Entering the house I once again marveled at the beauty. It was a mix of handmade antiques and modern luxury. While exploring I made my way to the bathroom, in the mirror I saw myself staring back at me. I am a little over six feet tall with short blonde hair. Broad shoulders, a decent amount of muscle left over from my military days, but my midsection had been getting a little larger over the past few years. After my knee injury, I was forced to stop being so active. Although I was allowed back at work I hid the amount of pain I was really in. A man has to eat and I could not just sit at home waiting on government assistance. I remember now, after the military I was a police officer in a small city. The pay wasn’t that good but the people I worked with made it worth it. The comradery that I missed in the military was half the reason for becoming a police officer. I can not remember their names or faces. For some reason, this upset me more than forgetting my parents. Staring at myself in the mirror I felt a sudden wave of tiredness wash over me. I guess taking a nap isn’t a bad idea. My body still feels weird, almost like it is not my own.

Movement caught my eye. Apparently, the intel was correct. A man driving a large 18 wheeler had just pulled up. I checked the photo to confirm his identity. It was him, James Glass. He is an arms dealer who decided firearms were too small and wanted to sell things with a bigger boom. Intel says that he has a bomb thousands of times more powerful than the Tsar Bomba. If he has it in the truck then I will need to be careful where the bullet goes after hitting him. I need to move around to his side. I grab my weapon and pack and start running counter-clockwise to get a better shot.

He is getting out of the truck and entering the lone building. It took 20 minutes of power walking and sprinting to get into position. Just as I get set up and get my ranges with my rangefinder, he exits the building walking backward with his hand in the air while holding something. Other men are following him pointing their weapons at him. He enters the truck again. I need to act now.

“Chaos 2-3, I have the target in my sights, and confirmed identity, request permission to proceed.”

“Eagle 3-1, hold for authorization”

“Chaos 2-3, the window is closing, need authorization now!”

“Eagle 3-1, wait one. Authorization has not been confirmed.”

The truck comes to life and starts pulling away.

“Chaos 2-3, there is no time. I’m taking the shot.”

“Eagle 3-2, do not engage until authorization has…”

BOOOM!

“Chaos 2-3, target is down. Send the ground team in for cleanup.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

I was in trouble, ignoring the order I took the shot anyway. Now I had to see the Colonel. I knocked on his door and was told to enter.

“Sir, Sergeant First Class Allen reporting as ordered.” I saluted and announced as I entered.

“Sergeant Allen, it appears you do not know how to follow orders. Looking at your records I couldn't help but notice that you are only a couple years from retirement. Since your hearing is going out I will help you by expediting your early retirement. This could have gone worse, but in light of your past accomplishments, I feel this is the best option for us. I expect you need to pack your things and turn in your equipment. You are dismissed. Oh, one more thing, don't worry about all the paperwork, we will have someone do that for you.”

I woke to the smell of food cooking. Entering the kitchen I saw a full English breakfast waiting for me. After eating I went outside again to find the old man. I wanted my questions answered. He was in the same spot in his rocking chair. I sat down getting ready to start my line of questioning.

“Before you ask, this is your house, not mine. This is your soul realm. I am just here visiting and explaining the basic stuff. You will need to figure out the rest on your own. I will however answer a few questions before I leave.” Said the old man.

“What are the achievement points used for?”

“There are some things you can unlock that are too powerful, so to increase the rarity they will need to be unlocked with AP. This is not to say others will not have such abilities but less will. If you want to live as a dragon, well you will need a lot of AP to unlock that. The same for other powerful abilities like your own smaller version of the system, if you want a video game-like world that is. Upgrades can be unlocked with XP as well. It is best to explore the menus when you have time, but I will offer one more piece of advice. Unlock the AI assistant when you can. They have access to the System and can advise you as you grow. To access the system just say status, menu, inventory, etc. Just like you would in one of your games. Now it is time for me to go, and for you to grow. I look forward to seeing how you progress, after all, you are the only one to complete the tutorial on his first try.”

With a wink, he disappeared leaving me alone with my thoughts. For now, I will study the menus and hopefully find where the assistant can be unlocked. I saw a flashing letter icon in the corner of my vision. As I thought about the icon word suddenly appeared before me.

Legendary Title and Achievement

For being the first to complete the Tutorial on their first life you earned the Title "Once is All it Takes"

+ 200 AP

+ One free shop purchase

+ 1 Million XP

Off to a good start. I willed the menu to come up and was greeted with another box.

Soulbound items unlocked   Bloodlines unlocked Skills unlocked Spells unlocked Mutations unlocked Abilities unlocked Races unlocked Cosmetics unlocked Shop XP and AP totals

After selecting the shop I found the same options listed as before without unlocked next to them.

I searched for an AI assistant and found that it cost three million XP. The option to purchase if was green so I guess I had enough XP. I decided to follow the old man's advice and confirmed the selection electing to use the free purchase from the achievement.

Please describe the gender and personality of your new AI assistant.

"Female, mid-twenties, sweet librarian with glasses, long red hair, umm I guess that's it."

Before me appeared what I had imagined when describing the new AI.

"Hello Shawn, please give me a name, then we can get a list of what you would like for your first TrueLife.