The rain had turned into a gentle drizzle, until it stopped entirely. The air was alive with the scent of wet earth and green leaves, and the song of birds could be heard all over the place. It was magical, on a level that Emma had never experienced in her life.
Unfortunately, Emma's more pressing concerns prevented her from fully appreciating the place and the moment. She was lost, figuratively and literally. She shouldn't be here. This place shouldn't even exist. Was she dreaming? Was she even alive?
As she was about to go full on existential crisis mode, she saw a flicker of light in the corner of her vision. She turned her eyes to it, trying to catch a glimpse.
> Welcome to Aetheria
It was a sign. A glowing, semi-translucent sign just floating there, in the middle of the forest, within arm's reach. It felt so out of place that Emma started giving credit to the theory that this was all a dream.
As she took a step closer to inspect the sign, it floated away, keeping a constant distance from her. Like it was... Like a videogame notification.
Ok, now she was sure she was dreaming. Or dead. Heck, why not both?
Hesitantly, she reached out, fully expecting her hand to pass through the notification. But her fingers met resistance, touching the surface of the window as if it were a physical object. The moment she made contact, the message changed, new words appearing:
> Level: 1
>
> Strength: MAX
> Agility: 5
> Resistance: 8
> Magic: 2
Ok, definitely a videogame then. Well, if there's one thing Emma knew, it was videogames. Too bad her [Magic] was so low, she always favored casters, opting to focus on crowd control and damage bursts. Still... "Strength: MAX?" Emma repeated, the words echoing in her mind.
Of course, it was all completely absurd. How on Earth was she in a videogame? Well, not Earth. How on… Aetheria? Yeah, that was the name the game gave to the world. So, she was in a videogame. And honestly, she wasn't even upset about it. Scared, sure. Questioning her sanity, definitely. But her heart was racing not with fear, but with excitement! Maybe this was the adventure she had longed for, the escape from the monotony of her life.
Resolved, Emma started walking deeper into the forest. With every step she felt the weight of her old life slipping away, replaced by a burgeoning sense of curiosity and excitement. The forest seemed to watch her, ancient trees whispering secrets in the wind as she passed, their leaves rustling with a sound like laughter. The sun was filtering through the canopies, no sign of the storm that brought her here.
She was so ready to explore the forest! But first, there was something that was bugging her. What the heck did [Strength: MAX] mean?
"Okay, Emma," she whispered to herself, a determined spark igniting within her. "Let's see what this MAX strength is all about."
Her first test was simple: find something to lift. She eyed a large rock nestled among the trees, its surface slick with the last remnants of the rain. She had no idea what it weighed, but it was wider than her shoulders so she guessed it would require several people to lift. She wondered if the rules of her former life still applied here.
Crouching beside the rock, Emma slid both her hands underneath its mossy edge, the cool dampness seeping into her fingers. She braced herself, expecting the familiar strain on her muscles, the weight of the rock grounding her efforts. Yet, as she lifted, the rock moved with an ease that left her breathless. It was as if she were lifting a pillow, not a boulder!
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"Whoa", she gasped, the rock steady in her hands. She turned it this way and that, marveling at how light it felt. With a flick of her wrists, she tossed it into the air, watching as it sailed effortlessly before crashing back to the earth with a thud that seemed at odds with how easily it had flown.
Emboldened, Emma set her sights on a bigger challenge. A fallen tree, its trunk wide and long, lay a short distance away, brought down by some long-ago storm. Approaching it, Emma felt a mix of excitement and disbelief. Could she lift this too?
She positioned herself, hands finding purchase on the rough bark, and lifted. The tree rose, obeying her newfound strength, the lack of effort sending a thrill through her. Emma laughed, the sound bright and disbelieving in the quiet forest. She maneuvered the tree, spinning it in a slow circle before setting it down gently, a feat that would have been impossible just an hour ago.
"Not bad for a Level 1 newbie!" She quipped, a grin spreading across her face.
Her final test was something more dramatic. She needed to know if this strength extended beyond just lifting stuff. Spotting a thick branch overhead, Emma took a few steps back, eyeing it like a challenge. She crouched, feeling the power coiled in her legs, and then leaped.
The jump propelled her upwards, far higher than she anticipated, sending her soaring toward the branch with alarming speed. Her hands grasped it, and with a flex of her arms, she swung herself up, landing clumsily on her stomach.
"Well, I guess that 5 in Agility is pretty low." Said Emma as she lifted herself to a sitting position on the branch, noticing how effortless the act was. "Still, wow! I'm super strong!"
Emma sat there for a moment, legs dangling, as she processed the extent of her abilities. This strength, it opened up so many possibilities! With a sigh, she dropped from the branch, landing on the forest floor with a softness that belied the height from which she had fallen. The impact was negligible, her body absorbing the shock with ease.
"Wait a minute. If 5 in Agi is low, shouldn't an 8 in Resistance also be pretty low? Why didn't that fall hurt?"
As Emma was pondering how her stats worked, she heard a low, menacing growl rumble through the air. She froze, her heart hammering against her ribs, as a massive, dark gray wolf detached itself from the gloom of the forest. It was taller than Emma, with fangs longer than her hands, and its gaze locked onto her with predatory interest.
The primal part of Emma's brain screamed for her to run, to put as much distance between herself and those gleaming eyes as possible. But another part, the part honed by countless hours of gaming, where tactics often meant the difference between victory and defeat, urged her to stand her ground.
Remembering her stats, Emma squared her shoulders, her fists clenching at her sides. "Okay, Emma, you've got MAX strength. Time to put it to good use," she muttered to herself, trying to sound braver than she felt.
The wolf advanced, its movements deliberate, muscles rippling under dark fur. Emma could see clearly the sheer power in its frame, the lethal grace with which it moved in spite of its massive size.
As it lunged, a low growl escalating into a ferocious snarl, Emma made her move. She stepped sideways with a small jump, and she simply punched. Her hand barely grazed the wolf's side, yet still sent it tumbling through the air.
Emma stood, wide-eyed, staring at her own hand as if it were a stranger's. The wolf, equally stunned, picked itself up from where it landed a few meters away. Its eyes were now wary, a hint of confusion mingling with the ferocity. It circled her, growls rumbling deep in its throat, but Emma could see the hesitation in its posture, the calculation behind its eyes as it reassessed this unexpected adversary.
The standoff lasted only moments before the wolf attacked again, faster than before. But Emma was ready. This time, she met the wolf's charge head on with her fist. When she struck it sounded like a cannon shot, and the wolf flew like a cannonball. It crashed into a tree with a thud that shaked every leaf, before sliding to the ground, dead.
Emma stood over it, her chest heaving, a mix of adrenaline and disbelief flooding her system. She had fought a giant wolf and won! As the adrenaline faded, replaced by a deep, pervasive awe, Emma looked around at the forest, at the world that had become her new reality. A smile spread across her face.
"Okay, Aetheria," she whispered to the dead wolf, to the trees, to the forest itself and to whatever lay beyond, "let's see what you've got."