“Pick it up people!” Sergeant Growler yells at all of us as we run around the track.
“Why are you slacking George! Are you a slacking slacker!?!” He yells right in my ear as I pass.
Oh my God I’m so tired! I think to myself.
We’ve been training for 29 straight days and me and the other participants are almost ready for the “Adventure of a Lifetime”©. I don’t know what this is going to entail but I appreciate all of the support and training they’ve been giving us since we’ve been here. It’s a huge pain in the ass at times like now, because I hate running, but I have to admit that I’m putting on muscle and feel better than I have ever before.
I remember the day they found me still. I was hugely overweight, and the doctors said if I didn’t change that I’d be dead in 5 years. I didn’t brush my teeth, or shower. I have lived in my parent’s basement since the day I failed out of college. I couldn’t hold down a job and did a little of that and a little of this to try to make some money. But I was just existing, and miserable, and stuck. Then one day I’m getting some fast food and as I’m about to pay the guy behind tells he’ll pay.
We end up sitting together and we talk for a bit. I admit I must have told him my whole life story, and every issue that I had. He was easily the easiest person to talk to that I’ve ever met. After what must have been 3 hours, he gave me a business card and told me to call him if I wanted to change. Obviously I thought he was scamming me or something, but one night I finally gave in and called. He gave me an address, a time and date, and told me to be there.
I almost didn’t go, and by the time I did decide to, I was already going to be late. So I drove for 4 hours to a random office building in a nice downtown area. There was a guy holding a sign out front and when I stopped he parked my car for me and showed me through the front doors. There was a really nice admin at the front desk and she had me prove who I was with my drivers license, and then I was given a badge. I barely got done with getting the badge before another person came out and asked me to follow them.
It went like that for the next few hours. I was shuffled around, and treated like I was a VIP. Given whatever I asked for like a soda, beer (I didn’t drink it, and apologized because I just wanted to see if they would get it) and snacks. Eventually I ended up in front of the same guy I had met before. We talked again like before, where I kinda dumped every worry and concern I had on him. Eventually though, he told me that he thinks he can help. He can give me purpose. He told me that he works to find people that are desiring change. It’s actually the opposite of most jobs. They don’t want the really successful self motivated people. They have a training program that’ll last a month, and then they ship us out to do really important work.
I asked what that important work was and he responded with really vague stuff about changing the future and advancing humanity as a species.
In the end the huge paycheck was what caught me. They gave me a 25k sign-on bonus and told me to come in about 3 weeks. They said they needed enough people and would train us all together so for now to enjoy myself.
I admit that I blew it all in a week. I ended up living back in my parents basement until the date I was supposed to show up hit. They came and got me, sent a really nice car and there was another person in the back. The other person was pretty rough looking, they had track marks and were clearly addicted to some drug. I didn’t really want to talk to them and so after a couple of pleasantries we rode in silence.
When we got to our destination they made sure we had our old badges, I did but the woman next to me didn’t, and we were led through some halls and doors before we got to a big auditorium. It only took a few minutes but it was soon packed. After everyone was there, the man from before got up on a stage along with another woman. I don’t really think I noticed it before, but they were both really good looking. Not supermodel nice, with makeup and clothes and stuff, but just incredible fit, smart and clean. It was like they were real people and the rest of us were just animals playing in the mud.
Anyways, they gave a little speech, I didn’t really pay attention, but I did catch that they were going to train us all for a month and then adventure awaited! Or something like that. I remember them saying that we were officially getting paid the moment we got in the cars where they picked us up, but that until after the job we had to stay here and that our next of kin (or whoever we chose) would get our paychecks in the meantime.
I remember distinctly the way they seemed excited before they turned around and left. Then a few giant buff people walked in from every door, and the training started. We ran a lot. We worked out, exercised, stretched, did yoga, and balance exercises. We did things that seemed space age, like learning how not to pass out from g-forces. We also were given lessons on dozens of different things. Everyone was forced to go through some of the same stuff. Making sure we had a good handle on English, which most people didn’t have any issues with, at least high school level math, and some high school level sciences. Aside from that we were also given lessons on some basic hand to hand combat like how to throw a decent punch and kick and keep your center of gravity. Lastly they gave us basic survival lessons, like how to make a fire without anything but sticks, and how to make a simple shelter for warmth and protection from rain and wind. How to find some stuff to eat, and more specifically how to test if stuff is poisonous.
On top of all of that, we were given the choice of what we’d like to learn about. There were suggested things, but people could choose almost anything. I chose medieval weapon training because it seemed interesting. Turns out using a sword and shield is way harder than it seems in movies. I also chose more advanced science lessons, specifically chemistry.
We were trained relentlessly. After that auditorium we were constantly going. We would train physically most of the day at the beginning. We had to beat their test by running an obstacle course, running 10 miles in a certain time, and lifting a certain amount of weight. Once we could do that then we started doing the more mental and lesson based things. We had about an hour of time in the middle of the day to eat, and relax a little, and another hour at night for the same thing.
Me and a few other people were really confused about some things though. Being a little paranoid I’m pretty sure they’re pumping us full of steroids because we are getting leaner and stronger way faster than should be possible. And I swear that I broke my ankle one time on an obstacle course, but they just gave me a couple pills that they said were for the pain, threw some ice on it, and gave me a two hour break. I felt fine after that.
Eventually, all two hundred of us were back in the auditorium after our hour break for lunch. We looked completely different as a whole. We were all much more fit, healthy, no sunken eyes, smiles, and people chatting happily with each other. The people that arrived with me were kind of the failures of life. That included people with health issues, drug problems, depression, and other even worse things. The turn around is incredible. I won’t say that I’ll never be depressed again, or won't eventually go back to being a lazy bum that lives in a basement, but right now that doesn’t appeal to me. They changed my life and even though it was forced at first, now I am motivated and if I see something that needs doing, I do it. That’s the way we all are.
The head trainer, Sergeant Growler, stands up on the stage at the edge of the room.
“Look at you all” He waves his arms around to encompass all of us.
“When you came here, you were a sorry sack of crap. Now, now you’re a whole new person. I’m actually a little proud of some of you. I’ve talked to the bosses, and you’re ready. We’re giving you tomorrow. We’ll take you anywhere in the world that you want, let you do basically anything not illegal, eat anything, and have you back by midnight tomorrow, just tell the assistant assigned to you what you want.” At those words a bunch of people come out of the doors and line up along the walls in rows.
“Now, you get 15 minutes to daydream your perfect day with your assigned assistant. Then we train you harder than ever before.” He gets a wicked grin and smiles creepily at all of us.
That honestly scared me just a tiny bit, but the allure of getting to do whatever I wanted was too great and broke away from the crowd at a jog. As I got closer the first person lined up stepped toward me and pulled out a tablet.
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We talked about what I’d want to do before I went on my Adventure©, and I decided to go home and see my parents for a little bit, and also go to the nearest big city and do everything that I could think of. We set up a movie, a baseball game, where I’d actually be able to go back and meet some of the players, like 3 really nice meals at the best places in the city. I also had a huge amount of money sitting in an account and they said they’d have a card ready for me. He’d also be there with me, and we’d have a personal driver to take us around town.
My giant grin faded as they finally showed us the “final test”. It was a massive obstacle course. That was nothing new, but what was new was that we were actually going to be doing it together as a group. All at once. The trainers told us that we had to split into groups that could be as small as just ourselves, but could be as large as 30 people. There were groups of trainers throughout the course wearing training armor and wielding weapons that looked like wood. There were also various challenges spread around which we could complete to get advantages like armor, weapons, shortcuts, or other things like that.
I joined up with a few of the people that I slept near and we all ended up joining a growing group of smaller teams. We ended up with 5 in my team, and 28 in total. We were the second largest group and were blocked from viewing the course while other groups went. Some people went alone and were allowed to go pretty quickly one after the other. After an hour or so of the trainer making us do light exercises to stay limber our group was up.
Walking into the first area of the obstacle course we had to do physical challenges that were routine by now. Climbing, swinging and pulling ourselves across pits filled with foam cubes. It was actually significantly easier than before because we were a group and could help each other. There would have been climbs that would have been really hard by yourself, but now we could boost one person up and they could help pull the next person up. We met our first group of trainers that we were supposed to fight after about 15 minutes. They had on armor padding and carried various lengths of wooden weapons. We had discussed how we were going to deal with them earlier and our team was supposed to be on the right side of any fight, or the second into the breach if the place was too narrow. We were all pretty good fighters and had taken at least one advanced combat class.
The first group that had all specialized in advanced hand to hand combat ran straight into the trainers as we came around the corner. They had snuck up the hallway from where they were earlier. It was stupid, but no one had mentioned that they could move so it caught our first team off guard. Within the first minute the first was over, and I hadn’t even seen anything, still being around the corner of the hall. When I got a look at what had happened I was shocked. The trainers had apparently fought until they were knocked out. There were 6 of them and they had knocked out 8 of our group. We found some zip ties on the trainers and used it to secure them so they couldn’t follow us like the sign on the wall said to do. We also found a small camera in a corner so they clearly saw what happened and would help everyone that had been injured later. We took the armor and weapons and assigned them to people that were best with them. Only a few people argued because they felt like they should have gear over others, but the majority rule won out.
We continued like this for another few hours. The obstacle course had actually led through a wall and down many floors. We ended up losing another 15 people in total. By the end we all had armor though and at least 2 weapons that we prefered. It got more and more intense with the fighting and challenges. I ended up being useful for one of them because I was able to identify the correct chemicals to combine to make an acid to burn through a rope that opened a door. That one actually got us a couple of bows and arrows that had a fast acting sleeping powder on a balloon at the tip. They wouldn’t stick in anything or even really hurt someone unless you shot their eye or something, but the first time we used it the arrow hit the chest of a trainer, his eyes got huge as the puff of powder shot out all around him. It actually made him collapse in just a few seconds and made the two others standing next to him fall asleep half a minute later. It was too bad we only had 5 arrows per bow.
Eventually we got through the course. There were 7 of us that made it at the end. We collapsed at the end of the course and were quickly checked over for injuries. We each got at least one of those super painkillers that seemed to heal everything and were congratulated. We saw our teammates and some of the trainers that we had knocked out also getting treated, but were led past them after making sure they were ok.
The 7 of us were led into a nice meeting room and left alone. After a brief wait the man and woman from the beginning came in and sat down. They congratulated us on completing the course and said that we’d get additional resources at the start of our Adventure. They still didn’t really tell us what this adventure was or where we were going, but it was hard to argue too much when they gave us a 50 thousand dollar bonus for being the best.
We got the rest of the day off and the others that had been knocked out also got a reward based on performance, but none were as good as ours. I left the next day taking a car in the early morning to the city near where my parents lived. I had an amazing breakfast, literally the best food I’ve ever had. It seemed a lot less filling then the stuff that we normally got though. Now that I thought about it, I didn’t even remember the name of the company that was doing all of this.
“Hey, what’s the company called?” I asked the assistant sitting next to me.
“Advanced Systems LTD.”
“What? That’s literally the most generic name I’ve ever heard for a company. That says nothing about what they do.”
“Exactly.” The assistant smiles politely as goes back to her food.
Alright, well I guess I work for the evil shadow corporation now. We get done with breakfast and I wander the city. I stop and get some snacks and a nice coo coo clock because my dad collects them. Eventually we had the driver take me back to my parents house. It’s really bizarre, because I swear that they look shorter. We have a great time and my parents ask how I’ve been and what I’ve been up to. I don’t have any restrictions on what I can say so I tell them about most of it. I leave out the fighting portion though because I don’t want mom to worry.
We had a great time and I can tell that they are actually proud of me. It’s nothing they say, it’s just the way they treat me, and don’t give me looks like I’m not good enough. I am starting to worry about them now though. I don’t know how I didn’t see it before, but they’re getting older and my parents both don’t have the greatest health. I end up asking the assistant if they can set up a will or whatever for my parents and that they maybe give them a little bit of my paycheck while I’m gone if I’m not going to need the money. They agree and before I leave there’s some basic paperwork for me and them to fill out on the tablet. They protest a little bit but I convince them that it’s just paying them back for my rent while I lived with them as an adult.
I end up having a blast in the city the rest of the day. The people that are assigned to me don’t do anything when I decide to get some drinks with random people I find while out. I spend way too much money on alcohol and get the whole bar a round of shots. Honestly it was pretty amazing. I even found a girl that was all over me, but I didn’t do anything other than make out with her at the bar. Unfortunately as we were starting to get heavier the assistant walked right up and told me we had to get back. It was pretty funny honestly because the girl, Stacy(?) was like, ‘who’re you’. But we left and as midnight dinged on the car radio we were pulling into the parking garage. I slept like the dead and we all got up early the next morning.
Our whole group is in the auditorium again this morning. I’m looking around and find the other 6 people that were in my team at the end of the final test, and we start talking excitedly about what we’re going to be doing today. After a few minutes the man and woman show up and tell us that the adventure is about to begin. We’re led through some hallways and down a series of stairs. There’s a few very heavy doors and finally we arrive at what looks like an underground train platform. There are a number of pods that are small and sleek looking. We’re loaded up and take off. There’s only 16 seats per car, and they seem like they’re fully automated and independent of each other. The car that I’m in is super modern and the seat conforms to my body like a comfortable pillow. When the door closes my chair actually turns around so that I’m facing forward and we shoot off. It’s hard to tell how fast it’s going, but based on how frequently I see the lights shooting past in the tunnel outside, it’s really fast.
The seat flips around again just before we start to decelerate and we come to a smooth stop behind some similar cars. The platform we exit looks similar to the one we left only half an hour ago and we follow some people that are directing us. We go through another few heavily protected checkpoints, this time protected by what look like hardened soldiers. These people are wearing armor and wielding rifles that look more advanced than what the military uses.
Eventually we wind up in a large room with a bunch of science fiction looking machines scattered around. When we’re all here the man and woman start talking.
“Hello everyone, hope the little trip wasn’t too bad, but we’re here. The Adventure is about to begin!”
A few people cheer and we all start getting excited.
“The adventure that you’ve been preparing for is just through here.”
At these words the man waves his hand dramatically and a glowing ring appears. This thing looks straight out of fiction and has sparks even flying off the edges. We feel a force pulling us forward and there are a few cries of surprise as people start falling towards the portal.
As I pass through, I don’t feel anything. It feels no different than passing from one step to the next. On the other side is a clearing a few hundred feet in diameter with lush grass and some scattered flowers. There’s a forest all around us and I can hear a stream close by. In the distance there is a mountain range with snowy peaks. I hear the cry of birds and smell the freshest air I’ve ever smelled.
“Welcome to your new home! This is your Adventure, we really hope you like it and that it all works out. First of all, thank you and congratulations! You are the first humans that we know of that will have magic! Over here” he points to a semi translucent purple crystal that sticks about 4 feet out of the ground “ is your System Crystal. When you’re ready, place your hand on it and everything will become more clear. We’ve also provided some supplies to help you get started. The system crystal will provide it to you.”
Some people start yelling and he holds up his hand. “I’m sorry that we couldn’t tell you the whole truth of what would happen, but we’ve provided the tools for your success, and we really do want you to succeed. Please remember to be careful. And as a final word, you can all leave when someone reaches level 100 in the dungeon. I know that sounds like a video game or something, and that’s because it’s modeled after games, because people understand them, and they’re an easily referenced and understood concept. Remember though that this is real life still. Now get out there, get stronger, and stay alive!”
And in a couple of moments he waves his hand again and he and the woman step through another portal that opens behind them. I swear that I saw the room with all the science equipment again.
Obviously we all are freaking out a bit and some of the more assertive members of our group are trying to calm people down and organize everyone. I’m listening half heartedly, but I’ve always struggled to pay attention when it matters. What I’m more interested in is the System Crystal. I walk over and place my hand on it.
Welcome George! Would you like to integrate into the System v 0.0.1?
I accept.