The moment I regain control of my body, I run a check to make sure everything is here. Starting from my cheeks, I pat down as much of me as I can. There’s no sign of any type of collision. No broken body parts either. I don’t even have any scars. In fact, it doesn’t feel like I got hit at all.

Did I…die on impact?

I stretch my arms out in front of me and begin cautiously moving my fingers. That turns into jumping jacks which then turns into a series of intense stomps with both legs. Everything feels normal.

With my body confirmed, but mortality still in question, I return my attention to the vast sea of nothing in front of me. Or rather…room of nothing? It's hard to tell. There are no signs of walls or a ceiling. The only defining feature this place has is its floor, which seems smooth. It feels like a basketball court with less grip. Other than that, the place is a blank canvas.

I take a deep breath and cup my hands around my mouth.

“HELLOOOOOOOO?!!!

I tried putting my all into the yell hoping that someone would respond, but I hear absolutely nothing. Stark silence. Stranger still, the yell sounded hollow. There was no echo or anything. Felt like I yelled in an empty field.

My hands fall to my hips as a horrid thought crosses my mind.

Am I…stuck here?

The notion makes my stomach turn. Something about this place gives me a weird vibe. Like I’m alone, but I’m not. It feels similar to when I sensed that presence behind me while crossing the street earlier. Then, as if that memory unlocked a door in my brain, I think of another idea.

My phone!

I was checking my phone while crossing the street. It has to still be here right? If it’s here then I can call someone. Maybe figure out how to get outta here, or at the very least, where I am.

Frantically, I begin sifting through my pockets to find it. But to my surprise, I come up empty. Everything I left my apartment with, outside of my clothes, is gone.

“Bro, what?!”, I say as I grip my barren pockets. I scan the ground thinking everything may have fallen out of them, but of course, the floor is clear.

With yet another failure under my belt, the anxious thoughts make their return.

Where the hell am I? Where the hell is my shit?! Why is everything white? Am I dead or not?

I end the dreading with firm slaps to both my cheeks. Freaking out won't help me now. I think back to a quote I read from one of my favorite comics. “The first rule of winning a fight is not to lose your cool.” Though I wasn't in a fight, the rule still applies here. If I lose it, I won't be able to think straight. Then dumb decisions are inevitable.

With a deep breath, I begin walking forward. Might as well explore. With each step I take in as much of my surroundings as I can. The whole place is white, so finding something that stands out, like a door, shouldn't be difficult.

After strolling for what feels like hours, I still find nothing. The uniformity of the place makes it seem like I didn't move an inch. I kiss my teeth in frustration. Then suddenly, I feel something vibrating on my wrist. My eyes dart to the source and I find a smartwatch that definitely wasn’t there before. Out of all the things I picked up before leaving my apartment, I’m sure my watch wasn’t one of them. Regardless, I take a look at it. What other option do I have? Plus, maybe it’ll help me get outta here. Sounds pretty bizarre, but at this point, I’ll take anything.

Like the area around me, the watch is completely white. At its center is a circular black screen, but outside of that, it just looks like your average smartwatch. There are no buttons on it, so I begin tapping on the screen. Nothing happens. I try to take it off to see if there is a hidden switch or something, but it doesn’t budge. Even when I add more strength it doesn’t move an inch. One would think it’s a part of me.

“What the hell is up with this thing?”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

With my patience wearing thin, I continue pulling on the watch with everything I’ve got.

“Get….off…of…ME!”

My efforts prove useless once again. But I’m desperate. I need something. This watch is the only clue I’ve got, and even with the gauntlet I put it through it still isn’t doing a damn thing. Not even another vibration.

“Do something dammit!”

I raise my right fist in the air with full intentions of punching the thing, but as if it heard me, the screen finally lights up. My body freezes. I do a full 360 scan to check if I’m being watched. That was too on time to be a coincidence. But just like the last time I checked, the place is desolate.

My gaze returns to the watch and what I see startles me. There is a rectangular blue screen hovering over it. Looks like a dialog box you’d see in an RPG or visual novel.

Soon after, a text cursor appears on the screen. I stare at it, eagerly waiting for something to happen. Soon enough, the screen begins to rumble. I hold my breath in anticipation, but my hopes are shot down once I notice it’s my arm that’s causing the shaking. It’s trembling as if it’s as cold here as it was in New York.

You’re losing it, Donte.

With my free hand, I hold on to my quivering forearm. My eyelids slowly close and I inhale while counting backward from 5.

Remember. Calm mind, better decisions.

After an exhale, I open my eyes with a little more clarity. Intentional breathing for the win. I mean, things haven’t magically gotten better, but at least I don’t feel like my head is going to explode from anxiety. Then as if my calming down was the trigger the watch needed, the cursor begins moving forward as text appears on the screen.

THANK YOU FOR ACCEPTING OUR INVITATION. WELCOME TO THE FINAL SECTOR, THE GREATEST GAME IN THE MULTIVERSE!

“The Final Sector? The game? The MULTIVERSE?!”

Before I can process what I read, the text disappears and more characters rapidly appear on the screen.

THIS WATCH WILL BE THE HOME OF YOUR CHARACTER MENU, A TOOL YOU WILL USE OFTEN THROUGHOUT THIS EXPERIENCE.

Instead of making sense of everything now, I remain still waiting for the next message. I have no idea if I'll be able to access them later.

WE HAVE A LOT MORE IN STORE FOR YOU, BUT BEFORE WE GET STARTED, PLEASE FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH THE SYSTEM THROUGH THIS SIMPLE EXERCISE.

Once I finish the message, the text disappears followed by the window. Suddenly, I feel something hit the left side of my cheek with a force. It feels like someone trying to punch my head clean off. The power behind the blow is enough to send me flying. I end up flat on my stomach a couple of feet away.

What….the actual fuck?

I'm no stranger to getting clocked though. Expecting a follow-up, I hop back on my feet with my forearms blocking my face. I peak between the gap, but to my surprise, what I find isn't a trained boxer or anything close. Instead, I find myself staring down a squad of 4 green slime monsters. Even more bizarre, they look to be the same slimes from Celestial Games’ website.

Now you'd think this would be the last straw. Nothing is making sense and this feels like the punch line to this twisted joke. But no. Recognizing these slimes gets my brain going. Then as if the universe wants to give me another sign, my watch lights up with a ding. As I bring my arm up, another system window appears. This time it's green.

NEW QUEST AVAILABLE QUEST-000: A Simple Exercise

“No way. There's absolutely no way…”

My eyes widen as I connect the dots. A character menu, the slime monsters, and a game-like notification window? Hell, even the speeding truck made it obvious.

“Did I…get Isekai’d?”