The ledge continued to crumble beneath me, my fingers strained against the stone with a desperation I had never known, my legs scrambled for some kind of support but I could find none. Was this it I asked my self, was I going to die here?

Panic rose in my chest as I felt my grip slowly slipping away. My muscles burned, aching in the minutes that passed and the effort to hang on. All the familiarities of the gaming room were gone, vanished into thin air. I told my self this couldn't be real, it had to be a trick or a dream maybe, that soon I would wake from.

I closed my eyes and willed everything to go away. When I opened them I was still struggling to hold onto the ledge. Soil and rocks were tumbling away into the darkness below me. I knew my fate would follow if something didn't change soon. Each fragmenting stone filled me with dread. I thought of my life unfinished, so many things I wanted to do, words unsaid and for a moment of Martina. Prayers and pleas to the divine raced through my mind, begging god that might I might be spared. Hoping for deliverance. My Will to over come this horrible situation welled up inside me. I would not die today I told myself. I summoned every ounce of strength in my body to hold on to the ledge. Dying here was not an option.

Salvation came in the way of my friends as they scrambled to form a human chain. Clifford teetered on the edge and offered me his hand while Ty and Sam anchored themselves firmly on the ground beyond the edge of the chasm. Linking their arms together, their muscles straining to overcome the pull of gravity. Each one of them leaned their body away from the chasm and tugged. I heard their groans as they worked together. I felt my self rising inch by precarious inch. My body was still swinging over the depths but now I had hope.

"We are almost there, hold strong Cliff, " I heard Sam yell to Clifford, motivating him.

"I have got him, He's going nowhere now!" Cliff groaned.

Shards of stone pelted my body and in a hail of debris the boys gave one final heave pulling me to safety. I was on solid ground. I stood, my legs shook with the rush of adrenalin. Sam, Ty and Cliff surrounded me. We high fived each other and they embraced me cheering and laughing in the face of danger. The stress of the moment was finally washed away.

Magnus looked at us, His eyes flashed green, judging whether we might have the worth to we continue. "You have enter the game of "Valiant" Your job here is to complete the challenges of this game, stop your opponent and save the Nine Realms from The Apocalypse that will destroy both the game and The World outside. Your world." He pointed his staff toward the tunnels, The carvings now glowing brilliant on the wooden surface.

"That path alone leads onward through the deep and dark, to where Realm's end. Defeat the monsters of the apocalypse and their ruler...or all that is and might yet be will fall!"

We stood stunned, the weight of existence itself now resting on our shoulders. To venture forward was to face untold dangers, yet to stay meant everything we know and love will cease to exist.

Magnus gave each of us a parting glance, and then he growled, "Go now, go! Time waits for no one!" A burst of bright magic shoved us forward, stumbling into the darkness. We scrambled to stand, our shouts of surprise echoing loud against cold stone.

A light of sorcery flared brightening the way ahead. Magnus still kept vigil at the tunnel's mouth. He called through the tunnel: "Seal their breach, or else the monsters shall claim all forevermore!" His gnarled staff smashed against stone floor. "The fate you forge here shall shake eternity. Go heroes, the depths call to you!" Undaunted, we plunged ahead into shadows, not knowing what we would encounter.

Our challenge accepted; Our actions now edged us nearer to the destiny Magnus laid out. I looked at my companions, and together we plunged into the black of the passage, the sole route to the Nine Realms.

As we moved along through this place, the further we went, the more I started noticing an odd feeling. I couldn't quite put my finger on it at first. A tingle in my spine. A prickle at the base of my skull. A pulling somewhere deep inside me. There was a nagging thought, a strange sense of something trying to get my attention. Then I saw it, a chart of numbers and statistics that seemed to hover in my peripheral vision, like a hologram. I shook my head to clear the vision, but the numbers remained.

" Guys are you seeing this?" I asked the others.

A character sheet spilled out before me and it read:

Name: Carter Green

Class: Human Level: 1

Experience points: 0/100

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Strength: Lv 1

Constitution: Lv 1

Dexterity: Lv 1

Wisdom: Lv 1

Intelligence: Lv 1

Charisma: Lv 1

Each one of my buddies chimed in, acknowledging the panel of statistics that floated in front of them.

"Oh man, this cant be right, I'm back to level one!" Clifford moaned clearly disappointed.

I looked at him, Cliff just didn't make the cut for the "tank" class, he was the ultimate tank. a real beast, massive. and built like a brick wall Cliff developed his barbarian warrior over the years to be unstoppable. He complained, all his hard earned skills were lost to this game and now he would have to start again.

" I'm level one too," Tyler added, wrapped in shadows, daggers gleaming at his belt as the stats of a rogue came to life.

" Me too," Sam winced reviewing his information he glowed with the healing light of a cleric. "This is not going to be easy, how the hell did this happen!" I continued to review the attributes marking me as “Human - Level 1”, a blank slate to forge through the adventures ahead.

When we sat down at Sam's gaming table we had thought to merely play as heroes of our imaginations...The game had begun in earnest now whether we were ready or not, it was time to step up to this adventure . Here we were, in a situation so surreal I kept doubting my own senses. Part of me still wanted to believe I must have knocked my head fall or that I would wake from a dream any second back home without a care in the world.

I looked into the depths of the tunnel knowing the danger we faced was real. The darkness was filled with an acrid stench of mold and rot. The sulfurous walls glistened with dandelion colored crystals in a dim orange light that seeped in from cracks in the tunnel walls, slime dripped from the ceiling as we pushed forward. Small jagged stones crunched underfoot, remnants of some ancient collapse. Water dripped in the distance, plinking into unseen stagnant pools. The tunnel groaned and shook. I hoped the groans were just the mountain settling and not something giving way. The tunnel descended, its grade steepening at an alarming rate, as if delving into the very roots of the mountain itself.

Tyler scouted ahead, "There's a widened chamber,” he said in a hushed voice. We continued to where the tunnel opened, crumbling arches carved with stick figures glowed at our approach. A chittering shriek split the air as lizard-like beasts swarmed from crevices. The creatures wielded crude blades in our direction.

" Goblins!" I yelled out to the others. Their scaly hides were mottled rock-grey, their fangs bared. They circled around us and hissed. The largest one grunted, his scarlet eyes glaring from a brutish face as he pointed a crooked staff and bellowed to his comrades "Intruders! quench your hunger, brothers!"

They attacked in a rush of swords, wielding slashes and crudely thrown stones. Clifford swung his axe and smashed through the first rank, roaring with rage, louder than their chieftain. Blades clashed and rang, echoing off the chamber walls. We gave no ground. The chieftain growled a retreat at last. He turned and glared at our defiant stand. " You will not defeat us next time," He growled.

"If there is a next time," Cliff taunted flexing his sword. We broke the goblin force, and sent them fleeing into shadows. I looked with shared wonder at my friends, bloodied but not broken.

A deep resonating voice filled the chamber.

Greetings Adventurers,

You have overcome your first challenge in the depths of the tunnels of Valiant. As a reward for defeating the goblins , each of you will gain an additional skill or ability of your choice to aid you on the journey ahead:

Carter, choose one of the following:

- Proficiency in Light Armor to bolster your defenses.

- The Dual Wielder feat to wield two weapons at once.

Clifford, your choice is:

- Learning to Rage twice per day to unleash greater destruction

- Gaining proficiency in Intimidation to leverage your fearsome presence.

Sam, you may select:

- One additional 1st level spell to expand your healing abilities

- The War Caster feat to aid concentration on spells amidst the thick of battle

Tyler, choose from the following:

- Proficiency in Thieves' a tool to ply your craft at locks and traps

- Learning the Two-Weapon Fighting combat style to strike with twin blades

Choose wisely, greater perils await you on the journey ahead. Your newly forged arms and skills will serve you well!

My choice was difficult, I needed the light armor more than the ability to wield two blades at once, so made the obvious choice. Light armor.

" It's rage for me!" Clifford roared.

Sam selected the 1st level spell to enhance his healing abilities and Tyler chose the Proficiency in Thieves, anticipating traps and locked doors as we progressed.

Having chased the goblins away, we ventured deeper into the bowels of the mountain continuing downward. The air became close and stifling now as the tunnels narrowed so that we could only advance in a single file. Ahead I could make out a faint red glow flickering against the tunnel's wall.