AN: Hey all, please read the summary to see my notes there for Update Speed.
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Series Title: The Internship.
Book 1: The Crucible.
Intro Part 1 of 2: Leave It All Behind.
The distant sound of typing echoed through a dimly lit office floor.
Row after row of cubicles stretched down the aisles, shadowed with long gone employees, off enjoying their lives at bars, with their families, or sleeping as the clock on the wall showed it was past midnight.
Only a few cubicles remained lit, taken up by those who couldn’t afford to leave just yet.
In one such cubicle, a decently built man with dark brown hair sat at his desk, hunched over a computer screen with heavy eyes.
'Almost done. Just need to double-check the coding; Linda will be on my case if I don't.' The man rubbed the bridge of his nose, desperately trying to stay awake. 'Just finish this, and you can go home. And then come back in five hours to start all over again.' An exhausted sigh left his lips. ‘When does it end?’
Amber eyes laden with dark bags, gazed at the bright screen filled with lines of code, seeing thousands of numbers and symbols blend together in their own language and wondering for the umpteenth time why he was torturing himself like this.
The man's name was Jace Mace. He was named as such by a father who thought he was being funny by playing a joke on his mother, only to later realize that he couldn't change the name once you filled out the birth certificate without it being a big hassle. The dressing down he received from Jace's mother that night was spoken of for years after by amused hospital staff.
But aside from such a lively start to his journey, Jace led a simple life. He had two siblings and a pair of caring parents, growing up in a warm home.
Time and events led to most of his family growing distant. His siblings had their own jobs and families now, his parents were happily retired, and he was half a country away, living on his own in a big city.
Growing up, Jace always had a love of fantasy. From Disney movies as a kid to anime as a young teen, and into fantasy novels moving forward even till the current day as a twenty-four-year-old.
It filled his head with dreams and motivation. And it inspired him to do all kinds of things, from being encouraged to be physically active to be like Zoro from One Piece, to taking on life lessons as shown in Fairy Tail on how to treat others, to many more. Funny enough, it was those shows that taught him how to be a strong-minded and open person when society tried to make him a worse one.
But as time went on, and he had to focus on real life, dreams became a thing of the past. He chose a career path he thought would fulfill his interests by becoming a game developer, studying coding and getting a job at a game development company.
It wasn’t all bad. No one was purposefully cruel to him. He wasn’t socially awkward. And he was generally a likable guy. But he was just a loner by nature, someone who wanted to fade into the back and do his own thing without harming anyone.
However, the work was unforgiving, and the hours stole the majority of his life away from him.
His only true reprieve was the rare weekends he could drive upstate to go camping. It had become a hobby to just go off on his own, work on his bushcraft, and read a book in a campsite surrounded by nothing but raw nature.
Growing up in North Dakota gave him a love for such things, and his family life taught him from an early age how to hunt, trap, and dress a catch. His father went on and on for years about hunting, telling him it was in his blood going back generations like most old timers who loved to brag.
But Jace rarely had the time for hunting these days and was slowly hitting his limit.
One would think working hard for a large company would be a good thing, but it only made your direct superior direct more work to you. Thinking that you could handle it and telling you to keep it up for a few years to qualify for a promotion that was sure to come.
When he was young, he would fantasize about the world. And when he grew up, he learned it was called fantasy for a reason and that reality had a big ass hammer it loved to swing around, shattering illusions like glass windows.
Yet sometimes, reality and illusion are only limited by the doors open to you. And that night, a new door opened for Jace. A door that would change everything for him.
A soft ding rang out from the computer, attracting Jace’s eyes to an email notification.
Desperately desiring a distraction from his monotonous work, he dragged the mouse over to it and scoffed at what entered his inbox.
[Job Offer for Jace Mace.]
‘How was this not sent to spam?’
In nine out of ten cases, Jace would have ignored it as a possible cyber threat and thrown it in the trash, but as tired as he was, and because this was a company computer he didn’t care about, he just clicked on it hoping it would at least entertain him for a moment.
[Job Offer for Jace Mace.
Subject: Leave It All Behind.
Dear Mr. Mace.
You have been chosen for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!]
‘Oh, I’m sure. Will I win the lottery? Will I get 5% off cable if I buy within five hours? Or maybe an African prince wants a million dollars with a 500% interest return rate.’ Jace humored himself as he read along.
[We would like to offer you an incredibly rare chance, and it begins with a question.
If you could have one chance, just one, to leave it all behind, all the comforts and safeties you lived with in the modern world, for a single opportunity for a different life, where your life was constantly in danger, where you would be forced to face the brutal aspects of nature, where the comforts that you know didn’t exist, where there was no lifeline or help to call on to save you, with no chance of going back to the life you currently hold, would you take it?]
‘What?’ Jace furrowed his brow at the question. Such an unexpected topic took him off guard as his tired mind tried to process it.
He sat back in his cushioned desk chair and ran a hand through his disheveled hair.
Despite all his complaints about reality, he couldn't say that the comforts weren't incredible. In the modern-day world, you could fly wherever you wanted, drive high-speed vehicles, eat cuisine from cultures around the world in a single city, have air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter, have access to advanced medical facilities, and so much more.
For a cost, of course, but it was available to every citizen in the USA.
Hell, Jace had never even been exposed to war in his lifetime. Sure, there was stuff happening around the world like that mess in Ukraine or the middle east, but he had never personally been affected by them.
Even when he went camping or hunting, he would still return to civilization after a few days. Go home, take a hot shower, order in or make some food, go to sleep in his own bed, and relax before a new day begins.
‘However.’ On the other side of the coin, the allure of fantasy was always in the back of his mind. Shattered by realities hammer, but never truly gone. He worked for a gaming company; he helped build fantasy worlds for gamers to play and immerse themselves in. He never stopped reading fantasy novels. Fantasy was never buried deep enough to be forgotten.
Giving up everything for a chance at fantasy wasn’t such a simple question. And yet, he found that his answer was simple and prompt.
‘I would go.’
He would give it all up without question. He would toss away all the comforts of the modern world. His family was set and fine without him; he had no commitments or responsibilities outside of work. And he saw no issue with roughing it.
‘If there was a benefit to it anyway.’ Jace would have to be offered something he couldn’t have here if he was to give up all his comforts. He wouldn’t want to end up in the time of Rome as a peasant or something. Even two hundred years earlier was a terrible trade off.
He looked back at the email and saw one more line he had initially missed.
[If you would be interested in such an offer, click the link below and see what you have to gain.]
‘Heh, it’s just a scam after all. But whatever, it’s not my computer.’ Nowhere in his contract did it say a computer virus was his fault. Although it did state that physically destroying the hardware was his problem. Jace had a laugh at that part, understanding a few months later how much the temptation to punch his computer screen or flip the desk was.
He clicked on the link and deadpanned at what his internet browser got redirected to.
‘….pft.' A chuckle broke through his haze, unable to help it as he stared at a character set-up page for an RPG.
His chuckle turned into a hard laugh as he slapped his desk in humor. ‘Ah, the irony. A game developer being told to build a character for a job.’
He shook his head in amusement and looked over the page.
An old style book with sandy texture parchment was presented to him, showing a pixelated avatar with a Health, Mana, and Stamina bar tagged along.
[Name: -
Species: Human
HP: 50
MP: 50
SP: 50
HP set to 1% recovery per minute.
MP set to 1% recovery per minute.
SP set to 1% recovery per minute.
]
'It's a simple RPG build. Although, why aren’t there any stats?’
Sadly, there was no extra information provided and he could only look at the recovery rates. ‘1% per minute? That’s pretty brutal for an RPG. Maybe they would have items like an HP-Regen ring that increase regeneration rates? It would become overpowered at higher percentages.’
Not seeing anything else, Jace moved on to the pixelated avatar with a curious hum. ‘Hm, the character kinda looks like me, doesn’t it?’ He paused and tossed that thought away. ‘I haven’t slept in thirty hours; I’m just imagining it.’
There were some arrow keys around the avatar for him to play with, and he couldn't help but chuckle as he increased the character's height. 'I stopped growing at 5'11. One fucking inch off six feet. Not anymore!' He cheered in his mind as he increased the avatar's height to 6'3 out of spite.
Not much else was available to make huge changes, but he could adjust his physical characteristics a bit. Not so much his body structure, but just some details like his jawline, hair color, scars, and so on.
‘I was never big on crazy characters. I’ll just use my own style and keep it simple.' It only took a few minutes, but he finished his adjustments with a 6'3 pixelated version of himself with simple dark brown hair, amber eyes slightly more distinct than his own dull ones, a somewhat stocky yet athletic build, and a strong jawline. ‘I always wanted a better jawline. Those chewy jaw exercise products were a rip-off.'
Below the character, he clicked the [Next] icon and the page of the book turned, presenting him with a simple questionnaire form to fill out. ‘Hm, weird. It’s not asking for payment or personal info.’
In the name section, he just wrote Jace. There were millions of Jace's in the world; it didn't matter what he wrote if it was just his first name.
There were questions asking about his views on various topics, personality questions, how he would handle political situations, and even some for how he thought he would react to specific scenarios in D&D-style combat scenarios. 'I feel like I'm applying for a job for an adventure party.'
He snorted humorously and got through it in a few minutes before moving past the technical questions to more interesting ones.
[What is your preferred starting weapon?]
[What is your ideal starting zone?]
[What race would you choose from the following options?]
[What kind of companions would you prefer?]
The list went on for a dozen such questions and Jace filled them in based on his own preferences until he reached the bottom of the page.
[Confirm answers to continue.]
'So the questions really do make a difference? Confirm, I guess.' He clicked [Next], and the page turned again to a new section that excited him.
[Choose your Class.]
‘I wonder if the questionnaire was first to help with class selection.’
There was a list of classes laid before his eyes, split into six lists, graded from F to S, and marked with diamond symbols.
There was only one option for the first section, and it had half a diamond mark.
[Villager]
‘No social status division from a class system? Nice. It never made much sense to me why [Noble] would be a class in so many games and stories.’
He clicked on it to check it out.
[Class: Villager
Grade: F, Novice.
Rarity: Half Diamond.
Bio: All are born equal. Rise and grow to achieve your destiny. Reach level 10 to upgrade.
Requirements: Reach, at minimum, ten years of age.
* Unlocks Class Slate. (?)
* +10% EXP gain until level 5.
* Gain 1 Talent Point every two levels.
* Add 5 to a HP, MP, or SP every level.
* HP, MP, and SP regen increase by an additional 1% per minute every 10th
Level 0: 0/100 EXP.]
A few questions arose at some of those lines, but Jace pushed on to get a comparison before making any firm points in his mind.
Everything in the second section was marked with a single diamond and had simple-sounding names.
[Warrior] [Rogue] [Ranger]
[Mage] [Cleric] [Bard]
[Farmer] [Gatherer] [Crafter]
There were precisely nine options to choose from.
'A solid spread of classes. Physical, magical, crafting, and support. If these are just the beginning classes, there’s a lot of ways it could go.’
He clicked on [Warrior] to check it out.
[Class: Warrior
Grade: E, Apprentice.
Rarity: 1 Diamond.
Bio: The first step along the path of direct physical combat. Wielding melee weapons and fighting enemies head-on.
Requirements: Level 5.
* Unlocks the Skill Tree for Warriors.
* Base SP regen increased by 1%.
* Add 10 to HP, MP, or SP every level.
* Gain 1 Talent point every 5 levels. (?)
]
'I see. So the Class is the most important aspect. Reaching the next grade of class increases how much you can increase your resources each level.’
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Jace compared the two and saw the changes.
‘Resource gain went up by 5. And whichever Class path you take will start boosting a singular regen resource. Additionally, the Talent Point is changed from every two levels to every five levels. I guess that means how you arrange resources as a [Villager] work toward what Class you should choose next. That makes sense, but what are Talent Points? And what’s a Class Slate?’
He scrolled over the small question marks beside the two names and got his answer.
[Class Slate, an intangible stone slate capable of showing the user their status one side, and their Class Skill Tree on the other.]
[Talent Points, or TP, are used to purchase [Class] and [General] skills in the Skill Tree.]
‘Ok, the Slate is just the status page, easy to understand. And TP are for buying skills from the Skill Tree.’
Jace hummed in thought there. ‘Then that means skills don’t level up manually in this game. And based on what skills you choose; it will specialize your class build. All the physical classes might invest in stamina, but Warriors would gain attacking skills, Rouges stealth skills, and Rangers tracking or archery based skills. It's a solid way to keep things simple while also being diverse.'
Now that he understood the mechanics, he moved on to the next section and frowned. The next few lists were all greyed out, not allowing him to see any of the specifics of the classes outside of the names.
The third section for Grade D was filled with distinctive names along the progression path. [Ice Mage] [Sword Dancer] [Pugilist] [Tamer] and the list went on.
‘So my assumption was correct. Depending on how someone specialized their Apprentice Class with their skills, they would change into one of these.’
He hovered his mouse over the list and found a general answer to his curiosity.
[Grade: D, Journeyman.
Rarity: 2 Diamond.
Requirements: Apprentice Class at level 50. Three Class-related Skills. Journeyman Class Advancement Trial completed.
* Unlocks 2nd tier of Class Skill Tree.
* Talent Points per every five levels increases by +1.
* Add 20 to HP, MP, or SP every level.
* Primary resource base regen rate +1%.
* 1-Point Class Skill Token x2. (?)
]
Jace hummed as he looked over the new information. ‘They want you to start with [Villager] for a Class and work your way up. And it seems each class rank adds more to the total. At Grade D, resource gain goes up to 20, Talent Points went up to 2 every fifth level, and regen rate increase by another static +1%. Taking in all the factors, that’s a static 8% regen rate for your main resource by level 50, with the other two reaching 6%. A solid improvement.’
He skimmed over the class requirements and noticed the topic of a Class Advancement Trial but didn’t find any extra information on it.
Only the name of the Skill Token provided more information.
[Class Skill Tokens are one-time items worth as many Talent Points as stated on the Token for Class-related Skills.]
‘So a 1-Point token is worth one Talent Point, then. Simple enough to understand.'
The fourth section had three diamonds with flowery class names compared to the first three. [Lightning Valkyrie] [Blood Sorcerer] [Blade of Power] and so on.
'Heh, some of these are great. Whoever made this list had a hell of a fun time.' Brainstorming sessions were the one entertaining part of his job with his co-workers. Just spitting out random D&D-style topics for hours and getting paid for it.
The fourth class section, for Grade C, was set at the minimum requirement of level 100, with more intense requirements than the third class section.
The math showed everything increased at the same rate with another +10 to resource gain, +1 Talent Point every fifth level, and regen rate increasing by another static 1%.
And the new grade of Class offered a 3-Point Class Skill Token.
Only one new feature was added.
[Class Grimoire Unlocked]
He hovered over the name and got additional information.
[Class Slate evolves into Class Grimoire. A Grimoire is tied to the user’s soul and grows with the user. The greater the Class rarity, the greater the connection.]
‘Rarity? Those diamond symbols? How does that affect anything?’ He hovered the mouse over them, and a helpful pop-up appeared.
[Rarity Ranking: The higher the Rarity, the more unique the class is to its user and the more benefits are offered. However, the more benefits offered, the greater the struggle to grow.
* Half Diamond / Rank F / Novice = 10% EXP Buff.
* 1 Diamond / Rank E / Apprentice = 0% EXP Debuff.
* 2 Diamond / Rank D / Journeyman 10% EXP Debuff.
* 3 Diamond / Rank C / Adept = 20% EXP Debuff.
* 4 Diamond / Rank B / Expert = 30% EXP Debuff.
* 5 Diamond / Rank A / Master = 40% EXP Debuff.
* 6 Diamond / Rank S / Special = 50% EXP Debuff.
]
'That's an interesting way to go about it. The higher the class grade, the higher the EXP debuff. That would make the higher diamond classes increasingly hard to level, although it looks like the higher grade classes offer more benefits per level, so not advancing your Class would make you fall behind other players even if you keep leveling a basic class. That's a cool setup.'
The fifth section with four diamonds was just a greater version of the third one with the same continuous increase in benefits, needing a minimum of level 150.
The sixth section with five diamonds followed the same pattern, needing level 200 to get in.
All of it was interesting, yet greyed out, so he moved on without much thought. However, the final section with six diamonds was lit up just like the first with the [Villager] option.
Jace furrowed his brow as he read through the list. ‘If it’s lit up, I assume that means I can choose from the class options, but why are they all filled with question marks?' He scrolled through the list, but many of them had question marks and offered not even a name. 'Is it because it's called the Special Class?'
He hovered over Special Class and blinked at the surprising description.
[Grade: S, Special.
Rarity: 6 Diamond.
Requirements: Unlock hidden achievements.
Bio: The fabled Sixth-Diamond. The highest form of Class offered to those who can reach its lofty plateau. Once or twice a century, one achieves a Special Class, and the realm stirs at their birth.
Being the sole owner of a Special Class, the user stands to gain the most, and must face the greatest difficulty in growth.
Prior skills are retained. Level decreased by 100 levels.
Note: Choosing a Special Class without sacrificing levels results in a harder starting difficulty.]
'Well, that's slightly morbid. It has a killer EXP debuff, so it’s got to be worth that price. Did the questionnaire before this play a part in the options I get offered?’
In the end, he couldn’t find an answer and kept scrolling through a long list of [???] that kept repeating until, at the very bottom, two options were shown to him. [Bloodline Hunter] and [Summoner].
[Class: Bloodline Hunter.
Grade: S, Special.
Rarity: 6 Diamond.
Bio: Blood calls to you. Beginning with little, an endless greed and hunger for powers beyond your grasp entice you to take that which belongs to others for yourself. The hunt is in your blood. The call of prey beckons you forward. Rip the bloodlines from your prey and empower yourself with what was once theirs alone.
Requirements: Unlock hidden achievements.
* Unable to Evolve Class.
* Unable to Change Class.
* Unlocks the Bloodline Skill Tree. – Unique.
* +5 Talent Points every 5 levels.
* Add 60 to HP, MP, or SP per level.
* Base HP regen increased by +5% per minute.
* 3-Point Class Skill Token. (x2)
* 5-Point Class Skill Token. (x1)
* Random Bloodline Token. (x1)
Level 0: 0/100 EXP.]
'Holy shit.' Jace's eyes widened slightly as he went through the Class. 'That's a lot to unpack there.'
He went through it a second time to understand the significant differences. 'That's an intense bio, but flavor text aside, it's a really cool concept.'
Games were full of monsters with unique skills. If you could steal them and use them yourself, it would be incredibly overpowered.
‘The reset of a hundred levels is harsh, but looking at the benefits, I can see why people would go through with it. Following the flow here, if every class ranks up every 50 levels, then most people would rank up to Special Class at level 250, so being reduced to 150 isn’t the end of the world. It actually raises their growth potential.’
The six diamond class might have removed all previous class buffs, but it overall had better benefits than all of them. It had better gains than reaching a five Diamond Master Class with more levels to gain the benefits from.
‘But then there are the downsides.’
It had a massive, fat, 50% EXP debuff. That was like playing a game on Insane mode and possibly crippling to most players. It even increased the starting difficulty if you chose it early, meaning you could be stuck somewhere dangerous for a while. There was no further class evolution, meaning no specialization; you were stuck with what you had. And you also couldn’t change classes if you didn’t like how it turned out.
‘You would most likely have to delete your account and start over again. That would suck.’
Seeing how strong the first option was, Jace curiously scrolled to the next one.
[Class: Summoner.
Grade: S, Special.
Rarity: 6 Diamond.
Bio: A one-man army onto the world. A Summoner stands supreme, with quality and quantity being yours to command.
Requirements: Unlock hidden achievements.
* Unable to Evolve Class.
* Unable to Change Class.
* Unlocks the Summoner Skill Tree. – Unique.
* +5 Talent Points every 5 levels.
* Add 60 to HP, MP, or SP per level.
* Base MP regen increased by 5% per minute.
* 3-Point Class Skill Token. (x2)
* Rank E Summon Token. (x2)
* Guardian Summon Token. (x1)
Level 0: 0/100 EXP]
'Another game-breaking Class.' Jace sat back and released a breath he didn't even realize he was holding. 'Two classes, one a self-growth class with abilities that can be taken from others, and the other a self-team growth class with who knows how many summons.' Jace compared the two in his mind, thinking over the pros and cons of each.
'Stealth Archer was always my preferred gaming build. Sneaking up on an unaware foe and one shot sniping them with an arrow to the head never gets old, no matter how many thousands of times I do it. Neither of these sound like stealth or range based classes, but do I really have to stick to my usual style?'
Feeling unsure, he reread the bios of each Class.
‘Bloodline Hunter definitely has a more eerie flavor text.’ He thought over how detailed and well put together the class system had been and felt an instinct tingling on it. 'It specifically mentions the words 'greed' and 'hunger' in its description. Is it going to come with some kind of mental debuff or hidden downside?’
Jace knew from experience that many classes had misleading names and only revealed many of their downsides after you already started playing.
‘But it does sound cool. Hunting bloodlines could be a really fun mechanic, who knows what kind of abilities you can gather.’
He turned his eyes to the other option.
‘Compared to the first one, Summoner has a pretty short bio. Short is usually better. It simplifies the name because the name says it all. It seems more magically orientated, but it also provides summons to do the heavy lifting, which sounds pretty fun. There is already a Tamer class, so it means there should be a diverse set of monsters to work with. Plus, a Summoner wouldn’t have the downsides of a tamer.’
In his line of work, Jace had seen hundreds of games involving taming monsters. You had to find a monster, make it work with you through bribery, submission, befriending, or other methods. Share your EXP with it. And if killed, a tamer has to start over from the beginning unless they had some resurrection method.
But a summoner was completely different. The monsters summoned were not truly independent and more like mana constructs, although the death of the Summoner meant the death of all summons permanently. ‘It’s quite similar to being a necromancer, just without all the death and unholy stuff. Summoning style classes are usually hard to start with, but they have the best long game benefits.’
He leaned more toward the Summoner option than Bloodline Hunter, although, it depended on what kind of game it applied to.
'I wonder what kind of game this is all for? The RPG-style setup seems like an adventure game, but it could be for an MMO as well.’
With a casual shrug, Jace made up his mind and selected the Summoner Class. He was an old Pokemon fan at heart and had a soft spot for animal companions.
A final bit of text appeared at the bottom of the form, and Jace blinked at the bright red font it was written in.
[Would you like to confirm your submission? Final warning, your choices cannot be changed or altered in any way moving forward. Are you ready to Leave It All Behind?]
A snort of humor shot out of him. 'Going for the spooky vibe here, huh? It works; I'll give them that. The red font really gave me the chills for half a second there.'
With a roll of his eyes, he slid over the curser and clicked submit.
There was a blink in time, like the moment before a lightning bolt struck, before Jace's computer screen lit up in a massive flare of light that made him shout in surprise and fall back off his chair.
“What the fuck?!” Pain blossomed from the back of his head as he rapidly blinked the spots out of his eyes.
“Jace? What happened?”
Another man, looking as tired as Jace did, hurried over from a cubicle a distance away to check in on him. “Jace?” The man leaned over him in concern. “You good, man?”
Jace ignored him for a moment to look at his screen but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. His screen was back to his coding program, and his internet browser didn't seem to even be open.
“I…I must have fallen asleep at my desk.”
The man next to him sighed in relief and let out a small chuckle. "Damn it, don't give me a heart attack. I don't need that kind of stress right now. Go home and get some sleep."
Jace finally turned to his co-worker, Scott, one of the other few people who often worked as late as him. “Sorry about that, Scott. You know how it gets.”
"Yeah, yeah, it happens. Are you gonna make it home alright on your own? I can call you an Uber."
"Don't worry about it, I'll catch the 1AM train."
Scott paused and gave him a funny look. “Dude, it’s half past two.”
"What?" Jace gaped and looked up at the clock with dread. 'Did I sleep for an hour and a half. Shit! My work!' He rushed to his computer while Scott laughed at his reaction.
"How long have you been asleep, man?”
“Too long.”
Scott gave him a noncommittal hum before walking out. “Well, whatever, I guess, as long as you’re not hurt. The last train for the night leaves in thirty minutes. You coming?”
“Yeah, just give me a minute to save and close up. Linda’s gonna be on my ass about this tomorrow.”
A chuckle sounded from down the aisle. “It technically is tomorrow.”
“It’s not tomorrow till I get out of bed and have my coffee.” Jace vehemently shot back.
Scott laughed and walked away. “I’ll meet you at the door in five.”
Jace halfheartedly shot him a thumbs up and rapidly read through his coding to see where he had left off. 'How could I pass out like that? I've been running all-nighters since college.' That thought alone depressed him as he thought back to his strangely vivid dream. 'Sucks that was just a dream. I was excited to see what kind of game it led to.'
His idle thoughts kept him occupied while he read, only to pause as he found to his amazement, that the project he was working on never cut off. It was finished. 'Holy shit, did I pass out finishing the coding and get delirious?' He scratched the back of his head in confusion, but ultimately, he was too tired to process things.
A confused, if relieved, shake of his head was all he could manage. ‘Well, whatever. Dream or not, it was a fun distraction. That bright light made me think I was about to get Isekai’d or something.’ A depressed sigh left his lips. ‘Time to wake up to reality, Jace.’
He threw his fantasies to the back of his mind and got up to grab his bag and coat to head out, only to pause as he noticed a notification blinking in the corner of his screen when he went to hit the power button. 'An email?'
A quick click brought up something that made his heart skip a beat.
[Response to your Application.
Mr. Mace. Thank you for applying. Your form has been submitted and approved. Welcome aboard! We will come to collect you shortly. We hope you find the prize worth all you shall have left behind.
Sincerely, Elm.]
'What…?' His heart thundered in his chest for a beat before his finger shot forward and hit the power button, forcing him to stare at his reflection on the screen. 'Was it really a dream?'
“Jace, you coming or what?!” Scott’s call shook him out of his funk.
“Yeah, I’m coming, just a sec!”
Jace took a final look around his cubicle, the same cheap four walls that occupied years of his life and thousands of hours of his time, and suddenly had a strange feeling.
A feeling like it would be the last he would ever see it.
‘Gah, I need more sleep.’
A scoff left his lips as he shut off the light and headed out.
00000
The train ride was longer than he remembered it being with his mind occupied by what had happened.
He halfheartedly chatted with Scott about the project they were working on and got off at his stop before leaving the subway and heading for his apartment.
The thoughts of his little dream were roving through his head, but the more he thought about it, the more his mind kept coming back to the question he was asked at the beginning about leaving it all behind.
‘I don’t usually remember dreams so vividly. Maybe it was an early sign of a mental illness?’
He unlocked his door and tossed his keys on the side table.
Years of hard work resulted in him having his own fifteen hundred square foot loft in NYC, decorated with modern furniture. He wasn't rich by any means, but he was well off and proud of his hard work, coming from a country boy from the ass end of North Dakota to one of the greatest cities in the world.
Even if he hated all the noise, pollution, masses of people, and lack of nature, it was still where the money was made, so he sucked it up.
Jace’s eyes roamed over his place as he loosened his tie. ‘Home.’
Home was a strange concept to him. His loft was his place. He paid for it, decorated it, and moved everything himself. It was his safe space to relax. And yet even still, deep down, Jace never truly felt at peace.
The same feeling happened at his parent's home where he grew up. At some point in time, he simply outgrew the safety of his nest. It wasn't ever a feeling that something was wrong, but simply that he could never entirely drop his guard.
He slept light. He never played music while resting and was always listening for sounds around him. And he never felt comfortable sleeping without a weapon within reach.
There was a single aspect of peace and comfort missing from his safe space that he could never put his finger on. Something to really set in that he was safe.
Despite feeling tired, he felt like enjoying a cup of late-night tea, so he plopped down in a chair by the window, looking down over the glowing lights of the city that never slept.
‘Hm…modern comforts.’ The email came to his mind again as he took in the landscape. ‘Humanity came far.’
For all its faults and sins, humanity built a world atop a world. NYC was a culmination of hundreds, if not thousands, of years of progress to reach a point where someone like him could have comforts reserved for nobles and kings of the oldest empires on the planet.
And then his mind turned to the question. Could he really leave it all behind?
'Isekai stories make it seem so easy. Wisk someone away, force them to fight and spill blood and watch them struggle to return home to this world. But what if they were offered a choice? What if it was their choice to go rather than being kidnapped?'
His answer didn’t change from the one he had in his dream. He would take such an offer. For a chance at fantasy, he would give it all and never look back.
'But…' He idly played with his cell phone, turning it over in his palm as he thought about his family. 'I want the best for them, but they have their own lives. I barely see them once a year as it is these days. If I left, would I hurt them?'
He was mature enough to think about how others who loved him would feel. But he was likewise mature enough to understand that without any prior responsibility, it was his choice of how to live his life.
A soft smile spread across his cheeks as he thought about how his father would react. ‘He’d be sad for a bit, but he’s always been a hard ass. He’ll be fine. Mom would take it harder, but Dad’s always there for her no matter what. And Joseph and Kyle live close enough to them to handle anything else. The family would move on just fine.’
It was interesting how morbid his thoughts turned that night. Living alone, lacking sleep, and under high amounts of stress from work often made him consider ending it all, but he was raised to fight by his father. Never giving in to those weaker thoughts that tried to drag him down.
His father was a spartan in Jace's eyes. A man who faced every challenge head-on and never backed down yet was always willing to listen despite that. He was a role model that helped build the man Jace was today.
The phone turned over in his palm as he looked at his reflection on the screen. 'God, this is stupid.'
Jace had an urge to call him, an urge he couldn't deny, and he knew that he would get an earful for it at the next holiday get together.
Before he could change his mind, he typed in the number and called his father. Each ring of the phone somehow reverberated through his mind as he waited until it connected.
“Hey, Dad...-”
"You have reached the voice mailbox of…-"
Jace's voice caught as he sighed and waited for the beep. 'It's 3AM; what did I expect?'
“Please leave a message after the beep.”
The beep rang in his ears, and Jace choked for a second before powering through. "Hey, Dad. I know it's late, and you won't hear this till tomorrow, but I just wanted to call and say….well….I guess I want to say…thanks for everything you’ve done for me. For being that guidepost I could always rely on to keep me straight. I…" Another sigh left his lips. "What am I saying. Sorry about this old man; I guess I'm just in one of those moods. I just want to say I love you, and I'm sorry I got so busy these last few years. Maybe we can meet up for a hunting trip at the start of the season? Anyway, let’s talk soon. Send my love to ma."
He ended the call and ran a hand through his hair. “Dammit, I can’t believe I just did that. When did I get so depressed and impulsive? I hate family meetings.”
His tea was finished as he stood up and shook his head. "I have to be back in the office in a few hours; I need at least a little sleep."
He washed his cup in the sink and cleaned himself up before climbing into bed and turning out the lights.
A habitual action set his alarm for 6:30 as he sagged into his warm and comforting mattress.
'Another day, another night.' Jace stared up at his ceiling as he felt his body slipping into Morpheus's realm. His fading mind turning back to his little dream a final time, recalling the final words on the second email in his minds eyes.
[Welcome aboard! We will come to collect you shortly. We hope you find the prize worth all you shall have left behind.]
‘Heh, if only.’ His eyes slowly closed. ‘If only….’
Jace slept peacefully that night. And when the sun rose over the horizon to greet the world a few hours later, the light shining through the window illuminated an empty loft.
The furniture was gone. The drying cup next to the sink was gone. The keys by the door were gone. And Jace Mace was gone.
Having left it all behind.
Chapter end.