Ding! The melodious ring of the doorbell echoed through the small shop.

“Move over! What are you standing in the doorway for?” The man in a cap asked Alex upon entering the mini-market. “You think if you put on a chevron jacket you can do whatever you want?”

Pushed back to the shopping carts, Alex involuntarily ran his hand over his black security jacket. The man’s comment stung because he himself had always found it more of a mockery than a symbol of status. Just yesterday, his high school crush, Lana, had seen him in that very uniform, picking up milk. The humiliation was palpable as she looked away, pretending not to recognize him.

“Cat got your tongue?” The man in the cap grumbled. “Am I not a customer here? Why’re you blocking the aisle?”

Alex sighed. He had to prepare for tomorrow’s exam in econometrics. If he failed, he would lose his third-year scholarship, and he couldn’t afford to both pay for his education and support his family as a part-time security guard.

“The passage is almost seven feet wide,” Alex replied. “I couldn’t possibly block it.”

“What did you say?” The man inquired, advancing menacingly. “Get out of the way and let the people through.”

Alex remained calm, even though the customer looked intimidating. It wasn’t the man’s imposing size, for he was as thin as a reed, but rather his bizarre attire, a hallmark of street hoodlums: a crooked newsboy cap, a mismatched combination of a blue sports jacket and sweatpants, oddly complemented by classic shoes with a slight heel. He was casually twirling roughly carved rosary beads in his left hand — an odd choice of accessory to be sure.

The incessant ringing of the doorbell announced the arrival of three more individuals who shared the same peculiar style — newsboy caps, rosary beads, sweatpants, and fancy shoes. The gang’s appearance made Alex sweat. Why was fate so unkind to this particular convenience store? As if his life didn’t already have enough hardships.

“Bucks, why are you bothering the guard?” One of the newcomers sneered, flashing a gold tooth.

“He’s blocking the way, Tire,” the first guy replied, casting an odd glance toward the door.

“Just leave him alone. Let’s focus on our shopping!” Tire said, taking charge and leading Bucks to the food aisle, followed closely by the rest of the gang.

Alex let out a sigh, but it didn’t bring him any relief. His inner alarm bells were ringing louder. These hooligans were right. What kind of security guard was he? He felt more like a watchman; his meager salary barely justified the title. His main duty was to alert the police in case of trouble, and he couldn’t do much more than that.

A vibrating cell phone in his pocket shattered his thoughts. As he glanced at the screen, Alex fought the urge to moan loudly, much like a wounded animal.

Collectors came again. Can you borrow money from your job?

Lately, messages like this from his mother had become more frequent. Since his father’s death and the subsequent demise of the family business, an immense burden of debt had fallen upon them. Alex and his mother’s small salaries weren’t enough to keep the relentless bill collectors at bay. To help his mother, he took weekend and occasional weekday shifts as a security guard, just as he did today.

“You haven’t paid!” The cashier’s voice suddenly cut through the air.

“Fuck you!” The guttural reply came, followed by a resounding thud.

Alex whirled around to see the cashier sprawled on the floor and the brazen thugs making their escape with a nasty cackle. They had pulled their caps down over their eyes to hide their identities from the security cameras, all the while clutching bottles of high-priced cognac.

At that critical moment, it dawned on Alex why Bucks had been so adamant about clearing the way. The ruffian had cunningly tried to force the guard out of the would-be escape route. They had planned this robbery.

But Alex was there, and he couldn’t ignore what was going on. It was a dangerous gamble, but he took it. Catching the robbers might not only salvage the integrity of the shop, but also earn him the goodwill of the owner, who might offer him some much-needed financial assistance. With the collectors off their backs, Alex and his sister could finally focus on their studies in peace.

In his haste to confront the robbers, Alex threw a preemptive punch, aiming for Tire. But his fist slipped, splitting his knuckles and grazing the gold tooth.

“Shit!” Tire screamed, covering his mouth. The cap flew off his head, revealing an irregularly shaped shaved skull.

“I warned you he was in the way!” Bucks’ angry voice came from behind him.

Without looking, Alex instinctively moved his elbow backward, resulting in a satisfying crunch as it connected with someone’s nasal septum. A painful scream followed, culminating in the sound of a collapsing body.

“Arrgh!” Tire snorted, lunging forward.

His bony fist turned a fraction too late, allowing Alex to deftly dodge and land a solid punch right on the thug’s nose. Something crunched under his hand again. The goon staggered backward, his friends hastily catching him before he fell to the ground. In his half-crouched position, Tire’s face was exposed, making him vulnerable. Alex wasted no time, landing a powerful kick right on his chin. A guttural scream escaped Tire’s lips, and he dangled helplessly like a puppet in his friends’ hands.

“Guard! Now you’ve done it!” Bucks’ growling voice came from behind.

Alex spun around just in time to catch a twenty-year-old bottle of cognac hurtling toward his forehead. The impact was violent, causing the expensive drink to foam and bubble inside the glass container. A resounding ‘Bam-m-m’ filled his senses as stars exploded before his eyes and he collapsed like a felled tree.

“Fucking guard!” Tire, now awakened, whimpered in agony, “Shit!”

“The cops are coming!” Another robber shouted. “Let’s get out of here!”

With haste, the robbers fled the scene, their figures disappearing into the darkness of the night beyond the shop window. Gasping for breath like a fish out of water, Alex struggled to his hands and knees. He managed to get to his feet, his trembling hands gripping the edge of the door that had not yet slammed shut. With every ounce of determination he could muster, he lurched forward, pushing himself out of the store, but his body could barely manage more than a few steps.

Landing on the sidewalk sent waves of pain through his bruised ribs. Alex grimaced and raised his eyes to the indifferent night sky. The pitch-black void stretched above him, devoid of stars, resembling an abyss into which all his efforts had plunged. His sister was still young, his mother was struggling to evade the relentless collectors, and the shop owner was probably unable to provide any support after the robbery. Even worse, the failure of his econometrics exam seemed unavoidable, jeopardizing his government scholarship. The looming medical bills for his broken ribs only added to his misery. It was, without a doubt, a day of misfortune.

Then, in a sudden flash, a brilliant light pierced Alex’s vision. Bright blue streaks illuminated the inky sky in a fleeting and dazzling spectacle. These wide, immaculately smooth streaks sparkled like lightning, but they were unlike any lightning he had ever seen. Instead, they resembled colossal ice poles suspended in the sky.

In an abrupt turn of events, the inky darkness that covered the sky receded, revealing a screen of sparkling stars. The heavens became painted with scarlet lines. They cast a surreal hue over the roofs of the houses. A colossal curtain of red particles or steam billowed from above, obscuring the streets beneath crimson clouds. The world transformed before his eyes, as if bathed in a grotesque red glow. The houses and lampposts looked as if they had been marred by a gruesome splattering of blood. Amidst this eerie transformation, the blue streaks in the sky persisted, their icy brilliance piercing through the crimson mist with an unwavering and cold luminosity.

“Damn it,” Alex thought with a sense of resignation. “I must be going crazy.”

Summoning all his strength, he tried to rise, determined to seek refuge in the shop. Inside he could figure out if these bizarre events were hallucinations or the beginning of an apocalyptic scenario. The latter seemed preferable, since his meager salary wouldn’t cover the cost of a psychiatrist.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

As Alex struggled to stand, his condition worsened and his knees buckled, causing him to fall to the ground. It was at this vulnerable moment that two blue streaks, their color resembling ripe plums, descended from the sky. One turned to the right, while the other descended directly towards Alex. To his surprise, he felt disappointed.

“Is this really happening? Giant blue shit from the sky?” He wondered, punctuating his thought with a sardonic laugh. “I thought this day couldn’t get any weirder.”

Catching a vague glimpse of something resembling a playing card, he managed to make out its outline just before the blue glow enveloped his solar plexus. An overwhelming paralysis gripped his body, and everything faded to black, leaving only a few cryptic lines:

Attention!

You have become the new host of the Major Arcana. Your continued existence is only possible in a world with a rank no lower than ‘E.’ Enjoy your new home!

…

As the host of the Major Arcana, you receive the System! Use your powers wisely!

***

“...Enjoy your new home!” Alex read aloud, his voice trembling with disbelief. “What utter nonsense!”

The letters flashed before his eyes and dissipated like morning dew. His vision returned and his body once again obeyed his commands.

Without getting up, he cautiously raised his head and took in his surroundings.

“Where am I?” He muttered to himself.

It was dark, and the cold, earthy ground chilled his back. Rough stone walls surrounded him, riddled with cracks and colorful moss. Stalactites hung from the ceiling, resembling a dragon’s teeth. The faint sound of dripping water echoed from somewhere deep within the rocky expanse — drip, drip, drip... It seemed like a cave.

Had Alex been transported to another place while unconscious? Recalling the cryptic message again, he thought about the System, the new home, and the world ranked ‘E.’ It all bore an eerie resemblance to the stories he used to read — about protagonists thrust into gaming realms. But what were the Major Arcana?

It dawned on Alex that he was remarkably calm considering the circumstances. He was casually contemplating such fantastical notions as being transported to another world. On the other hand, what good would it do to panic? So he decided to go along with it. After all, he had to make sense of his situation. First on the agenda was to find out where exactly he was.

He took another look around. Strangely enough, there was some light. He searched for its source and found it — faint, yellowish mold clinging to the walls and ceiling, casting sporadic patches of dim light all around.

“Well, it could’ve been worse,” Alex noted with a shudder. “Without this mold, I could’ve been left here in complete darkness to die alone. What did it say? Enjoy your new home?”

But it was too early to rejoice. The chances of survival in this ‘new home’ remained uncertain. The cave might have had no exit to the surface, condemning him to starvation and nibbling on poisonous mold in his final days.

As these disheartening thoughts swirled through his mind, Alex settled down, stretched his legs, yawned, and scratched his side. And then he realized — his body felt fine. Completely fine: his ribs no longer ached, his head was clear, and his vision sharp without the dizzying darkness. Only his mouth felt parched, but he reasoned that there must be water nearby to quench his thirst.

He wondered if this miraculous recovery was a side effect of being transported underground, or a generous bonus bestowed upon him by some System.

Alex sat up straight, and a shiver ran down his spine.

“System! That’s it!” He exclaimed, connecting the dots.

He had been an avid gamer for years, and while the details might have been fuzzy, he remembered some stuff from the books he had read. But could this really be possible?

“Status,” he muttered, hardly believing it would work.

And unexpectedly, a message appeared before his eyes:

Race: Human.

Location: Beastland.

Age: 20 years.

Combat Rank: Neophyte.

Techniques: Tower (F-Rank).

Characteristics:

Strength: 6.

Agility: 7.

Endurance: 8/8.

Unspent Points: 10.

Accumulated Essences: 0.

Notes: Dude, you’re extremely weak! You really need to level up!

“So have I become an RPG character? Or have I been thrown into a world ruled by the System? And who’s decided that? God? Satan? The Flying Spaghetti Monster? Judging by the note, it looks like the work of some powergamer,” Alex thought.

He studied the message closely. It bore a striking resemblance to the interfaces of computer games, and some of the text appeared to be clickable. Alex decided to start by understanding the characteristics and clicked on ‘Strength.’ A smaller pop-up appeared next to the trait window:

Strength determines a character’s physical abilities, including lifting, pushing, and carrying weight. Strength doesn’t affect the user’s appearance.

Alex nodded to himself and clicked the next button. Another window appeared:

Agility determines a character’s physical speed and reaction time, as well as their cognitive processing speed.

And finally...

Endurance determines a character’s physical ability to perform strenuous activities without fatigue.

Alex had a lot to think about. For example, how should he allocate his unspent points? He didn’t want to rush into any decisions; he knew from games that it was crucial to distribute them wisely, not randomly.

Nevertheless, it was too early to make that decision now. There was still one more option to explore, but first he had to try to get rid of all the unnecessary windows that cluttered his view.

It turned out that all it took was a wish and a few blinks to make the windows displaying Strength, Agility, and Endurance disappear. Alex clicked on the last interactive word, ‘Tower.’

The Tower is one of the 22 legendary spells of the Goddess of Mystery.

Ability Usage: Kill a monster and activate the Technique. The Tower will absorb the monster and turn it into your familiar.

Potential: Divine.

Number of familiars: 0/3.

Alex sighed heavily. The word ‘Divine’ was certainly inspiring, but... What about his mother and his little sister? They needed their son and brother now more than ever. They couldn’t wait for him to reach the Divine level.

Alex pushed the windows aside and reached into the pocket of his work pants. His fingers found the cold plastic of his cell phone. After fiddling with it, turning it in his hands, and pressing various buttons, Alex returned the phone to his pocket in disappointment. Not only was there no signal, the device itself refused to turn on. The dark screen remained unresponsive.

All right, enough of that. It was time to gather some information. Since Alex wanted to get back home, he had to find out more about this Beastland.

He stood up and circled his small cave. He peered behind boulders, examined stalactites, and even poked at the yellowish mold with his finger. Shuddering, he quickly withdrew his hand. It was soft and moist, almost like the wet fur of an animal.

Behind the largest boulder, Alex spotted a living creature. Well, ‘living’ might have been an exaggeration. On a pile of small rocks lay a blue slime the size of a cat, its back rising and falling rhythmically. Alex had never seen anything like it. The slime resembled the Hawaiian berry jelly his mother used to make when his little sister was a toddler and their father was still alive...

Pushing aside the wave of nostalgia, Alex squatted down and examined the slime closely. He squinted his eyes, blinked a few times, hoping that the creature’s characteristics would appear, as they did in games. But to no avail. There were no new windows.

Alex sighed in disappointment, his lips pursed sadly. Trying not to make any noise, he stood up and turned away. There was no point in making his first familiar out of this useless slime. It would be a waste of effort, and he didn’t really feel like it, despite its resemblance to his mother’s jelly.

Under Alex’s boot, a small shard of semi-glassy mineral crunched.

“Blub,” a voice came from behind him.

Alex froze and turned. His eyebrows shot up. The slime seemed to have grown a bit. Had it just woken up?

“Blub-Blub,” the creature emitted and suddenly spat at Alex.

He barely managed to dodge the turquoise spit. The small glob of slime landed on the glowing mold, which immediately began to hiss, sizzle, and bubble.

Alex broke into a cold sweat. He had narrowly avoided being scalded by acid! This blue gelatinous anomaly was anything but harmless! It was a true monster. This world began to live up to its name.

Unexpectedly, the slime crawled quickly toward Alex. His reaction was swift as well: his heart skipped a beat and then beat faster, pumping blood into his healthy legs, which immediately propelled him toward a nearby gap. The turquoise stream of spit barely missed his head. Alex ducked as he ran and disappeared into the recesses of the fissure.

The new chamber reeked of mold. Alex wanted to sneeze. He hadn’t gone ten steps before he encountered another underground dweller — a massive rat the size of a dachshund. One look at it sent shivers down Alex’s spine — it had red, beady eyes, a mouth full of small, sharp teeth, and a long, bald tail. The creature stood on its hind legs and hissed.

Without hesitation, Alex kicked it in the muzzle. His leather boot slammed into the rat’s mouth and it flew backward into the passage, rolling like a gray ball. The force of the blow caused Alex to stumble, and he narrowly avoided tripping over a stalagmite fragment.

“Blub-Blub-Blub!” The most feared sounds in the world for him reached Alex.

The slime proved to be a nimble and fearless pursuer. Blowing up like a helium balloon, it advanced aggressively towards Alex, letting out a fierce gurgle.

“What the hell!” Alex exclaimed in frustration. “Why am I running from this trash?”

At that moment, a fresh aquamarine spew hit the wall next to his head. The stone smoked as if to say, ‘That’s the reason!’

But Alex didn’t plunge into the unknown depths of the dungeon. The rat had made him rethink his tactics. It was clear now that running wasn’t an option. Who knew what kind of monsters lurked down there?

Grasping a loose stalagmite, Alex strained to lift it. He briefly regretted not having invested at least a few points in Strength. Well, he had to make do. Alex lifted the stone towards the ceiling, swung and throw it.

Bam!

The slime was squashed like a cockroach, and chunks of its gelatinous body sprayed in all directions. The stench in the cave was already bad — and the dead slime only added to it. Tears welled in Alex’s eyes, his throat tightened, and his nose itched.

A message appeared before Alex:

Activate Tower? Yes/No.

No way! He had to make his first familiar a cool monster! Something armored, terrifying, and monstrously strong! But definitely not a slime! Alex raised his eyes to the ‘No’ button on the left, but at that moment, an unbearable tickle in his nose made him sneeze. Achoo! His eyes involuntarily flicked to the right, and he accidentally clicked ‘Yes.’

Congratulations!

You chose your first familiar! The Spitting Slime will be your loyal companion forever!

Number of familiars: 1/3.