Chapter Two
As they fell forward, time slowed, the blue haze reached out to them, dragging them in. Time sped up as it yanked them forward in space. Moira felt her body being stretched and pulled in different directions.
Blue light blinded her. Then extreme pain, the feeling of her body being ripped to pieces and spread throughout the universe. Ages passed, and all she knew was mind-bending agony.
Just as suddenly, the pieces of her came back together, unifying into something that resembled her again. In a flash, it threw her from the painful blue space like—a babe born into the world. She hit the ground hard, groaning.
She was alive. Well, she felt alive. She lay sprawled on the ground, her brown hair a mess of knots, was fanned out in front of her. She opened her eyes. Bright light seared them. She groaned, closing them, trying to let her eyes adjust.
Grass surrounded her. A glen. Beyond the grass were trees with purple trunks and white leaves that gleamed in the daylight. Bright-colored flowers dotted the forest floor, bringing a touch of magic to the forest. High in the sky were two red suns, twins against the horizon.
It was beautiful, the colors more vibrant than back home. The place seemed to hum with life.
Moira’s eyes widened as it hit her. She wasn’t on Earth anymore. She scrambled to her feet, searching for the portal that had spit them out. It was their only way home. She had to get home. She couldn’t leave them like this, not after her dad.
There it was. The portal glimmered from the other side of the glen. They had to get to it before it disappeared.
She scrambled to her feet, grabbing Duke and dragging him up from the ground and toward the swirling blue portal, stumbling as they reached the edge of the portal.
She paused, staring down at her reflection on the surface of the portal, hesitating for just a moment.
Whoosh!
The portal vanished. Here one second and gone the next, along with it, her only way home. She scrunched her eyes closed. It was gone. They were stuck here.
She gritted her teeth and looked at the empty space where their only way home had existed moments ago.
Ding!
A screen popped up in front of her. She stumbled back, tripping over Duke.
He yelped softly.
“Sorry!”
He glared back at her, his ears pressed against his skull.
She staggered back, but the screen followed her, staying just in front of her, translucent, but visible against the glen. Moira rubbed her eyes and looked again. It was still there. She reached out her hand; her fingers tingled as they passed through.
“Hello?” There was no response.
Ding!
Words appeared on the screen.
“What the—”
System Initializing. New character sheet forming.
“System? What system? Uh—stop. I don’t want any system,” she yelled, beginning to panic as a strange sensation overwhelmed her senses.
A vibration started in her toes, moving up her legs. It started as a light touch, a tickle against her skin. The sensation grew stronger as it moved, flowing towards her stomach and up her arms.
“Stop!”
It didn’t stop. She had no control as the vibration reached her head and turned to searing pain. Pain was familiar after the portal. She could deal with pain. She clenched her teeth, bracing for whatever would come next. Then it stopped, just as quickly as it started, it was gone.
Ding!
Red words flashed.
Character sheet now formed—ERROR ERROR ERROR
Moira waved her hands through it, trying to dismiss the notifications. It continued flashing. She glanced down at Duke, exasperated. He sat next to her, staring blankly off into space.
Ding!
ERROR unresolved.
Race: unavailable.
Racial Abilities: unavailable.
Character sheet available. Please blink to view your character sheet.
Character sheet? The familiar term gave her pause.
She’d grown up playing Realm of Legends, an online role-playing game set in the Fantasy world of Arthoria. Her dad had introduced her to the game when she turned thirteen. She’d been obsessed with it as a teenager. Playing it late into the night with her friends. She could still remember her character, an elven mage named Luna Starleaf. A little generic, but she’d created the character as a preteen.
Her brow scrunched, she hadn’t played in a while. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d logged in.
But, the term character sheet—in Realm of Legends, each character started with a list of traits and attributes.
Maybe—
Moira stared back at the screen, took a breath, and blinked.
Name: Moira Thompson
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Race: Unavailable
Racial Abilities: Unavailable
Class: N/A
Level: 1
Health: 50/50
Stamina: 25/25
Mana: 30/30
Core Traits
Strength:10
Constitution:8
Dexterity:6
Intelligence:12
Wisdom:10
Charisma:8
Skills
Tripping lvl 1
Companion
Name: Duke Thompson
Race: Dog
Level: 1
Attribute Points: 0
Moira gasped as she read through the information. She was right. The layout was like Realm of Legends—listing out her skills and traits as if she was playing a game. Except it had dexterity instead of endurance and the luck attribute was gone completely. She tilted her head; it listed her class as N/A. Maybe she wasn’t at a high enough level to pick a class?
More interesting was the lack of race. Shouldn’t she be human? The notification had said there’d been an error with her race—did that mean she wasn’t human anymore?
She swallowed, as her mind raced. If this world was really like Realm of Legends and followed the rules of the game, then maybe the way home was by playing.
Moira looked back at where the portal had been, the way back was blocked. It looked like her only option of getting home was seeing where this game took her. After all, Moira had been looking for a way out of her own life. Now maybe this was her chance? She had needed an adventure, and fate had placed her on the path to one; she just needed to take the leap.
Moira just hoped the way home would be there at the end of it, because if it didn’t—she shivered. She couldn’t think about that right now.
Duke barked, shaking her out of her daydreaming. He growled, the noise coming from deep within his throat, a grumble alerting Moira to something on the edge of the quiet glen.
A dark presence loomed, partially hidden in the shadows. Moira’s breath hitched in her throat.
The figure watched her from afar. Red eyes peered out from the forest, meeting her gaze. She shivered as its glare settled on her.
She stiffened and froze as an aura of dark energy flowed over her, suffocating her with a look. Black tendrils slithered out from its frame, spreading out, curious.
The white leaves dulled, and their glow faded as the creature moved closer. The soft hum of the forest went quiet, and silence filled the air. Color leached from the trees, the grass, and the air. Leaves wilted on the branches, and the flowers crumbled and died. Leaving everything faded and gray, lifeless.
Moira stared, frozen by the creature. Her face drained of color, and her heart pounded like a drum against her chest. Yet all she could do was watch as the black tendrils inched closer. One split off from the rest, twisting through the air and angling right towards her. It stopped inches from her face. Her eyes widened, and her mind screamed at her to move.
The tendril wavered back and forth in front of her, examining her. It crept closer and paused. Moira could only stare back. If this was the moment she would die, then what was the point of it all? Why bring her to this world just to let her die at the hands of this creature? No, that wouldn’t be her story. She wouldn’t let it. This wasn’t the end of her.
She glared back at the creature, who still stood hidden in the shadows. It’s blood-red eyes stared back. She didn’t blink. If this was it. She wanted it to look her in the eyes as her light left.
As if it heard her, the tendril turned away. It shot back toward the creature and returned to its body. The rest followed, and the hulking black form disappeared into the forest. Her body unfroze, and she gasped for air.
Moira collapsed to the ground; the strain of the creature’s presence left her exhausted. Duke whined at her side, leaving wet kisses on her face. She stroked his cheek, savoring the soft feel of his fur.
“I’m okay, bud. Thanks for the warning.”
She sat up, her hands shook, and she shivered uncontrollably. Around her, the forest was slowly coming back to life. Color flowed back into the world. The delicate white leaves straightened and glowed once more. The flowers that had crumbled were sprouting back up from the ground. Life flourished as the forest hummed once more.
This place was dangerous. Beneath the brilliant colors and ethereal glow of the forest was something much darker. She’d been lucky. It had let her go. She knew in her heart that it could’ve killed her with a thought. But it had walked away. It felt like it had been testing her. Seeing how resilient she could be. Whatever the creature was, she had a strange feeling that they would meet again.
She shuddered, where there was one monster, there would be more. If this world was built on the rules of a video game, then sooner or later she’d need to fight some monster—and odds were, it’d be sooner than she’d like. She needed a weapon if they were going to survive the night.
Duke pawed her arm and barked once, meeting her gaze.
She looked down at him.
He tilted his head to the right and stared back at her. She rubbed his head and turned to the forest in front of her. Moira searched the ground for a fallen branch or tree limb. She was no survivalist, but she figured she could make a passable spear from a thick tree branch.
Moira wasn’t willing to leave the safety of the glen just yet, so she kept to the forest edge as she continued her search. There weren’t many sticks to be found and none that were big enough to be used as a spear. The trees themselves were gigantic, reminiscent of California redwoods.
She placed her hand on the tree she’d been searching under. The purple hue looked like deep magenta from a distance. Up close, she could see the layers of blues, purples, and red that made up the unique color of the tree.
“Dad would’ve loved this place. These trees—he would’ve stared at them for hours,” she said to Duke.
He barked in response.
The tree vibrated softly under her palm, leaves above her moved, dancing in the wind. A song whispered softly from the tree she’d been touching. It began with a quiet beat, a mournful sound that echoed through her soul. The song grew louder; the notes grew faster, matching the beat of her heart. Moira smiled in understanding.
The tree hummed, purring like a cat. And her fear faded away. She patted the tree once more before turning away to continue her search. As she took a step, a loud crack rang from above. A branch tumbled through the tree’s limbs and landed softly on the ground behind her.
She turned back, looking down at the branch and then up at the tree. The branch was exactly what she’d been looking for. Moira picked it up gingerly, eyeing the tree with reverence.
“Thank you,” she said. The leaves glowed brighter for a moment before returning to their normal brilliance.
She looked down at the tree limb in her hands, feeling its weight. The branch was as long as she was tall, with deep purple and bright blue veins interspaced across the surface. She gripped it tightly in her palm.
Next, she searched the forest floor for a sharp rock to shave away a point on the limb. The rock was easier to find, lying against the flowers next to another purple tree. It was dark as obsidian, its edge sharp enough to slice open her finger. She used the rock to shave away the top of the limb into a point. The wood was still soft enough to be carved, but strong enough to pierce skin if she put enough force behind it. Moira gripped the spear, checking its weight in her hand. She proudly showed Duke. He barked in appreciation, giving her a lick on the face.
Ding!
New Skill: Weapon Making lvl 1
“Nice. A new skill. That’s handy.”
Duke nodded in agreement. Moira looked back at him, surprised by his almost human-like response. Living alone, she’d gotten used to talking out loud to him, but he’d never responded directly before.
Crack!
Moira whirled around, lifting her spear up in a protective stance. In front of her stood a giant lizard the size of a Honda Odyssey minivan. It had pebbled green skin and bright yellow stripes along its side. It hissed, revealing several rows of razor-sharp teeth. Before she could move, the lizard leaped forward, rushing toward her.