He woke in a temple, beneath a magnificent roof of white stone. Pillars of the same material supported the ceiling, each column engraved with exquisite carvings. He squinted against invading daylight, the shaded white stone seeming as bright as the sun compared to the black nothingness that had just swallowed him. He shot up from his prone position, feeling his body between the chest and abdomen where his very core had seemed to vibrate—the memory remained, but that was all.

Squinting as he looked around, he expected to see the mass of other adventurers milling about, but only he and a lady robed in white occupied the temple. The lady in white seemed to belong to the temple just as much as the surrounding pillars that held up the roof. She was elderly, perhaps in her late sixties or early seventies, and radiated dignity and poise. She smiled as he approached her, revealing wrinkles and lines around her eyes that can only be earned by a life filled with laughter.

“Hello, dear. Welcome to Valbrand. I thought we had already received the last adventurer days ago. You might just be the last one to make the transition.” She spoke with deliberate pronunciation, sounding each word out with care.

“Uhhh, thank you.” He tried to smile, but it felt forced, his eyes still battling the daylight. “Wait, what do you mean by days ago? How many days has it been?”

This is bad. Really bad. There’s no world where getting a late start is a good thing, especially if I have to find a team? What if I can’t find one? What if—

“Relax, dear,” she said, as if able to read his thoughts. “Everything happens as the System wills, and my understanding is that some souls require more difficult paths. It has been five days since the first adventurer arrived, and three days since the last.”

“I've already lost five days? And you want me to relax?” Frustration quickly boiled into anger. “I’m sure it’s easy to say that from your perspective, you’re not an adventurer, right?”

“That’s correct, dear. You’re a sharp one. Not too many realized the same, despite my clothing.” She splayed out the bottom of her dress. “The world you are from must create quite self-absorbed people if the idea of someone other than yourselves existing is so foreign.”

“The world we’re from? You’re not from Earth?” He looked at her in shock. “Few would assume you weren’t also from Earth. As far as I know, we’ve never had proof of any other peoples existing. If not Earth, then where are you from?”

“Why, I’m from here, of course.”

He shot her a flat look. “Where is here?”

He felt a slight pressure in his forehead, between and above the eyes, but it was gone as soon as it had appeared. He rubbed the spot, thinking he had imagined it.

She gave him a wry smile. “You sure have a lot of pointless questions for someone so worried about lost time...”

He took a deep breath to collect his thoughts. He considered the path forward as he breathed out slowly. “You’re right, that can wait. What do I do now? Where can I find adventurers to team up with? What is my class and what are my abilities? What did the Creator mean when he said this world is designed to be the same as our games?”

The lady in white nodded kindly. “Those, dear Orion, are the right questions. Maybe you will make it far in this world after all.”

“Orion?” he asked. “Who’s Orion?”

The same wry smile came from the older woman.

“You are Orion, of course. As to what you should do, I would suggest following the street to the south of here. If you follow that path, you will eventually find a meeting point in the square just before the southern gate of the city. I have directed all the adventurers to that gate to find parties and begin your journey.”

“My name is Orion?” He shook his head, trying to clear it. “Just go south? Which way is south? Is it a straight road, or is there any chance I get lost?”

“Yes, that is your name. You can see which direction is south by opening up your map. Simply imagine a map, and then will it into being. You can do the same for your inventory and your character sheet. Imagine you are accessing them, and then will them into being.”

Confused, he tried to ‘will’ a map open, and a semi-opaque map popped into his field-of-view. There was a small indicator in the center that he guessed was himself. He spun on the spot to confirm his hunch, seeing that the point showing the direction he faced changed as he rotated.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Baffled, he moved on to the inventory next, willing it to open. Just as with the map, it did. He could see a starter tunic, moccasins, and pants equipped, as well as ten gold, an apple, and a wooden staff. He willed the wooden staff into his hand, a small laugh escaping him as it appeared there like magic. The smooth texture of the wood felt strong and sturdy within his grasp.

“This really is like a video game…” he said aloud, more for himself than Miriam, though she nodded along regardless.

Finally, he willed his character sheet into being.

Name: Orion

Level 1 Spatial Mage

Health: 8

Stamina: 5

Strength: 5

Intelligence: 10

Agility: 5

Armor: 3

Abilities:

Portal

Tier 1, Level 1

Cooldown: 30 seconds

Create a portal that leads to another location within 10 meters of the caster. Others can also be teleported if they are touching the caster, and the caster wills it.

So I do have a name…? Orion...

He didn’t hate the sound of it, but still found it a little jarring that he couldn’t choose one for himself.

Forget the name. I have tangible stats. Not to mention… an ability! My ability has a tier and a level assigned. Does that mean it can increase in power?

That stats existed, and that he possessed them, made his stomach flutter in excitement. The numbers seemed quite low, though he didn’t have a baseline to measure them against—this did nothing to diminish the feeling in his stomach, however.

His single ability sounded quite fun, if extremely situational. It seemed essentially useless unless he had other abilities—or people—to pair it with. If used in combination with other adventurers, it seemed like a potentially god-tier ability, but he would have to test what was possible given the vagueness of the spell description.

The class of Spatial Mage, along with his granted ability, Portal, made him hopeful that any future abilities would also be related to time and space. He found the potential mechanics and overall theme quite pleasing.

Closing his character sheet, he looked up to lock eyes with the white-robed woman.

“Do the stats work as one would assume? Does Strength make you physically stronger, Intelligence make you smarter, etcetera?”

“More or less, dear,” Miriam said. “It’s a little more nuanced, especially when you look at an individual’s class and ability, as each particular stat will affect everyone differently. As a standard rule though, Stamina will make you more durable and impacts your Health, Strength will make you physically stronger, Agility will make you move faster and with more accuracy, and Intelligence, despite what you adventurers all seem to assume, will not ‘make you smarter’. What it will do is allow your thoughts to process with more clarity and haste. You will not immediately become a genius with a high Intelligence stat.”

Orion nodded, wondering if his higher Intelligence stat was helping him process all the information he was receiving; was it the reason he was even being so introspective as to consider that it may be? Shaking his head, he cast the idea aside before he could get lured any further down that particular rabbit-hole.

“Is every adventurer given a name, or is that something unique to me?”

“It’s the same for everyone, dear. Just like your class and ability, the System chooses an adventurer’s name based on their ideals and the sum of their potential. No one really understands it, perhaps not even the Creator himself, but Orion is as good a name as any. You can see others’ names by focusing on them, which is how I knew yours. Give it a try. Use your will just as you did before, but focus it on me.”

He focused on the woman before him and flexed his mental muscles. The name ‘Miriam’ popped up, floating above her head in green lettering.

“Well done,” she said. “Do know, however, that it is considered rude and somewhat of a faux pas to ascertain someone’s name without permission. If simply asking is a possibility, even a remote one, that is what is expected. Reserve forcefully doing so for situations where urgency is required, or the target is no longer worthy of etiquette.”

“How would they know if you did ascertain their name, though? I had no idea you did it to me…”

“Do you recall a soft sensation of pressure on your forehead earlier?” She smiled in apology. “I do hope you forgive my rudeness. I intended it as a practical lesson.”

Orion gave her a friendly smile.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miriam. There’s nothing to forgive. Rather, I owe you thanks for your instruction. I’m sorry for being so rude as to not ask your name sooner, and I’m sorry for my earlier frustration.”

Miriam returned the smile. “No thanks or apologies are necessary, dear. You have been one of the more delightful adventurers to deal with.”

“No, really. Thank you for your help so far. This is all very… new. Not to mention, odd. I appreciate the instruction. Is there anything else I should know before I leave?”

Miriam beamed a smile that emphasized the crow’s feet and lines of laughter on her face. The increase of wrinkles paradoxically made her seem younger, as if her true form was peaking through an aged facade.

“Ah, it is so refreshing to see manners in the youth of today. The pleasure is all mine, Orion. I have told you the basics of what you need to know for now. Continue south to the meeting place and find a group before you go out adventuring. You may feel put out by the delay in your adventures, but I assure you, the System does what it does for a reason. Trust that you are on the correct path, and that the power you sought was worth it.”

“Thank you, Miriam. Hopefully, I’ll see you again soon.”

She winced. “Not so soon, I hope…”

He shot her a confused look, and she continued.

“Perhaps there’s something else I should have mentioned. This temple is directly in the center of Valbrand and is where you respawn if you die in a safe zone. Most of the surrounding area is such a zone, as is the town itself. It will probably be after your demise if I see you here soon.” She made a balancing gesture with her hands. “Well, a demise of sorts. Regardless, I hope not to see you in such a situation.”

“I hope the same.” He waved farewell, feeling a little awkward.

Orion turned and made his way toward the south, anxiety and excitement battling within him.