Greetings, Lucas Creo! Welcome to The Construct! Please wait while base stats, abilities, talents, and levels are calculated and balanced… As I hear this message in my mind, I bolt up in bed.

“W-what?” My half asleep brain failing to comprehend what is going on.

Suddenly, I feel a strange energy seep into my body, seeming to fill my entire being for a moment before leaving me once again. I check myself over, feeling somewhat violated, but apparently unharmed.

“What the hell is going on?!” This situation is only becoming more confusing with time.

Base stats, abilities, talents, and levels have been calculated and balanced, please say or think ‘Menu’ to view the Construct Interface! The peculiar, androgynous voice speaks in my head once more.

‘I must be dreaming… Menu?’

Suddenly, a menu, like one would see in a video game, appears in front of my eyes, just less than an arm’s length away from me.

Attempting to handle what is going on, I take a deep breath. I pinch my arm, hard. “OW! Okay, that actually hurt, am I really not dreaming?” Talking to myself out loud, I feel a bit odd.

A small shock runs through me as I see a small -0.1 float up in the air in the peripherals of my vision after pinching myself.

Instantly, I begin to break into a cold sweat. “Well maybe this won’t be so bad, I like video games, after all, let’s check out this menu.”

Tentatively, I tap the Status section of the menu with my finger. The menu instantly changes and I see a 3D representation of myself. The image of myself seems to actively reflect me in real time; I can see the same short brown hair, tousled by sleep, the eyes are the same shade of grassy green, my pale skin is just as pale in the model, and when I smile the picture smiles back.

Alongside quite a few equipment slots for just about anything I could wear, there is even a large number of ring slots for every single finger and toe as well as far too many earring and piercing slots, just looking at this menu begins to give me a headache.

“This is too much,” my eyes start to strain.

Character equip menu simplification activated.

In a split second, all the various excess slots simplify down into stacks which appear to be expandable with a [+] symbol, changing to a head, necklace, top, bottom, belt, shoes, main hand, offhand, and rings slot representation. ...I’m currently wearing nothing. Whoops, I sleep au naturel.

Getting dressed quickly, I decide I’ll panic once I’m at least clothed. My pajama pants are on the floor at the side of my bed alongside yesterday's shirt. I pick them up and slip into them, deciding to wear something clean once I shower. Another menu appears as I inspect the shirt.

T-Shirt

Quality: Low

Traits: None

Description: A green shirt made of 100% cotton. Somewhat wrinkled.

“...You have got to be fucking kidding me.” I groan, pulling the plain green shirt on. My pajama pants come up with a similar inspection.

Pajama Pants

Quality: Low

Traits: None

Description: Blue and white striped pajama pants made of 100% cotton. Somewhat wrinkled.

Feeling somewhat more comforted and less vulnerable now that I’m wearing something, I continue to look around the character menu. It had disappeared from view while I looked for my clothes but reappeared once I needed it again.

The menu appears to be able to understand the situation I’m in and disappear without command if needed. My stats menu is to the right of the equipment menu, I look to that next.

Status:

Lucas Creo

Age: 22

Race: Human

Status: Confusion, Fear

Level: 1

Exp: 0/100

HP: 150/150 (0.5 HP/min regeneration)

MP: 210/210 (0.7 MP/min regeneration)

Strength: 8

Endurance: 10

Dexterity: 9

Intelligence: 11

Attunement: 14

Willpower: 8

Charisma: 10

Insight: 10

Stat points: 0

‘Strange that Attunement is my highest stat…’ Studying each stat, I commit them to memory as best as I can. After I feel satisfied with the inspection of my stats, I come back to the Menu and tap on Talents. Immediately, the Menu shifts once more and becomes a list.

Talents:

‘...Oh. ‘ Somewhat depressed at apparently lacking any talent, I move on. ‘On to Skills next I suppose…’ I tap on Skills on the Menu. With another quick shift, my Skills menu appears.

Skills:

Meditation (Level 3) - Allows one to go into a state of serene calm that increases mana regeneration by 0.3/min. Cannot perform any other actions while meditating.

‘Well, I may not have any talent but at least all of those guided meditations on Youtube came in handy,’ Only somewhat bitter at The Construct for calling me Talentless, I try to make the best of the situation.

Basic menu navigation tutorial complete! Awarding 100 XP for completion of the quest! Additional note: You may specifically say or think any of the specific menu categories to bring them up. Some hidden features may remain. The Construct’s voice is somewhat cheerful this time.

As the voice spoke to my mind once more, I felt a pleasant energy flow through me.

Level up! You have achieved level 2, you have been rewarded 5 unallocated stat points.

‘Hm that felt nice. Maybe this Construct isn’t so bad after all. I need to tell Colt about this!’ I grab my phone off of the night table by my bed where it was charging last night, only to find it won’t turn on no matter what I do.

‘I plugged it in last night and this thing is only 3 months old why, isn’t it turning on?’ Suddenly, I hear a wet slap downstairs, which distracts me from my pondering. My parents are out traveling the world for three months, so I currently live alone in a rural area.

“Ohshitohshitohshitoshit” As quietly as possible I creep down the hall towards the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, I see a strange, red, gelatinous tendril creep across the floor towards the steps.

“Ohfuckohfuckohfuckohfuck” Silently screaming, I run back to my room. In a panic, I rummage through every part of my room looking for a weapon to fight off whatever that thing is.

My leatherman that I bought for a camping trip I never ended up going on three years ago, and a lacrosse stick from when Colt tried to get me to join the school lacrosse team are now my weapons of choice.

When I go to open the door to confront whatever this creature is, it will not budge. Slowly, I see the gelatinous red substance seep under the door, reaching towards me in tendrils. Trying to smash them with my lacrosse stick, I note that the stick seems to sink into them with each hit.

My improvised weapon sticks each time before I can wrench it back. More and more of the creature seeps through the door, and I’m on the other side of the room attempting to unlock my window before I realize it’s been painted shut. Probably from when my parents had the house painted a year ago.

The tendrils slap across the floor, reaching for me as I stab at them with the lacrosse stick. The tears filling my eyes make it hard to even attempt to deflect the tentacles.

One tendril manages to reach my leg, but I quickly cut through it with the knife from the leatherman. Taking a chance, I Inspect the creature, hoping for a system message that will help me.

Red Slime

Traits: Amorphous

Description: A sticky, gelatinous creature that will eat any and all life it encounters to further increase its size. This specific type of slime is known for its healing properties when refined.

No help there. This slime appears to be the height of my hip, and just as wide. “Get away from me you- you- MONSTER!”

Words fail me in my distress. Finally, the slime manages to wrap a thicker tendril around my right leg that I cannot cut with the leatherman. CRACK. I both feel and hear the bones in my leg snap as the slime’s tendril hardens rapidly, shifting sideways as it does.

-50 HP

Pain lances up my leg and I cry out. Tears further fill my eyes. Liquid pools in my crotch and I feel it run down my legs. Another tendril pulls my other leg out from under me, and I fall to the ground.

The slime does not even react as I jam the lacrosse stick into it, and now my weapon is stuck halfway inside of it. The slime appears to recoil as I stab at it with my leatherman knife before doubling back and grappling onto my hand.

As the slime slowly encloses on my body, I cry out for help from anyone or anything. The slime begins to enter my body, and I scream for help one last time. As it runs down my throat, I begin to gag and convulse, oxygen deprivation sets in.

Condition: Suffocation acquired

-1

-1

-1

-1

-1

My health points rapidly decrease in the peripherals of my vision, which is slowly fading to black. Somehow, in the midst of my brain being starved of oxygen, I manage to remember that I have one resource I forgot about. MP.

Inside myself, I find an energy. Reaching and pulling with all of my will, I feel a sudden rush of power. In a fiery rage, this energy bursts forth from every pore of my being as my entire existence lights up in agony.

-210

BOOM

The slime explodes off of me as this energy bursts out and radiates from me. Searing pain shoots through my entire being and my head begins to throb. My body convulses as I vomit and cough up slime. As I finish clearing myself out, I open my eyes and see that the room is entirely pasted in red slime.

Looking towards where the slime was originally, I see a small bottle filled with red liquid. I attempt to step over and grab it but cry out as I am suddenly reminded of just how broken my right leg is.

My entire existence is pain right now, as my head, and the rest of my body throbs. I fall forward and crawl towards the bottle, hoping it is what I think it is. Clutching it in my hands, I see a blessed system message appear.

Red Slime Paste

Quality: Low

Traits: Healing

Description: Slightly refined red slime, restores 35 hp. Applied topically. Doses: 3

Uncorking the bottle, I quickly pour it out. It appears as though exactly one third of the bottle comes out. The rest of the salve remains in place upside-down in the bottle. Rubbing the paste over my leg, I wince in pain as I feel the shattered bone underneath my skin.

In a split second, I feel a shift within my leg as the two halves of each leg bone snap into place painfully. Tears well in my eyes from the pain, but I feel relief moments later.

After applying one more dose of the paste on my leg, my vision begins to fade. In the last moments of my consciousness, I see two more system messages. The explosion that killed the slime must have made me miss them.

Slime defeated! 85 XP awarded. 85/220 XP remaining to level 3.

Slime dropped: Red slime paste

Due to rapid, total depletion of your mana, you have acquired the condition: Mana Burnt. Your mana vessels must heal naturally before you may use or regenerate MP again.

“Lovely…” My last words are barely a whisper as my consciousness fades and my head hits the floor.

With a throb in my head, I wake up with a start and remember everything that had transpired. Tentatively, I feel at my leg, noting that it feels whole again. Working through the pain, I manage to think ‘Status’.

Status:

Lucas Creo

Age: 22

Race: Human

Status: Mana Burnt

Level: 2

Exp: 85/220

HP: 150/150 (0.5 HP/min regeneration)

MP: 0/210 (0.7 MP/min regeneration)

Strength: 8

Endurance: 10

Dexterity: 9

Intelligence: 11

Attunement: 14

Willpower: 8

Charisma: 10

Insight: 10

Stat points: 5

“How long was I out for…?” Noting that I was unconscious long enough for my HP to fully regenerate.

‘If my HP is full, why am I still in pain?’ It all comes back to me and I am reminded of the last message I saw before losing consciousness.

‘Mana Burnt, so I burned out whatever these ‘mana vessels’ are?’ Coming back to reality I am reminded of just how wet my pajama pants feel, and of how the rest of my body is covered in red slime.

Staggering to the bathroom, I note from an analog wall clock in the hallway that the time is 6:30 AM, which can’t be right due to how bright it is outside.

‘Strange… Must have run out of batteries.’ Shaking my head and moving on. As I walk into the bathroom, decorated in hues of blue and green with a nautical aesthetic by my mother, and flip the switch, no lights turn on.

‘Is there a power outage too?’ I slip off my soiled clothes, throw them in the dark wicker hamper, and open the glass door to the shower

As I switch on the shower, I step in not even caring about how devastatingly cold it is. I’m just glad there’s still enough water pressure in the pipes for this shower to work without the well pump being powered.

Scrubbing myself vigorously with a washcloth, I remove all of the red slime from my body, watching it go down the drain. The water never gets warmer, so I step out of the shower shivering after the water pressure is gone.

Nothing but a small dribble comes from the showerhead now. ‘At least I’m clean.’

The benefit of the cold shower is that I feel numb enough to at least partially ignore a pulsating headache I now have from being Mana Burnt.

Back in my room, I reach my dresser drawer by leaning across the corner to try and avoid touching slime. I pull out another T-shirt, a pair of black jeans, underwear, socks, and a belt. I get dressed in the hallway seeing as most of my room is covered in red slime.

Walking downstairs, I avoid the red slime trail leading from the front door of the house with a look of disgust on my face.

Rounding the corner by the stairs, I walk through the hall to the kitchen, observing all of the various souvenirs and pictures my parents have hung up from their various travels around the world, most of them nautically themed from all the cruises they have gone on.

They stopped making me go with them years ago after they realized I truly did not have the travel bug in me. I’ll stay home and play video games, thank you very much.

Stepping into the kitchen, I walk across the smooth gray tile flooring and open the stainless steel refrigerator, noting that the light does not, in fact, turn on. “Right. No power.”

Pulling the milk out quickly, I set it on the black marble countertop while closing the refrigerator to preserve the perishables inside as long as possible. Walking over to the dark stained oak cabinets, I open them and grab a glass. Inspecting the milk as I pour it, I give it a sniff to ensure that it has not gone sour.

Glass Of Milk

Quality: Low

Traits: Food item

Description: A glass of milk from a cow.

Right. Forgot about The Construct for a second in my search for one moment of normalcy. After downing the glass of milk, I’m thankful that it still tastes fresh. Small plinks come from a bowl as I pour Cheerios out of a box into it.

Pouring as much milk as I can reasonably risk without overflow, I fill the bowl, the milk will go bad eventually anyway. As I sit at the table, mindlessly eating a bowl of cereal, I take stock of the situation with a mental checklist.

‘A weird androgynous voice in my head that calls itself The Construct? Check.’

‘Stats like I’m in some kind of video game? Check.’

‘Everything I look at can have a description if I Inspect it hard enough? Check.’

Yup. Life is a video game now apparently.

In an attempt to figure out what’s going on, I grab the remote on the counter and try to turn the TV in the kitchen on to see the news. Eternally, I am reminded that there is indeed no electricity right now.

After I finish my bowl of Cheerios, I put the bowl in the sink, and journey back up to my room to find my cell phone. It still won’t turn on no matter what I do, but I wipe the slime off it and pocket it anyway, just in case. Besides, it’s a small comfort of what once was.

As I walk back downstairs, I have a thought and turn into the kitchen. Grabbing one of the kitchen knives that has a sheath, I slip it into my belt. ‘New non-slime-covered weapon acquired.’

With the thought of seeing what the outside world is like, I peek my head head out the front door.

Aside from the long driveway leading through the forest to the main road, the lawn is surrounded by maple trees on all sides. Wanting one more moment of normalcy, I grab the watering can that I keep on the porch and go to water the small herb garden I maintain, a hobby I’ve kept secret from even Colt, lest he laugh at me.

When I approach it, I notice that none of the plants look like anything I have ever seen. All of my basil has taken on a brighter green shade and has long looped plant stalks with smaller, thicker leaves.

My cilantro, on the other hand, has taken on a blue hue and the leaves look longer and spikier.

Finally, my parsley has become a yellow-green color and looks more like tall chutes than parsley at all. Taking a small sprig of each plant, I inspect them.

Vitaleaf

Quality: Low

Traits: Healing

Description: A healing herb which is the main component of low level healing potions. Restores 5 HP over an hour if eaten in its base form.

Magetongue

Quality: Low

Traits: Mana restoration

Description: This herb has a natural ability to absorb and refine ambient mana. It is the main component in mana potions. This herb is poisonous if not boiled and refined first.

Fleetchute

Quality: Low

Traits: Stamina recovery

Description: An herb flowing with energy, the main component of stamina potions. Extremely bitter if not refined, but will quickly restore some of one’s stamina in a pinch.

While I am a bit upset that my herb garden is apparently low quality, I pick some of each herb and rush into the house, back to the kitchen.

Setting each herb type into a separate pile on the counter, I then run out the back door through the kitchen, grabbing a bucket on my way, and go to the well in my backyard.

For once I’m glad my mother thought that having a rustic, old-fashioned, functional water pump would be a cute idea. After wrenching the lever up and down for a minute or two, water comes out from the spout filling my bucket.

Carrying the bucket back into the kitchen and setting it on the counter, I retrieve a pan from another cupboard and fill it with water. After setting the pan on the cast iron wood stove, I am once again thankful for my mom’s love of “cute, rustic things”.

Working off of a hunch, I begin boiling some water. After I put a few logs we keep in the kitchen into the stove, I light them with a lighter. While waiting for the water to boil, I chop up some of the vitaleaf with a kitchen knife, then drop the pieces in.

The water shifts from the green hue of the leaves to a mucky red color suddenly. Making a grimace at the color and texture, I pour the mixture into a cup, hearing several plops. A system message appears as I inspect the fruits of my labor.

Healing Potion

Quality: Exceedingly Low

Traits: Healing

Description: This healing potion has been so poorly refined that it heals less than the original leaf. Restores 1 HP.

“...This could take some work…”

Throughout the day I continue to work, boiling a smaller amount of water, trying different parts of the vitaleaf, different ratios of water to plant, and different points of boiling and temperature of the water.

Finally, after many failures, it’s night time as I pour a significantly brighter red mixture into a cup and wipe sweat from my brow. A very pleasant system message appears.

Healing Potion

Quality: Low

Traits: Healing

Description: A refined healing herb mixture which has pulled out more of the innate healing properties of the vitaleaf. Restores 10 hp. 2 doses.

“Now we’re in business.”