October 21st, 2023

8:00 PM EST

Alastar

> System Initializing

> . . .

> Please Stand By

> . . .

> Welcome Sol 3-A!

> You are being welcomed to multiversal existence!

> The realities of the multiverse are now initializing.

> . . .

> Be warned!

> Planetary Mana has now been Jump Started.

> You will find that danger is now coming to temper you,

> soon monsters and beasts will come to attack.

> . . .

> You have three days!

> In exactly 72 Sol 3-A hours monsters will manifest.

> At the same time, Dungeons will form.

> To claim a property, you must arrive before the end of the

> time period.

> . . .

> As you are new to the system, unique opportunities are

> being generated!

> The greatest of these is the tutorial.

> If you value your life, go on quests, acquire titles,

> and find safety in numbers.

> . . .

> Thank You!

Alastar stared at the blue window. It was something right out of one of his books, which he supposed meant that he was daydreaming again. He often thought about what it would be like to be in those stories. Of course, they were almost never this vivid.

The blue screen, something right out of a JRPG or perhaps an old point and click adventure game. It was exactly what he imagined it would look like from the descriptions in the books he listened to. Yet, it looked Physical. Like he could reach out and touch it. He wanted to, but he knew how crazy it would look if he tried, so he mentally dismissed it. Maybe he was regressing after all.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Looking around the restaurant was weird. Just about everyone was staring off into the distance. He shrugged and walked over to the counter. Ringing the bell seemed to snap everyone out of it. Some seemed to be panicking while others were acting like they were returning to reality. A part of Alastar wondered if they saw what he did, but he brushed it off as ridiculous.

“Hello, I’m here to pick up an order for Alastar?” He asked, doing his best to smile in a normal manner at the attendant at the counter.

“Right here. Cash or card?” She said, picking up a large plastic bag that held a paper bag inside.

“Card.” He muttered absently as he took his credit card out of his wallet and tapped it against the card reader. In just a few seconds he was able to take his bag and, done with the awkwardness of conversation, begin listening to his books and ignoring the world around him.

***

Alastar made a point of ignoring the flashing light in the corner of his vision. It was just some stupid daydream, and if he was going to take his meds he’d need to get back to the museum and eat with the pill. As he walked he didn’t notice the crowds around him.

The vast majority of people were acting rather normally, enough that Alastar wasn’t able to pick out the strangeness. Yet, as he walked by and listened to his book there were many things happening that he simply didn’t notice. Whether by choice, or by his obliviousness, it could be said to be a fault or a good thing that he missed so many things happening at that particular moment.

The traffic was annoying, cars had parked all the way through the street and blocked the crosswalk. Still, none of them were moving and others were crossing the street so Alastar joined the crowd and walked back through the few blocks it took to get him to the park around the Museum.

“Maybe a crash happened?” He asked himself, ignoring the Jehovah’s witnesses who were on the corner proclaiming the end of the world. Sure they were loud enough to overwhelm the audiobook for a few seconds, meaning he had to pause it and rewind, but they were not important enough for him to interrupt his walk. After all, that’s what they were always doing, wasn’t it?

Finally he was back at the Museum. There he hummed to himself happily and knocked on the locked doors, grinning and hoping the guard would let him in soon. It was a couple minutes, but he was buzzed in and walked back into the museum and out of the cold night. “Well, don’t blame me that it’s cold, Dale left me out in the cold too long.” He said, taking his headphones out and walking into the break room.

All of a sudden he was confronted by nearly a dozen eyes, all staring directly at him. “What?” He asked, confusedly.

***

“What do you mean that message was real?” Alastar asked, frowning. “Am I going crazy? I can’t deal with going back to the land of grippy socks.”

“You aren't crazy, it was really real.” Dale said, taking his Orange Chicken and a fork handed to him by the collections manager.

“But, you can’t be serious. I mean, there’s so much crazy to it.” Alastar said, muttering to himself while still talking to the rest of the people. “I mean, the world really has come to function in the manner that I have been dreaming about for years? I can really see dragons, monsters, dungeons?” He asked the air as he handed over the beef and pork to their respective members, each of which stuck their tongue out at each other.

“I understand what you mean.” Singh, the other of the two guards said. His metal bracelet made a noise as he reached out and took his food, a bowl of Mapo Tofu. “However, the second notification confirmed it to me. I immediately completed the quest, and got my reward.” He said, touching his turban with an absent gesture.

“Quests, what quests?” Alastar said, still having trouble believing it as he placed the burger in front of the new man, Dexter, as he took his own food.

“Quests seem to be some odd combination of our desires and the world around us.” One of the two Janitors who had a slight Indian accent. Her name, Alastar remembered belatedly with a wince, was Nalini. “For example, my quest requires me to travel, and was based on a story my mother told me as a kid.” She said with a shrug. “I think I’ve always wanted to travel like that, but the world didn’t let me. Maybe now I can.”

Alastar was about to ask what sorts of rewards a quest might have, but he was quickly interrupted. “Eureka!” Dexter said in exuberance. “Done!”