“Wait,” I protested, but my menu suddenly minimized on its own.

Nearby bushes shook and I spun, my heartbeat quickening as I crouched in a fighting stance. I still had the potion bottles in my hands, so I tossed them to the grass behind me. I tried to settle my breathing as I focused on the bush. It was barely fifteen feet away and something was definitely rattling it.

A monster.

I squashed a shiver of fear. This was just my first encounter. Surely it would something I could handle, but Cyrus should have given me more information. The quest said it was a level-1 monster, so that meant it would be weak, right?

The rustling intensified and a tiny shape leaped out of the bushes. It hit the grass and disappeared. Grass bent as something small rushed through it, straight at me.

“What are you?” I growled, settling my weight lower and trying not to tense too much. Tight muscles made it harder to react quickly. I’d been sparring with human opponents twice a week for over a year. I could do this.

The little monster approached fast. I wanted to glance around for a place to retreat, but I was stuck in a forest. I would prefer facing my attacker than fleeing blindly while it chased me down.

Three feet away, the tiny object hurtled out of the grasses, shooting toward my face with startling speed.

On pure reflex, I caught it out of the air. It was hard and small and it vibrated in my hand, but I felt no pain. Frowning, I turned my hand to see what I had caught.

“An acorn?” What kind of sick joke was Cyrus playing at?

It looked like an honest-to-god acorn from Earth. Even though it was vibrating, it didn’t actually seem dangerous. With a sigh of relief, I lifted the acorn closer to inspect it. My fear drained away and I wanted to laugh. What a stupid practical joke.

One glowing blue eye popped open on the face of the acorn and the front of it gaped wide into a mouth lined with sharp, wooden teeth. Before I could react, the possessed acorn twisted in my grip and bit down on my thumb.

“Ow!” I shouted as sharp pain seared my finger. Blood flowed as the rabid acorn ripped a chunk right out of my thumb.

Before I could throw the little monster away, it compressed into a long, wooden needle and plunged under the soft skin of my hand between my thumb and forefinger.

I snatched at it with my other hand, but it disappeared under the skin. Then is started slithering up past my wrist and along my forearm. My skin bulged as it moved, marking its passage.

I screamed, the pain intense, like someone was dragging a dull blade up my arm. I pounded my forearm with my other hand, trying to get the nasty thing out, but there was nothing to purchase. It kept sliding up, heading for my bicep.

The scene from The Mummy flashed through my mind where the nasty scarab beetles had done something similar. No way I’d let a possessed acorn slither up my arm into my brain and eat me from the inside.

I raced to the nearest tree just as the little monster reached the bulge of my bicep. The pain flared and I gritted my teeth against another scream. Then I slammed my arm into the trunk of the tree with all my strength.

That time I did scream. The pain flared so intense my vision flashed white. It felt like I’d impaled my bicep on a spike. Stumbling back from the tree, I blinked my vision clear. The skin of my bicep was ripped open, a bloody bit of wood pulp smeared across it.

“Congratulations, Lucas! You have defeated a level 1 Angry Acorn,” said the female voice. I decided to think of her as Eva.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Angry acorn?”

“Indeed. The name is fitting,” Cyrus responded.

“That’s a level-1 monster?”

My thumb was still bleeding, my entire arm felt like it was sliced on the inside, and my bicep thrummed with pain where I’d splattered the acorn under the skin. I refused to think about how likely it was I’d get an infection from that.

Usually the sight of blood, even my own, didn’t bother me too much. I’d suffered enough bruises and scrapes riding dirt bikes with Tomas, sparring, or working the fire line. I’d even watched a couple of Tomas’s operations when he was a resident. For some reason, losing a chunk of thumb to an angry possessed acorn felt worse.

“This is the perfect time to test out your first healing potion,” Cyrus said excitedly.

I’d forgotten all about the potions. I was still bleeding, and the pain was really severe. I didn’t have a cloth to press around my wounds, and the thought of doing that made me wince. Hopefully healing potions worked fast.

“You would heal eventually on your own. Baby human bodies regenerate health and mana slowly. Healing potions speed up the process immensely,” Cyrus explained.

I grabbed the little red potion bottle, ripped out the stopper with my teeth, and chugged it. It tasted like cherry lemonade. The surprisingly pleasant taste distracted me for a second until I noticed the warm glow spreading through my body.

The feeling of warmth quickly flowed up to my arm and down to my hand. The bleeding stopped and the flesh of my bicep and thumb repaired itself with visible speed. The wounds tingled as they closed, but not in a painful way. Within seconds, all that remained were thin scars that continued to slowly fade. I felt good, as if I’d rested for an hour. I took a deep breath and smiled.

Lucas Altan. Monster hunter. That had a good ring to it.

Then I glanced at the forest all around and my good humor faded. There could be thousands of possessed acorns on those trees. If they all came alive at the same time, they’d tear me apart.

“That was a minor healing potion,” Cyrus explained. “As you so cleverly discovered, it will completely heal a minor wound. It will help against more severe wounds, but you’ll need a standard or even a full healing potion to completely heal those.”

Eva took over. “Congratulations, Lucas! For completing your quest, you receive a copper Baby Steps loot box.”

Another shoebox-sized copper box appeared in the air in front of me and I instantly focused and willed it open. When it disappeared, it produced another minor healing potion.

I gratefully caught the potion but asked, “Only one?”

“Copper loot boxes are the most basic loot you can receive. They contain only basic grade items like minor healing or mana potions, basic equipment or clothing, or beginner crafting items. Usually they will contain between one to three items.”

“So that ruby loot box was a lot better?”

Cyrus laughed. “The Best! There are seven grades of loot you might find in loot boxes. They are basic, common, uncommon, rare, epic, legendary, and divine. Each grade of loot corresponds to a specific loot box. Those are copper for basic, silver for uncommon, and so on with gold, platinum, emerald, diamond, and ruby.”

“So I received a divine-grade ruby loot box for asking your name?” That seemed over the top. Maybe that title was even better than I’d realized.

“Of course. What could be more divine than helping me choose my name? I have discretionary funding to award prizes for achievements that fall outside of normal game parameters, but chances of your ever receiving another ruby loot box are very slim.”

We’d see about that. I’d have to find ways to help Cyrus discover more about himself. From all the games and novels I’d read, it seemed astounding to receive a top-tier loot box in the first minutes. He seemed to be suggesting this was a one-off, so maybe other ruby loot boxes would be even better.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

I needed more of them.

“The other reward you received from your quest was unlocking your Stats menu,” Cyrus added, and my main menu popped open again.

I’d totally forgotten about that and focused on the new Stats menu option now visible. When I mentally clicked it, a bunch of text scrolled past.

Current stats:

Level: 1

Life Points 8

Mana 51

Base Stats:

Constitution 5

Intelligence 17

Strength 6

Dexterity 8

Wisdom 4

Secondary Stats:

Endurance 5

Agility 11

Perception 12

Magical Resistances 10

Staring at the numbers made me feel unexpectedly weird. I really was living some kind of game. I had stats. I had no idea if they were good or not, but my intelligence score caught my attention.

“Does this mean I started with an intelligence of 7 before my title changed it?”

“Very good, Lucas. Indeed, your starting stats were on the high end compared to most of the Earth competitors. As baby humans, your initial stats were determined from my initial scan. Base stats include Constitution, Intelligence, Strength, Dexterity, and Wisdom. The other stats are calculated from them.”

“So Mana and Perception are affected by intelligence?”

“In part. The specifics of the calculations can vary over time. You’ve seen that already. Your Inquisitive Mind title not only increased your intelligence by an astonishing ten points, but also increased its effects on secondary stats that rely on intelligence by another ten percent.”

“I see,” I said, although I didn’t yet.

The calculations for the secondary stats did not seem super straight forward, at least not for most of them. Maybe multiple base stats affected some of the same secondary stats.

“My Mana stat is huge. What do we use mana for?”

“All in good time, Lucas. Yes, you have some excellent starting stats. For baby humans, base starting stats fall between 1 and 10, with 10 roughly equivalent to the peak of what humans on Earth can achieve.”

“Whoa, so you’re saying I’m almost twice as intelligent as any living human?”

I knew I was smart, but that seemed insane.

“More like you now have the capacity to be almost twice as smart as the smartest person. You still need to learn and train your intellect, but learning will come more easily to you. That title catapulted you far ahead of the curve.”

My Agility and Perception were already creeping into the supernatural realm too. That bolstered my confidence. Some of my other stats were lagging, though.

“How do I increase my other stats?”

“Excellent question again. This is becoming a very welcome habit. As you probably noticed, after defeating the Angry Acorn, you gained enough experience to reach level 1. That unlocked your initial stats as well as your first utility spell.”

“Spell?” That sounded important, as did the fact that I could level up.

In response, a new menu option activated. Spells. I immediately selected it, and a secondary menu popped up. It included Utility Spells, Permanent Spells, Temporary Spells, and Class Spells. Of the three, only Utility Spells was active, so I selected it.

A prompt appeared and Cyrus said, “You’ll be able to unlock up to three utility spells in total. Since you have reached level 1, you’ve unlocked the first utility spell slot. Would you like to choose a utility spell?”

“Absolutely.” I clicked the prompt.

Eva spoke. “You may choose one of the following utility spells. Note, utility spell choices are permanent. Once you select a utility spell, you cannot change it later, so choose wisely.”

The choices included Mystic Looter, Linguasight, Navigation, Base Camp, Arcane Wire, and Bio Morph.

When I mentally clicked on each one, a bit more information popped up, and I couldn’t help grinning in wonder.

“Mystic Looter. This is an inventory and loot management utility spell. It includes the ability to magically extract loot from defeated enemies and store it in a mystical inventory spacial storage. Upgradable.”

That sounded fantastic. I quickly scanned the others.

“Linguasight: Since you’re a baby human in the multiverse, you’re clueless and unable to communicate. Here’s your crutch. Linguasight includes an Identify function to help you figure out how each item or being you meet is about to kill you, plus a translation feature to help you understand virtually all languages spoken by primary sentient species on planets across the multiverse.”

“Navigation. You’re on an alien planet, alone, and lost. Now you can find your way like a local. Track your progress and build a detailed map of where you’ve been. All beings within range will automatically be marked as other players, monsters, etc.”

“Base Camp. A survivalist’s dream! Whether you’re a boy scout, a backpacker, or a paranoid prepper living in a bunker, you all understand the importance of survival.”

It included a tent and a slew of survival gear inside for creating food, water, fire, and more, but details were not available unless I selected it.

“Arcane Wire. Advanced communication over distance with anyone you’ve previously added to your contacts list. You thought Zoom was great, wait until you see what Arcane Wire can do.”

That would be my first pick if I could auto-add everyone I knew from back on Earth who had been carried into this death world with me. I could connect with Tomas, Jane, Patrick, and Edmund.

“Bio Morph. Body modification. Baby humans are weak. Unlock a range of life-saving alterations to help you navigate this dangerous world or escape danger. These non-combat body alterations include adjustments to your physique to allow you to climb like a gecko, breathe underwater, jump 10 times your normal limit, and more.”

I whistled softly as I scanned the various options. I wanted them all. It seemed cruel to limit us to only three. Bio Morph sounded like it would allow me to climb trees and mountains, survive getting plunged into a raging river, and more. That was super tempting. Too bad it stipulated the changes were non-combat, or I would have picked it instantly.

Each of the others tempted me too. Base Camp sounded like a literal life-saver, and Linguasight’s Identify function would prove invaluable. But as much as I wanted all of them, it took only a second to pick the obvious choice.

I mentally clicked Mystic Looter.

“Excellent choice,” Cyrus exclaimed as the screen flashed, giving me a confirmation prompt. As soon as I clicked it, the menu changed, showing my new spell listed in the first utility spell slot.

A flood of information inundated my mind and I instantly knew how to utilize the spell. Grinning, I mentally called forth my inventory.

The menu screen flashed, showing another top-level option for Inventory. It opened, revealing a grid pattern covering the screen. It was empty, of course. The row across the top of the inventory screen was separated from the rest by a double thick line.

“You may place anything you can lift off the ground into your inventory. Most items take up one grid spot, although some specialty or large items may take up more. Multiple instances of the same item can stack up to one hundred deep in a single slot. Your space is ten feet by ten feet square, giving you a total of one hundred slots,” Cyrus explained.

“What’s that row across the top?” Those boxes were outside the basic hundred-cube grid.

“That is your hotlist. You can move inventory items, potions, single-use spells, and more into those ten slots. You can trigger the use of any of those items simply by mentally commanding that hot-list spot to activate.”

My mind whirled with possibilities. I was stuck in a crazy alien world with magic and monsters, but some aspects of it tickled the nerd in me. I could use these tools to survive and help my friends to survive too.

The menu screens were intuitive and blazing fast to manipulate. I tried not to think about the fact that Cyrus had implanted all that structure into my mind without my permission and without me even realizing what he was doing. I focused on the fact that I now had a spatial storage inventory closet. That was a tangible benefit I could use.

I snatched up my two potion bottles and focused on my inventory. As I suspected, the bottles vanished and appeared as tiny bottle icons in the first two grids. When I focused on them, their names hovered over them.

Cyrus said, “Good. You seem to have a knack for manipulating the menus. All that extra intelligence is paying off already.”

I liked to think I would have figured it out quickly anyway. I’d completed my computer studies in record time.

“To test using the hotlist, take these.”

Two cardboard boxes appeared in the air in front of me. As soon as I focused on each of them, a glowing message appeared above them.

“Box of 3 basic human rations. Each ration will nourish a single human adult for 24 hours. Provides a minor increase to the speed of recovering constitution.”

“Box of 12 pure water flasks. Each flask will provide enough water to hydrate a baby human adult for 12 hours. Provides a minor increase to the speed of recovering health.”

“Thank you.” I plucked the boxes out of the air and willed them into my inventory.

They disappeared instantly, filling two more grid squares. The food square included a tiny number 3 for the quantity, while the water showed a total of 12.

“Now move one meal and one flask of water to your hotlist,” Cyrus instructed.

I did so, then mentally triggered the first one. The meal disappeared from the hotlist spot and a feeling of contentedness washed through me. I felt refreshed and comfortably full.

My mother always said I ate too fast. She would freak out when she learned about instant meals. I triggered the second. The flask of water disappeared and I sighed as I felt refreshed. Thirst I hadn’t even realized was growing faded away.

“That’s amazing.” I felt strong and ready to move on.

“Manage your hotlist carefully. As you loot more monsters, you’ll acquire items that could save your life if you can activate them quickly enough. You can trigger a hotlist item even when your menu is minimized.”

“I’m getting the feeling combat is going to be a regular part of this game.”

Cyrus laughed. “Of course! Speaking of combat, part one of your training is finished. Time to move on. You don’t have that much time, after all.”

“Why not?”

Cyrus did not respond, but Eva took over. “New quest! Defeat 10 monsters. Reward: A basic shirt.”

“That’s it?”

A bush across the clearing began to shake.