I'm certain I'm dead. I swear I saw my death right before my very eyes before everything went black.
That little girl getting run over, that image is still in my head. It was so fast, however, that I didn't notice when she disappeared.
My friends, getting hit by that truck along with me, but I was the only one who survived long enough to see their lifeless bodies. I can't get these images out.
Is this Hell? Could this be exactly what this is? It's so dark and there's nothing but emptiness. I can't move my body. I can't even feel it. The thought of my friends dying is the only thing here.
Who knows how long I've been here but eventually a light appears I find myself in a strange place.
[https://i.ibb.co/D8yCp7Y/ch2-a.png]
Some kind of medieval-looking place. Like something out of an ancient building from medieval Europe, or a JRPG.
"Where am I?" I ask.
"Praise be! He is awake!" I hear someone say.
After getting my bearings, I realize I'm on a circular platform of some kind. After I get off, I soon realize I'm naked and cover myself with my hands. What is going on? How did I get here? Where are my clothes? In fact, shouldn't I be dead?
"Distinguished guest, welcome to the Major Abode." Who's that?
[https://i.ibb.co/DwwpL9f/ch2-b.png]
I look to my left and see him, an old guy with a long white beard in a white cloak. "I am Lord Krim Elderson and you are the final Divine Visitor."
"Visitor?"
"You seem to be cold, my cherished guest. My servants shall fetch you some fresh clothing."
A group of women appear and hand me what looks like clothes that definitely come from some medieval RPG game. They also give me... a bag of barbecue chips? The same ones I bought earlier!
"What is this? What is going?"
"Your original clothing was torn to pieces. I say, your world is most troubling with these creatures known as 'trucks' running around haphazardly."
"But this bag..."
"Ah yes, the Divine Crisps. We kept them guarded safely for you."
"Divine... Crisps?"
"Those crisped potatoes must be a legendary ambrosia, nourishment of gods, from the divine place of which you have come from."
Upon opening the bag, I see most of it was crushed with only a few ones still intact, but apparently, they were all accounted for. I take one of the chips that were still intact and bite into it. Well, it still tasted the same, nothing expired. I guess I wasn't knocked out for too- Whoa!
Suddenly, I feel this strange sensation, as a flash of blue lights surround me. I felt compelled to spread my arms, as if I was letting go, or as if I was going to embrace something. It felt so intense, but eventually, the lights fade and so does the feeling.
Then a box appears before me. It had a bunch of text on it.
LEVELED UP!
LEVELED UP!
LEVELED UP!
LEVELED UP!
LEVELED UP!
LEVELED UP!
LEVELED UP!
LEVELED UP!
LEVELED UP!
LEVELED UP!
LEVELED UP!
LEVELED UP!
LEVELED UP!
LEVELED UP!
LEVELED UP!
LEVELED UP!
Max Health Points, Max Magic Points, Attack, Defense, Magic, Focus, Stamina, Vitality, Endurance, Critical, Luck, Strength, Resistance, Agility increased.
What is this?
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
"So it is true!" says the old man excitedly. "The crisped potatoes! They do come from the Celestial Plane!" and everyone in the room gets down on their knees. "Oh, visitor from the stars, please lend us your strength and defeat the evil Devil that has come to ruin us all!"
What is going on? What is happening? I don't get it! I don't get anything at all!
As I stand there, panicking, the elder gets up and tells me, "There is nothing to fear, young man."
"Then tell me, where am I? How did I get here? Aren't I suppose to be dead?"
"You are indeed alive. In fact, you are acting just like the others when they appeared here."
"Others?"
"A group of youngsters such as yourself also appeared here in the Major Abode. All of them came the same way, claiming that a monstrous creature known as a 'Semi-Truck' had ran you over."
"Others like me? What do you mean?"
"Listen to my tale and everything may start to become apparent. It all began a few months ago when a child appeared here on the Major Abode. We didn't know what to make of it but her sudden appearance told us she was someone special. We sent her to the royal clergy who could not distinguish anything unusual or unique about her, yet they believed that there was a prophecy that foretold of a great hero would arrive and put a stop to the evil that has invaded our lands. They believed she was an omen of some kind. However, she was so rude and violent, that many were convinced she was here to aid evil, not stop it. Before we could apprehend her, she ran off and we have yet to see her since.
"Weeks pass and another was summoned here. A more mature young woman and we believed she was the fabled hero to stop the calamity that was to come. This one came with another bag of the Divine Crisps and when she devoured the contents, she leveled up tremendously. It was astounding. We've never witnessed anyone level up so quickly."
"Level up? Just like how I did earlier. But what is that anyway?"
"In this world, within our person, statistics lay within our bosom. When we become stronger, we go through a process of leveling up." A box suddenly appeared in front of the old man and it also had words.
Lord Krim Elderson
Level: 99
Exp: 100,546
HP: 688,77/688,77
MP: 445,771/445,771
Attack: 2,447
Defense: 8679
Magic: 56,224
Focus: 1119
Stamina: 4,467
Vitality: 3,047
Endurance: 60%
Critical: 12%
Luck: 2%
Strength: 487
Resistance: 64,667
Agility: 4444
"I am making my statistics visible for your reference. You may check yours at any time."
"How do I do that?"
"Simply concentrate your mind to project your statistics and it shall."
I didn't understand what the old man was talking about, but I try... something. I try thinking about stats, data, and leveling up, whatever I could. It didn't take long before a panel appeared right in front of me.
Same Manuals
Level: 21
Exp: 1,244
HP: 221/221
MP: 0/0
Attack: 1,253
Defense: 33
Magic: 82
Focus: 67
Stamina: 224
Vitality: 15
Endurance: 60%
Critical: 20%
Luck: 3%
Strength: 152
Resistance: 45
Agility: 25
"What is all this?"
"Those are your statistics, the very essence of your life. Everyone has them, including the evil Emperor. For years, we have been waging a war with a dark monster. It is unfortunate that one of your companions has succumbed to his influence."
"On of my friends?"
"Out of all the visitors that came, she was the worst. We don't know much about her as she was the rudest person we have ever met, more so than the first child, but apparently, she was gifted with the power from the very demons we fight. Her mannerism was outright inhuman as she terrorized us all. Now she has joined with the Evil Legion and is right now aiming to gather the Divine Crisps left."
"That sounds like Ronna. That's not my friend, that was a bully. And yeah, she was a terrorist for sure. I was the only one who put up with her madness."
"So you are the destined hero all along after all!"
Everyone got on their knees and bowed down, "No, please. Get up." I ask of them.
"Please, Sir Manuals, you must aid us. The Evil Overlord, as we speak, is amassing a great army that will destroy our tiny world of Crum, and the key to victory are the Divine Crisps."