MT, HQ, and CC ambled slowly through the line for the escalators, I enthusiastically started to climb the Starway, noting how helpful it was for Universal Studios to have every fifth stair numbered. HZ warned me to slow down, causing me to wonder if he was familiar with exercise.
By the hundredth stair, I could feel my calves expressing discomfort. HZ was right. I hadn’t properly rationed my energy, so my performance started to waver. Remembering the revelation I had months ago while running in the Green Hills State Park, I focused on retaining proper form instead of allowing my body to start moving inefficiently by dragging my feet or heavily lifting my feet and swaying from the weight shifts. By concentrating on my form and getting past each step, my mind slipped into NPC mode as I thought about nothing worth remembering. Occasionally I’d snap out of it, curse out loud that I should get into shape, and then slip back into thoughtlessness.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
When we finally reached the last step, I repeatedly thanked HZ for being a part of that experience, because it would have been more difficult if I was alone. As I gulped for air, I began to wonder. Wouldn’t I be able to accomplish greater physical feats that would store generate more magic if my body was stronger? If I started training and eventually ran a marathon or dared to boulder outdoors, I would be more capable of storing gathering larger amounts of magic.
However, one thing to note is that there might be a time where climbing many flights of stairs is so easy that I wouldn’t remember how it generated magic for me on July 2nd. If that ever becomes the case, I hope I’ll remember to be appreciative of how far I’ve come by not taking my physical prowess for granted, because there is still magic to be generated…it would just be “negligible” because it is less in relation to my higher-level “mana pool”. Right now, my physical health is so neglected that it has no bits. If climbing the stairs granted 10 bits, that amount would seem like a lot to someone who’s used to having none and so little to someone who’s leveled up their fitness to 5 gigabytes. At that level, it would be easy to disregard 10 bits but…isn’t that kind of a sad way to experience?
I just finished looking into which platforms to publish this on and have decided that Royal Road is the most suitable one. While selecting tags, I found their descriptions to be an excellent tool in defining what it is I’m trying to write and showing me possibilities I never even thought of.
As a side note, I think I’m going to need an editor at some point to clean this up, but a part of me hopes that it won’t be necessary. Ideally, I could improve the way I write so that I won’t need to waste someone’s time double-checking my work. [update_20230813-234200 Hi, it's future me. I'm the editor lol. I don't see rereading my work as a waste of time, so it's a perfect arrangement.]
I quickly casted a spell at 5:55 PM that night, securing the magic generated from walking up the Starway. The last piece of the spell was to not check up on ██’s social media when we returned home and got ready for bed. I obediently let my body rest instead of doomscrolling, and before I knew it, I fell asleep and became immersed in a reality.
▼▼▼
I entered an apocalyptic situation similar to the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, but not as violent. An iteration of MT was there with me. We were able to acquire powers by completing puzzles or dealing with scenarios of varying degrees of severity. The world became less complicated, with soft transitions between each major phase of an inexplicable game we found ourselves taking part in.
The first phase I remember was being under siege by zombies. The remaining population had to endure the persistent cycles of perimeter breaches. I was fortunate enough to be in a large Victorian house protected by a sizeable, well-organized group. We each played a part in making sure that the base was prepared before the next wave of zombies appeared, which happened at 6PM every night like clockwork.
As I was helping to reinforce vulnerable parts in the front of the house, a trepid woman approached us from the street and made eye contact with me.
“Please…help us. I’m from the library, the shitty one that was here before the new library was built. The zombies keep getting through our defenses and…everybody keeps dying.”
I turned to help them make arrangements for staying with us or taking some of our supplies to bolster their facility. My memory of that scenario ended there.
At some point, MT and I stumbled across a long bridge with tall walls that connected two cliffs populated with buildings. Just like many details, I don’t know how but I just know. The bridge had water up to seven feet. Stepping on a blue tile would cause the water level to temporarily go down, allowing us to grab any notable objects or interact with puzzles. The more we came across, the more we leveled up until we received perks. As we were just getting used to greatly different ways of living scientific laws, we weren’t sure but could only guess that we received the ability to breathe underwater because of the abundance of water-related puzzles we completed.
We found ourselves walking underwater, breathing fine and impervious to water resistance. We were in a completely flooded, high-ceiling hallway that used to be a grand, pompous retail plaza. MT and I had previously received a clue in one of the objects we found, which mentioned something about “blue” and “water”.
This could be influenced by the Water World show we saw at Universal Studios, where the blue seats were in the splash zone.
“This side of the hall has more noticeable blue elements…do we just walk on this side?” MT shrugged at my guess. “I’m not too sure that’s what the clue means, but it probably won’t hurt to do that.” We fell silent as we continued walking, looking around thirstily to drink in the sight of what our life turned into.
On our way, we met up with two people. As we swapped notes on our new reality, they mentioned how they had chosen to ignore been unable to rescue any of the people crying out from a collapsing building. By the time they found the location from the scenario clues, it was too late. But not really. In a split second, they concluded that it was too late. The System watched on, taking note that they didn’t try hard enough to fight the odds with their newly acquired powers.
It's possible that these men were HZ or HQ, or were just two guys that were visually represented by HZ and HQ because of the recent experiences interactions in my reality.
After a while, we reached a beach. Perhaps we interpreted the hint correctly and had reached the next phase. As we crossed the curb separating the sidewalk from the sand, I noticed a few people in the ocean starting to surf straight into the sand and up the dune. I couldn’t figure out why they were getting as far away from the ocean as possible, until I turned to look at the ocean again. A tsunami was coming. I grabbed MT and tried to grab HZ, but was only successful in dragging MT with me. The water crashed as far as the curb we were just at, but another wave was coming.
This could be influenced by HZ asking what we’re doing on July 4th and mentioning surfing, which I shook my head to. Also, perhaps I did not have a strong enough connection with HZ and HQ to prioritize their livelihood as much as MT, so their fates became unknown.
MT and I ran into the closest building, which was a small shop with fading green paint. Right as we entered, the impact of the water slammed against the frail store, shattering the glass. Miraculously, the frame of the building stayed intact from that hit but would not be able to handle another. We walked back into the street, now covered with glass shards and splintered wood. It was then when I noticed MT was barefoot, so I started worrying about how he could walk through the debris without getting injured. I looked up from his feet to see that another wave was coming from our right. I remember seeing that it was so clean and such a beautiful shade of light turquoise that glistened where the sunlight hit it. As it swallowed the entire coast whole, I woke up.
I groggily reached for my phone on the nightstand so that I could record the dream. As I sloppily typed it out, I wondered if I would have been able to handle this that next phase because of our recently acquired ability to breathe underwater. In the dream, I was still so shocked from the tsunami and in a reactive mode that I hadn’t yet considered MT and I would be fine from the tsunami.
After half an hour, I finished jotting down what I remembered. I briefly humored the notion that I was a scribe for the realities I come across in dreams. What if Homer often dreamed of the Odyssey reality and meticulously weaved it together into the epic we’ve come to learn about in literature class? My delusion intensified as I settled on the thought that it could be a sign to start living out the main plot as I write it. It didn’t help that just before I had went to sleep, I was wishing I had a proper journal instead of the entries strewn across various digital apps and physical notebooks.
At 9AM, HZ asked again through text messages: “Surfing tomorrow?” With a dream like that, I had to say yes.