Theo woke to the cold black stone of the dungeon under his bare feet. The distinct presence of dungeon magic was thick in the air. His bed lay against the wall, still made up neatly. He couldn’t remember much of last night, but his body ached so he must have fought the entire day. He vaguely recalled defeating a party of adventurers. The memories were fuzzy and distant. There had to have been at least four of them, and yet he survived. He was often astonished by his own fighting prowess. A small furry brown rat scurried out from under Theo’s bed and scampered down the hallway.

It seemed like there was something important he wasn’t remembering. Theo stretched and yawned, his bones and joints cracking as he moved. He picked up a rock absently, hefting it in one hand.

The door!

Somehow he had managed to open the door the adventurers used. Now he would be able venture out into their world and eradicate them at their source. This would be glorious. He felt energized as he raced down the corridor to the third floor entrance. Broken bits of rock littered the ground, and the occasional torch provided dim light. He paused as he approached the entrance.

Thick green ichor pooled in the rocks, covering much of the hallway. He carefully stepped closer to it. This was where those adventurers met their end. He recognized the familiar signs and growing stench. It was a grim job, but Theo enjoyed doing it. He stepped past the ichor and turned the corner to see the door. His excitement disappeared.

The door was closed.

He stared at the steel framed wood door, willing it to open again. He pulled at the metal bands, digging his fingers into the wood till they oozed dark green blood. He shook it for all he was worth, but the door didn’t budge.

Why wasn’t this working?

He stepped back several steps and ran at the door, hitting it with his shoulder. Nothing changed. Theo sat down on the cold floor. He needed to think.

Theodore summoned his dagger, squeezing the familiar leather hilt in his hand. It was a comfort in the face of his disappointment.

He waited.

Last time, it was the waiting that had done the trick. He kept waiting. And waiting. But nothing happened. Theo got up and brushed himself off. Whatever had worked yesterday wasn’t working today. He headed deeper into the dungeon.

Dank, musty air hung in the still atmosphere of the tunnel.

He came to the intersection of two hallways and stopped, seeing the thick door to the treasure room laying in pieces in the hall. The damage must have happened in the fight with the adventures, most likely when Theo smashed one of their skulls into it.

Rough stone walls, lit only by dim torchlight, lined the treasure room. Cobwebs hung from the low ceiling, and a small chest sat in the back of the room, looking beaten and crushed as though someone had taken a maul to it.

On the ground lay a rugged leather bracelet crafted of woven leather cords and polished stones, with a bold purple stone at the center. It exuded a sense of power and mystery, as though it carried with it untold secrets. Even in the dim torchlight, the bracelet seemed to shimmer with an ethereal energy.

He liked it. It was shiny. Theo picked it up and clasped the bracelet to his wrist. Discomfort radiated up his forearm as blue light flashed across his skin. Theo gasped as the uncomfortable sensation spread throughout his entire body. The glowing bracelet pulsed on his wrist, and a strange power flowed through him. He felt disoriented and suddenly fearful, as though something bad was happening. He pulled at the bracelet, tugging frantically to try and remove it, but much like the entrance door, it didn’t budge.

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Unsure of what to do, Theo clasped the bracelet tighter, trying to squelch the surge of power coursing through him. The room began to warp and churn, as though caught in an otherworldly storm. After a moment, the feeling subsided. Theo stood there breathing hard, trying to get his bearings.

With a pop, his stat screen snapped into view and strange symbols began scrolling across it.

Theo stared in confusion at the screen, perplexed by the unknown messages and still disoriented by surge of power that had overtaken him. He had no idea what was happening. With a deep breath, he tried to analyze the symbols on his screen. It didn’t help. None of the characters made any sense.

“Intelligence below required minimum,” said a voice in his head. “Switching to audio mode.” Theo whirled around, but there was no one there. Who was it? And why were they speaking to him? The weird symbols disappeared from his display, but the voice continued. It spoke in a strange monotone cadence that was oddly soothing.

“Perception stat not found,” it continued. “Attempting progression system reset.”

Theo furrowed his brow. What was it talking about? He tried to focus on the symbols, but they wouldn’t come back. Suddenly, he felt another surge of energy ripple through his body.

“Error! Invalid entity type.”

The voice was now screaming in his head, causing Theo to wince and clap his hands over his ears, which didn’t help any. He felt a strange tingling sensation in his chest as the bracelet glowed brighter. The room began to sway again, and with a loud pop, his stat screen went black.

Theo stumbled backwards, his heart racing with fear and confusion.

“Error! Progression system not found.”

The words echoed in his head, and all he could think of was the overwhelming sense of power flowing through him. He didn’t know what was happening and it seemed like things had just gotten worse.

“Attempting forced install of progression system.”

Theo fell to his knees, shaking and convulsing. Whatever was happening to him, he had no idea how to control it. He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched every muscle he could think of trying desperately to regain control.

He gasped. The burning sensation in his chest returned abruptly, followed by yet another odd popping sound. When he opened his eyes, he saw that his stat display had returned. The symbols were different. They were still confusing, but he could now make out some of the characters. The stat screen flashed several times and an increasing number of dots accumulated one after another.

Hello world

He read the text displayed in bold letters across the center of the display. He didn’t know what it meant, but at least he could read it now. The text disappeared and his stat screen flashed white and more dots showed up and then disappeared. The stat screen faded to black and then reappeared with new text.

Progression system initialization successful...

Theo stared at the screen. As before, he could read the text and comprehend the individual words, but strung together like that they made little sense. He could now feel the cold dungeon floor under his back. He was starting to regain his senses, but couldn’t seem to move yet. He had so many questions.

What was a progression system and what did it mean by initialized?

This was so confusing. He tried to sit up, but couldn’t move at all. He was having a hard time even keeping his eyes open. A new message appeared.

Welcome Denizen: Theodore

Please Wait.

Restarting...

That was the last thing Theo saw before the world went dark.