I glance at my phone, tapping on the screen. It's late. "Guys, it's getting pretty late. Let's call it quits." Silence. No replies. I sit up from my slouched position, eyeing the network connection and the individual player icons in the Discord voice channel. Everything seems normal. I shrug and sink back into the chair. Moving my mouse, I try to message Max, a good friend of mine, before I can even type a single word, my vision blurs and darkness over takes me.
When I come to, blinding sunlight assaults my eyes as I jolt up, instinctively shielding my face with my hands. It's too bright—way too bright. As I rapidly blink, my eyes start to adapt and the world sharpens into focus, revealing a field of grass surrounding me on all sides. Am I in one of those lucid dreams that i have heard so much about. Just to check, I pinch my arm, but the pain is as real as it's always been. Even the warm touch of the sun's rays feels like I'm outside on a sunny day. The grass beneath my hands is sharp and wet, giving off the all-too-familiar scent of nature. Did someone drag me into my yard or something, I could have sworn i was in my room last night.
Slowly getting to my feet I rub the dirt and grass off my pants and look into the horizon. As I surveyed my surroundings, my mind froze and I stood like a stone statue for a good while. To my right was a ledge over looking a vast ocean. No matter how far I peered into the endless blue, all I saw was more of the ocean. To the opposite side was the start of a dense forest, the further I tried to peer in the harder it got to make out the individual trees. Unable to wrap my mid around what I was seeing, I made the mistake of looking up and three giants balls of fire looked down at me with varying intensity. Yep, those are indeed three suns. But why? What's going on? Is this the rumored apocalypse? Did our sun explode into three segments? Or has Earth finally gone off its axis? Curious about my circumstances, I walk towards the ridge overlooking the ocean. I look down into the water to try and catch a glimpse of my reflection. "What the—" The face staring back at me isn't mine. Stunned, I stumble backward, tripping over something hard. I hit the ground with a thud; the thick grass cushions my fall.
Abruptly, I hear a voice. "Are you done panicking?" I whip my head around, searching for the source, my eyes landing on figure behind me. A man with dark brown hair and green eyes sits casually atop a gray stone jutting from the ground.
"Who are you?" I ask, my voice edged with suspicion.
The man uncrosses his legs and leans forward. "Name's Max. And no, I've got no clue what's going on either."
His words register, but my mind blanks for the third time in one day. A moment later, his words click, and a smile breaks across my face as I spread my arms wide, laughing hysterically. "So we've been transported to another world, huh?"
Max suddenly stands up, eyes wide. "Wait—Adam? Is that you?"
I keep laughing. "Of course it is! Who else would it be?"
As I collect myself, I glance around, finally taking in the situation. So, I've been teleported to another world or the sun broke apart into three parts and someone dragged me off to who knows where. Well, at least I've got someone with me, could have been worse. I start walking toward Max, but before I can take more than a few steps, a sharp pain shoots through my head. My vision blurs for a moment, and before I can react, a large blue panel appears, blocking most of my sight.
I try looking around, moving my head, but the panel stubbornly stays in place, obstructing everything. Frustrated, I give up on trying to get rid of it and instead study what's written:
"Bodies adjusted to new plane of existence... Granting a common skill to make up for the deficit..."
As soon as I finish reading, the text disappears, replaced by a large list of boxes filled with names. Confused, I glance over at Max to see if he's experiencing the same thing. Max stood staring blankly ahead into the endless blue. So, he sees it too. Turning my attention back to the panel, I scroll through the list of skill options:
Fireball
Water Whip
Wind Blade
Earth Wall
Dash
Stone Skin
Heightened Awareness
Basic Weapon Handling
Basic Heal
Blood Rush
Night Vision
As I contemplate the skills presented to me, Max's voice rings out, "Yes! I can actually learn magic!" He sounds ecstatic. I chuckle to myself. I can already guess which skills he's picking, but what should I choose for myself? Magic seems powerful, but we're in an alien world, dealing with energies we've never experienced before. That thought gives me pause, and I move my hand away from the pure magical based skills.
Before I decide, I figure it's best to wait and see how Max's selection works out. I don't wait long, as Max jogs towards the ridge thrusting his hands out above his chest, and shouts, "Fireball!"
I watch, half-expecting something spectacular, but nothing happens. He stands there, chanting the spell at least ten more times, with the same result—absolutely nothing. Before his eleventh attempt, I make a mental note not to select a pure magic skill for now. I've never been good at learning complex things intrinsically—I always needed a guide or teacher. Shaking my head, I focus back on the panel and reassess my options. In the end, I pick Blood Rush, mostly because it sounds the most mysterious among the non-magic skills. After all, I'm a gacha gamer at heart, so why not test my luck in this new world as well?
After selecting Blood Rush, the panel disappears, and an intense pain rips through my body, causing my knees to buckle as I collapse to the ground. Time loses meaning as the agony pulses through me, but eventually, it fades. Gasping, I scramble to my knees, feeling shaky.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Max struggling to stand, clearly having gone through something similar. Before I can speak, another panel appears in my vision. This one is more detailed, a semi-transparent blue rectangle filled with text and symbols:
Species: Human
Age: 24
Level: 1
XP: 0/100
Health: 70/70
Mana: 50/50
Stamina: 70/70
Strength: 7
Dexterity: 8
Endurance: 7
Vitality: 7
Intelligence: 5
Wisdom: 5
Charisma: 4
Titles:
World Walker, Epic
Skills:
Blood Rush Lv1, Common
Universal Language Comprehension Lv.Max, Rare
Personal Storage Lv.Max, Rare
Reading through it, I realize this is your run-of-the-mill status page, similar to those found in most video games. It quantifies all my abilities and stats by giving them numerical values, which would be almost impossible in our old world but not here, I suppose. I adjust my feet and sit down more comfortably in a cross-legged position, starting to ponder what all of this means for us.
I skim through my stat values, trying to parse the meaning and effect of each. However, I am unsure of what the average values are in this world, and unless I can gain more, testing will be impossible. Giving up on that avenue, my eyes land on the Titles section: World Walker, Epic. If names hold significance in this system, then I'm assuming I got this title because I was teleported to another world. So I can be sure that we are definitely in another world. With that figured out, I concentrate on the skills section of my status page.
Skills:
Blood Rush Lv 1, Common
Universal Language Comprehension Lv Max, Rare
Personal Storage Lv Max, Rare
As I suspected, Universal Language Comprehension and Personal Storage are skills likely tied to the title World Walker. I'm not entirely sure, but their max level and high rarity suggest they're not just universally available to everyone in this world. Before I can delve deeper into my thoughts, Max's voice cuts through my reverie. "I still can't use Fireball! What about you?"
I turn around, realizing I've been standing there, lost in thought for quite some time. Looking up, I shout back, "Give me a second! I'm trying it now!"
Taking a deep breath, I instinctively place my hand over my chest and mutter, "Blood Rush." Yet, aside from the steady thumping of my heart, I feel nothing—no surge of power, no rush of energy.
Disappointed, I lower my hand and yell back, "No luck here either!" With little else to do, I walk toward Max to discuss our status pages, curious to see how they differ, if at all.
We spend the next few minutes comparing our status pages and come to a few conclusions. First, our panels are exactly identical, except for the skills we chose at the beginning. Second, no matter how hard we try, neither of us can access our newly acquired skill. Lastly, we can close the panel by focusing on the black-and-white icon at the top right and reopen it by visualizing it in our minds.
I glance over at Max and ask, "Shouldn't we have received some kind of tutorial or guide to help us adjust?"
Max shrugs. "Maybe if this were a game, but it's a real, living, breathing world—one where magic seems to be the dominant force." Reflecting on his words, I summon my status page again and focus on the skill that piques my interest: Personal Storage, Lv.Max, Rare.
I squat down and pick up a small, unassuming pebble, concentrating on the Personal Storage skill. To my astonishment, the rock vanishes before my eyes, and a new panel materializes in my periphery, labeled Inventory Slots. The panel displays five boxes, grayed out except for one, which shows an image of the pebble with a label underneath reading, Small Pebble, Quantity: 1, and at the bottom, it states, Capacity: 1%. This is pretty handy—I didn't expect it to work after our earlier struggles with the other skills. However, the issue becomes clear: this skill's max level allowed it to activate easily, while our newly acquired skills are lower in rarity and likely still need some development.
With that sorted in my mind, I head toward Max, who looks increasingly dejected after failing to manifest any magic. After some discussion, we conclude that Personal Storage works as the name suggests; it stores any inanimate item in an invisible box, with a maximum capacity of about one cubic meter. Additionally, it negates the weight of all items stored within it, meaning it doesn't affect us in any way. As I ponder the advantages of this skill, I see a determined Max sprint toward the land's edge, connected to the ocean, to attempt his skill casting again.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Suddenly, it hits me: aside from our status panels and the inventory skill, we have nothing. We're stranded on what looks like the edge of a large landmass, with a dense forest on one side and an endless ocean on the other. Not only that, we have zero experience in hiking or camping, let alone any basic tools to start a fire.
With this sobering thought, I stand up and call to Max, "I think we should stick together."
Max grins back at me. "Of course! Don't want to get eaten by a wolf at night with no one on night watch!"
Shaking my head, I smile. "Yeah, yeah. Let's head into the forest first, and then we can worry about wolves." With our next move decided, we set off into the dense woods.
After wandering aimlessly for what feels like an hour, we stop to rest in a clearing dominated by the remains of a massive fallen tree. Its moss-covered base vaguely resembles a park bench, so I plop down on the hard bark while Max starts clearing a small area to sit in a standard meditation pose.
Raising an eyebrow, I ask, "Any reason you want to get your only pair of clothes dirty?"
Max scowls, muttering, "Shh, I'm trying to feel my mana."
I hold back a snarky remark and lean back, relaxing on the ancient bench. As my legs find respite, my mind drifts to our survival needs and how to navigate this dense forest. A few minutes later, my thoughts return to my status page, and I summon it into existence once more. My gaze settles on the skills section, specifically Blood Rush. I understand it's low level, but that shouldn't excuse it from not working at all. Maybe the issue lies in its activation method rather than the skill itself—Max is probably thinking the same with his meditation routine.
One thing is clear: simply dwelling on it won't help. I decide to search the forest for something useful instead, as I tend to think better while on the move. Just before I step into the thick trees again, I pause at the edge, turning my head to shout, "I'm going to look for fruit or something useful. Don't die while I'm gone!"
Max shoots me a glare clearly annoyed . "Shut up."
Laughing, I venture into the cluster of dense trees, which for some reason remind me of birch. A few minutes later, my little expedition bears fruit—literally. I stand before a cluster of fruit-bearing birch trees, their bark tinged with hues of brown and branches heavy with bright yellow fruit that resembles apples. As I approach, I suddenly realize how parched I am. Against my better judgment, I grab one and take a bite. The taste is a mix of tartness from an apple and the sweetness from a pineapple. Since I haven't died yet, I take another bite, then another. Feeling satisfied for now, I wipe my hands on the grass vigorously, but immediately feel a sharp pain. Lifting my hand to my face, I see a ragged three-inch cut across the front of my left hand. My heart skips a beat as blood trickles from the wound. Panic sets in; my vision blurs, and before I can process what's happening, the edges of my sight turn red. My senses sharpen, and I can feel my heart pounding like a drum.
I stagger toward the tall grass, searching for something to cover the wound when suddenly, a small panel pops up in my vision:
"10 Stamina consumed by Blood Rush."
It all clicks. Somehow, I activated my skill when I cut my hand and began to panic. Blood Rush must be tied to that fight-or-flight response people enter during danger. With this realization, I decide to do the opposite. Sitting down, I take a page from Max's book and try to calm my breathing. The stamina message flashes twice more, but eventually stops. I manage to relax and the skill deactivates.
Once calmed, I search for something to use as a makeshift bandage. Finding a few long greenish-yellow leaves, I wrap them around my hand like a bandages. With that sorted, I head back to the fruit trees, extending my hand to start storing them in my inventory, then make my way back toward our makeshift camp.
As soon as I come into view, Max waves frantically and shouts, "Adam!! I did it! I used my ability!" I quickly summon and drop a couple of fruits near where he sits, folding my arms in anticipation. Max points to a small ball of burnt fur on the ground. Raising an eyebrow, I turn to look at him and ask, "So, what happened exactly?"
Before Max begins regaling his tale of magic, his eyes fall on my leaf-covered hand. Noticing his momentary distraction, I wave my hand and say, "I'll explain later. Tell me what happened first."
Max grins and launches into an excited explanation. "So I was sitting there, minding my own business, when this rat jumped out of the grass and scared the hell out of me. But get this—the moment it happened, I shoved my hand forward, and this marble-sized ball of fire shot out, setting the rat's fur on fire!"
He continues, explaining how after it died, he received a system message awarding him 2 XP. Listening to him, I realize that our skills are indeed linked to our reactions and our understandings of them.
After Max finishes his tale, I tell him about my arm. His excitement doubles, and he quickly returns to his original spot, sitting cross-legged to meditate once more. I sigh, then shift my focus to my wound, carefully unwrapping the leaves. Expecting the worst—a nasty infection or decaying flesh—I'm shocked to find it has already scabbed over and begun the healing process.
Staring at the wound, I call out to Max for advice, knowing he studied medicine before this whole ordeal. "Max! I need your expertise. Come quick!"
A few seconds later, he's by my side. "What happened?"
I show him the wound. "Look at this. Is it just me, or is it healing way faster than normal?"
Max examines it closely, nodding thoughtfully. "Yeah, this is definitely faster than usual. It must be related to our stats—maybe Vitality or Endurance."
I nod and start wrapping the wound back up. Max glances up at the sky as the last of the suns rays are fading. "Night's about to fall. We should prepare."
Feeling a surge of urgency, I quickly gather my thoughts. In my eagerness to uncover the secrets of our skills, I've completely forgotten about the day-and-night cycle. "I'll collect the wood. You handle the fire pit," I say, bending down to gather dry branches.
Max nods and begins clearing an area for our campfire at the center of the clearing. As the last rays of sunlight fade, I stand by the fire pit, watching Max attempt to cast Fireball again. Minutes pass with no luck, and just as I'm about to say something, a small flame suddenly flickers to life in his hand. It swells to the size of a marble before shooting into the fire pit, igniting it with a brilliant blaze of orange flames.
Still in shock, I mutter, "Well, I'll be damned." I knew magic was real here, but witnessing it firsthand is something else entirely.
Max turns to me, grinning widely. "Since I did the heavy lifting, you're on first watch. Good night." He strolls over to a spot near the fire and curls up with some leaves as a makeshift blanket.
Still dazed, I walk over to the ancient tree bench, clutching my makeshift wooden spear—a side project of mine—and settle in, keeping my eyes fixed on the darkness just beyond the firelight. With nothing else to occupy my mind, I reflect on everything that's happened so far. So, we're in another world where magic is not only real but probably essential. The stats we have, along with skills and, I assume, classes, define our strengths and weaknesses. And we're stranded in the middle of a forest with no way clear way to civilization. Sitting and resting my head on my knuckles I continue to process todays events. Since we can level up, and Max just proved that you can increase levels by killing animals. I rub my chin with my unbandaged right hand, glancing up at the dark green leaves barely illuminated by the fire at the edge of the clearing. Suddenly, a chilling thought strikes me. If we can level up and gain strength by killing creatures, then so can the predators of this forest—especially those whose survival depends on hunting.
My grip tightens around the makeshift spear, knuckles whitening as dread settles in. Before I realize it, my vision sharpens, and the edges of the forest, barely lit by the fire, come into focus. The periphery of my vision tinges red, and the wood of my spear begins to creak and crack under the pressure of my iron grip.
Then, the familiar message pops up in the corner of my vision:
"10 Stamina consumed by Blood Rush."
With that realization, I relax my grip on the spear and take deep, steady breaths. It takes just one more stamina consumption message before Blood Rush deactivates, and I lean my spear against the bench, though my mood remains grim. If it's like this, our only chance at survival is to grow stronger quickly before everything goes to hell. Determined, I stand up and start walking around the perimeter, trying to activate Blood Rush again in the oppressive darkness. After about an hour, I manage to trigger the skill, but only just. My heartbeat quickens, my vision sharpens, and my physical strength surges—only to quickly subside, my body returning to normal. A familiar system message greets me:
"What? Why did it consume a whole 10 stamina points, even though the activation lasted only five seconds—or even less?"
Folding my arms, I pace back and forth, racking my brain for answers. That's when a new system message appears:
"Blood Rush has increased from Level 1 to Level 2."
"What? Is it really that easy? Just keep practicing the skill to master it? In hindsight, it should have been obvious."
Encouraged by this discovery, I quickly return to the bench, sit down, and begin experimenting with the skill. This time, when I call for it, I feel a connection—like the skill is slumbering, unused to being summoned with any real intent. It's reminiscent of waking up a sleeping arm, where it takes a moment to regain full strength and motion. From what I sense, though, it will take much longer—but it's a start.
For the better part of my watch, I remain on the bench, practicing Blood Rush. By the time my shift ends, the skill feels more like a part of me—albeit a sore, muscular part. I stand and concentrate again. In seconds, my vision sharpens, the red tint creeps in, and my heartbeat drums in my chest as my muscles surge with energy from the increased blood flow. Sadly, stamina messages soon appear, prompting me to unclench my fists and deactivate the ability.
Now, I can use Blood Rush at a cost of ten stamina for every five seconds it remains active. I open my status page and see my stamina hovering at ten. With that settled, I walk over to where Max is sleeping and wake him with a few customary slaps. As he stirs, I explain what I've been up to and share my plans for the future. Max nods along, occasionally mumbling "Hmm" in response. Afterward, he gives me a thumbs-up as I lie down near the fire, willing my status page into view.
Species: Human
Level: 1
XP: 0/100
Status:
Health: 70/70
Mana: 50/50
Stamina: 10/70
Strength: 7
Dexterity: 8
Endurance: 7
Vitality: 7
Intelligence: 5
Wisdom: 5
Charisma: 4
Titles:
World Walker, Epic
Skills:
Blood Rush Lv 3, Common
Universal Language Comprehension Lv. Max, Rare
Personal Storage Lv Max, Rare
Smiling wryly at my level three skill, I pull the blanket of leaves over my chest. The fatigue from the day crashes down on me like a tsunami, and before I can form another coherent thought, the comforting darkness envelops me.