Orrin walked behind Daniel the same as he did every day after school. At least for the last two months, this had been the routine. His friend did not look back once as he jabbered away to his new girlfriend, Cara.

At least her house is on the way to our neighborhood. Orrin thought as he kicked a rock on the sidewalk. It skittered along for a few feet when he failed to connect fully.

Daniel and Orrin had been inseparable since elementary school. Neighbors, they had become friends due to proximity. Growing up next door to each other, their parents made sure they did all the same activities. Soccer, baseball, even martial arts, until everyone realized Orrin was terrible at any coordinated activity. Daniel had excelled at everything.

That continued into high school. Daniel was on just about every sports team, while Orrin just....existed. He had decent grades but wasn’t anywhere near the top of his class. He had some friends, mostly people who would say “Happy Birthday” but nothing more. The entire cheerleading team had baked a cake and sang Happy Birthday to Daniel on his birthday.

Despite his popularity, Daniel stuck around as Orrin’s friend. He brought him to parties, where Orrin sat in the corner. He made him go to the Homecoming Dance, where Orrin sat in the corner. They played video games together and shot hoops at Daniel’s house. During dinner, Orrin tried to be invisible while Daniel’s parents talked to his sister and Daniel about their days.

Orrin’s mom was an emergency room doctor, staying late into the night and working strange hours. His dad had disappeared years ago. No letter. No “going out for milk”. Just gone. So Orrin ended up spending a lot of time at the Kayson’s. Mr. and Mrs. Kayson treated him like another son. Daniel’s sister was a year older than them, a senior, and Orrin’s unrequited love of his life. They had all played together when they were younger, but Orrin knew he didn’t exist in her orbit anymore.

Orrin stood back as the trio approached Cara’s house, letting Daniel get a minute of privacy. The street was pretty empty as he looked up at the old Victorian with the well-manicured lawn. I should probably mow the lawn tomorrow before mom gets off shift.

The sound of metal on concrete tugged his attention away. He heard the mechanical grunt of a motor speeding up, the gears changing as the speed increased. He turned his head and saw a truck speeding right towards Daniel and Cara. It had already hopped the curb and was riding two wheels on the sidewalk down the wrong lane. The sun glinted down, glaring across the windshield.

“Daniel! Cara! Look out”

Daniel looked back to see Orrin waving frantically. Orrin threw his books to the ground and ran with all his might towards his best friend.

Why am I charging like I’m going to tackle him? Orrin thought.

Daniel turned to the growing sounds of metal grinding as the truck got closer. Orrin watched his friend hurl his girlfriend through the air and prepare to dive himself.

He’s not going to get out of the way in time.

Orrin was close enough now. He went low just like his coach had taught him in Peewee football years ago. His entire lanky frame hit the solid mass of Daniel as he pushed his friend out of the way of the swerving vehicle.

At least, that had been his intent.

Orrin hit Daniel just as he jumped after Cara’s body flying through the air. If Daniel’s feet had been on the ground, Orrin would have bounced off him like a ping pong ball hitting the wall. With his feet already in the air, Daniel lost all momentum as Orrin slammed into him. As they fell, the truck seemed to correct its course, as if it was TRYING to hit them. Orrin scrambled up in front of his friend. Daniel started to crawl frantically towards the house, but the truck’s front bumper was too close.

Orrin didn’t have time to say “Shit” before the crash and pain.

Interface Loading.....

Error

[Unknown Essence Found]

Rerouting.....

Error

[Changing Parameters]

Loading.....

Error

[Two Entity Essences Entered]

Rerouting.....

Initializing Sequence 427AB

New User Interface Loading.....

58%

74%

99%

Enter Name_

Where am I? His thoughts felt slow and distant. Orrin turned his head to....his head didn’t turn. Or maybe it did but the floating prompt in front of him was all that remained in the darkness around him.

O. R. R. I. N. He thought and the letters appeared one at a time before merging back into his name ORRIN

ORRIN accepted.

Loading Creation Table...

Error

Multiple Essence Error

Debug

Debug

Debug

Rebooting....

Class Table Mainframe Loading...

Error

Administrator Access Granted

Class Table Loading...

Select your class _

The blue screen in front of his eyes scrolled by with thousands of options, using words from every video game and tabletop manual Orrin had ever seen or heard of...and more.

There didn’t seem to be any sort of order to the selection list but he found a few he recognized.

Fighter

Mage

Rogue

Sorcerer

Dragoon

Paladin

Wizard

Priest

And some he didn’t.

Bloodfinder

Stalwart Wall

Knife in the Dark

Spade Jester

Glassfiend

Even normal sounding jobs appeared

Farmer

Ferrier

Cook

I’m dead. I’m dead and I’ve been isekai’ed. This isn’t real. I have the day off tomorrow and I’m going to play video games with Daniel until Mom comes home. Wake up. Wake up.

Orrin felt himself begin to hyperventilate. He hadn’t had a panic attack since his end-of-year presentation in eighth grade, but he felt it happening. He tried to take deep breaths and close his eyes, but the boxes remained.

Error

Anomaly building.

Source Overridden.

[Mind Bastion] GRANTED

Orrin felt as if he’d been dunked in a tank of cold water, then blasted dry with hot air. Suddenly, he could think clearly again.

I died. I really died. I was hit by a truck and died. This is either the afterlife or I’m about to meet a goddess who will give me a giant sword to kill the Demon Lord. I know how this story goes. No use panicking, I can find a way home if I try. The hero usually gets a wish at the end of the story. Right? Ok so... He started looking over his options again. Slower this time. His options took up hundreds of lines of text.

Fighter and straight melee are out since I’m never going to get that right and don’t want to stab myself. As he had the thought, the list shrank to about half the list. Convenient!

I’ve played with magic before in D&D, but I don’t really know what kind of world this is. I’m going to guess that anything named different is a specialized magic class....and that sounds like a lot of pressure. I don’t want to be the special one getting targeted. I want to be of help for sure but I want to be in the background, quiet and away from any main battles. Able to control fights with precision but also have some options to do big damage or escape if I need. Maybe something with healing? Not like a priest, I don’t want to be worshiping some god or gods...

Amazingly, the list responded to his thoughts again. Orrin watched as the list became smaller....smaller...just a few...then two...one....wait, WHAT?

The entire list disappeared. SHIT!

Initialing Custom Class Creation with Administrator Access

WHAT THE FUCK?

Creating Custom Class based on given parameters...

Hold on. Wait. Let me see the list again. I’m sure something is...

Class Created Utility Warder. Welcome Orrin.

Blackness engulfed him.

Name: Orrin Class: Utility Warder (New Class) Level 1 (0/100) Ability Points: 10 HP: 80 MP: 120 Strength: 8 Constitution: 8 Dexterity: 8 Will 12: Intelligence: 10 Abilities: Mind Bastion- Individual is able to control his own mind and therefore part of his body.

Orrin woke with a start, scrambling back along the ground and digging tufts of grass in his hands before his back hit something hard. Rubbing his neck, he looked back and up to see an 80-foot tree towering above him.

A forest? He looked around. And no starter pack or Flaming Sword of Doom? Lousy isekai...

Orrin spotted a pair of legs sticking out from behind a tree a few yards away. A low groan emanated from the body. He crawled forward to find Daniel facedown....and very naked.

Orrin realized his clothes were also very, very gone.

“Fucking hell?”

At Orrin’s outburst, Daniel seemed to come around and sat up. Looking dazed, he peered at Orrin then turned away.

“Dude, what the hell? Put your clothes back on.” Daniel started to pull his covers over his body. He had been having the weirdest dream about... He looked at his empty hands. No blanket. This was not his bed. He looked over his own body, turning red all over.

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?” Daniel started to stand up but ended up covering himself in a half-squat, looking around with frantic eyes. “There was a truck and I think it tried to hit me. Why are we in a forest? Where the FUCK are my pants?”

Orrin turned to face away. “Daniel. Dude, we obviously just got hit by Truck-kun and are in another world. Take a look at your status screen.”

“What the hell is a status scr--- WHAT THE FUCK? There’s a blue box in front of my face with my name and it says [Hero]. Orrin, what did you do man?”

Orrin was so shocked to hear Daniel’s class that he turned and after getting an eyeful of his friend again, quickly turned back. “I didn’t do anything. I think... I think it was just supposed to be you that got hit by the truck and sent here. I got a lot of error messages and had to create a class and...”

Daniel interrupted, “Listen, I don’t give a shit what you think right now. I’ve got a game tonight and a date tomorrow. I have to finish my homework and see my parents. Orrin how the hell are you so relaxed and WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?”

As Daniel continued to flip out, Orrin decided to give him some time and had started playing with the blue box. A row of icons in the corner he had missed before was blinking. A small square with a triangle on top, almost a little house, lit up twice as Daniel had gone into his tirade.

Welcome to the Store

AP: 10

Spells ! Skills Abilities Misc.

He clicked the blinking Spells ! cursor.

Attack spells, Defense Spells, Buff Spells, Debuff Spells, Healing Spells, the list grew and grew as he watched. This would take him years to get through.

It responded to my thoughts last time...maybe...

He concentrated on the blinking cursor, watching the list scroll faster and faster until the words were a blur.

PLINK

Spell Selection: [Calm Mind]- Negates mind magic to a degree. Calms the target, reducing stress, anger, or sadness. Increases peacefulness and allows logical thoughts. 5 MP. Would you like to purchase for 2AP? Yes or No

Daniel was still yelling at him and crying now. YES!

Knowledge of [Calm Mind] filled his brain, as he turned back to his friend and put his hand on his shoulder.

With a thought, the spell drained his MP by 5. Four times. He was left with 100 MP.

Daniel’s eyes glazed for a minute and then he took a deep breath. He looked down and Orrin watched as his friend found himself again. The trauma wasn’t healed or gone, just reduced and pushed to the back. Probably not the healthiest thing but they were standing naked in a forest that probably had some sort of monsters coming to get them at any point.

“Sorry. Thanks. What was that? A spell?” Daniel stood straight and watched the distance.

“No problem D. Yeah, I bought [Calm Mind] from The Store. Little house cursor in the top corner. You can use your ability points to get stuff, although I have no idea what options [Hero] is going to get you.” Orrin replayed the list of options he had seen. He was 90 percent sure [Hero] had not been available. “So, you picked [Hero]? Anything else? I’m at 80 hit points and 120 mana points...magic points? I think Constitution must be a 10 multiplier for health and Will for magic. No idea what Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence do though.”

Daniel risked a glance back before keeping watch of the distance again. “Orrin, I didn’t pick [Hero]. I woke up to it. And how are you only at 80 health? I’ve got 300.”

“WHAT? You started with a 30 constitution?”

“No, that’s at 15.”

“What about your strength?”

“Same.”

“Any abilities?”

“...huh. Yeah. [Summoned Hero] gives...oh that explains it. Gives me times two to all physical stats. So, it must double my HP, my strength, and my dexterity.”

During the back and forth, Orrin kept scrolling through The Shop. He tried to remember every web novel, comic, manga, and show he had watched or read that could help. He was creating a list in his mind of possible options to buy.

“So, I’m guessing you’re going to want to take a look at the Miscellaneous section of the Store. There are some really great options for weapons but most are too expensive right now. I only have eight points left but I think I could get a-“

“I have three hundred points, Orrin,” Daniel almost whispered.

Must be nice to be the “hero”, Orrin regretted the thought and was glad he didn’t say anything out loud. He glanced at Daniel, glad he was too distracted reading his own blue boxes to notice any jealousy on his face.

“Ok. Well then, I’ll just get some of the things I’m eyeing then...Can you get us some clothes? Some of the common clothes come in sets of ten for a point.”

Daniel grunted and pointed at a pile that had appeared between them. He was already dressed. Orrin really needed to start paying attention to his surroundings. He grabbed a dark green shirt and something that looked like jeans but with more movement.

Well, I’m going to have to wait for some of these but I think these are most important right now.

Spells: [Heal Small Wounds] heal up to 10 HP. 5MP. (0/1,000) -2 points [Increase Strength] increases target Strength by +1 for 5 minutes. 5MP (0/1,000) -1 point [Increase Dexterity] increases target Dexterity by +1 for 5 minutes. 5MP (0/1,000) -1 point [Camouflage] meld into your surroundings. Increase ability to remain undetected. Attack damage breaks the spell. 5 minutes. 10MP (0/10,000) -1 point Abilities: [Dimension Hole]- place items into a container of your choice (pocket, bag, etc.) Store items in a dimensional chest. Retrievable from any empty container. UPGRADEABLE -3 points

Eight points used.

Orrin squatted down and started shoving the extra shirts and pants into his [Dimension Hole]. Daniel was still looking into his purchases. Occasionally, something would appear around him. A sword strapped to his back. A bracer of knives. Orrin blinked and an entire set of leather armor appeared on his friend.

“D, don’t spend all your points. We might need some for food.” Daniel looked down from his boxes.

“I think we’ll be alright. I took [Map] and I think we are only a few miles from a town. Besides, I took [Hero Kit] for most of my Skills. I still have about a hundred points left,” Daniel picked up a small backpack from right outside of Orrin’s sight. “This one is yours. Just some jerky, water, and a bedroll. But at least you don’t have to carry all the .... clothes ... where did the extra clothes go?”

“[Dimension Hole],” Orrin pulled a shirt halfway from his pocket.

“...that’s not showing on my list. What else did you get?”

“[Heal Small Wounds], [Increase Strength], [Increase Dexterity], and [Camouflage]”

“...yeah man. None of those are in my Store. How do you have things I don’t? What’s your class?”

“Uhmm...” Orrin pulled his Status up again. “Utility Warder? I don’t know what that means but maybe I just get better options?”

“Better options than [Hero]?” Daniel frowned like he did when Orrin used a glitch in a game to win. “We can figure it out later. Have you looked at Quests?”

Orrin pulled his Status back up. At the top were tabs. Status, the house that would open the Store, and an empty circle. With a thought, the circle tab opened.

Quests: 0/0

None available

“Open right now. Guess we don’t have to defeat the demon lord or anything, huh?” Orrin chuckled.

Daniel’s frown deepened. “How did you know there’s a demon lord?”

“It’s a joke. You know like one of those stories of getting hit by a truck or stabbed and having to defeat the demon lord before the world is destroyed?”

Daniel paled a bit. “Orrin, you know I never watched the same shows as you. I have a bunch of Quests and one of them says ‘Defeat the Demon Lord,’” he put his hand into the air and moved it towards Orrin. “Let’s see if this works,” he muttered before a new blue box appeared on Orrin’s screen.

Daniel, Hero Level 1 is sharing a Quest.

Would you like to accept it? Yes or No

Yes.

Quests 0/1

Defeat the Demon Lord- In the southern lands, the Demon Lord has risen. The dark armies have been assembled. Seek out and defeat the Demon Lord before the Dark Horde attacks.

Reward: 1,000,000 XP and Dark Essence Unlocked

“Ok. That’s just too cliché. How many Quests do you have?”

“Six but I already completed [Buy Hero Kit].” Daniel started tossing them all over to Orrin. He spammed the Yes response.

Quests 0/5 Defeat the Demon Lord [Expand] Defend The Wall- Help push back a Horde

Reward: Variable on participation percentage/Horde Type

Defeat a Dungeon.

Reward: Variable

Obtain Level 10

Reward: [Hero Kit Level 2] Unavailable reward

Reach the Wall of Dey within 24 hours [23 hours 20 minutes 18 seconds]

Reward: +1 to all stats

Failure: No penalty

“Weird. The [Hero Kit] skill seems to be unavailable to me. Guess I won’t be getting any help there.” Orrin finished reading and watched Daniel pull the straps closed on his backpack.

“If I’m reading this [Map] right, we’re only half a day from Dey. You ready to go hiking, O?” Daniel smiled for the first time since they woke up here. Orrin felt the pressure in his chest lift. His friend was here. He’d be fine.

“Yeah. We got this.”

Daniel’s smile widened. “I’m glad you’re here. I really don’t-“ Something from the tree above reached down and wrapped around Daniel’s leg, yanking him up into the dark foliage above.