Nelson Niu came to. It was surprisingly peaceful.

Is this what heaven is like? Nelson thought to himself. It was a wonderful sensation.

The first thing he felt was the absence of pain. The twinge of discomfort in his chest he usually felt when breathing was completely gone. That minor heartburn and feeling of weakness in his limbs were eradicated from his body.

It felt great.

A weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He must have died peacefully in his sleep. He’d no longer be a burden to his family, no longer be a drain on family funds. There would be no more struggle.

He opened his eyes, the temptation to meet the angels of divinity too great for his waning patience.

Then, he blinked. Nelson could not believe what he was seeing. Hadn’t he died?

Wait . . .

He saw his hospital ward ceiling. There were gray tiles upon gray tiles in his vision, the same ones that he’d seen a million times before. Nelson pinched himself to make sure it wasn’t a dream.

It wasn’t a dream. He wiggled around a bit in his bed just to make sure.

Yeah, I’m alive and well.

This was real. He’d been miraculously cured. It was a divine intervention. His mind raced, trying to deduce how this had happened. Had his prayers truly been answered? Or had modern medicine finally triumphed against cancer? Didn’t the doctors say something about a new breakthrough medication?

The sound of quiet sobbing interrupted his thinking process. Nelson turned his head towards the right. Perhaps he wasn’t the only one that received an intervention.

“Hey,” Nelson whispered. Maybe his roommate was also impacted. “You there, man?”

The sobbing stopped. It was dead silent for a few moments. Nelson began to feel a sense of unease, tensing his body.

“Yes.”

A shaky voice answered him. Nelson breathed a sigh of relief. His roommate had always been a little on the awkward side, but at least he was safe and sound.

“How are you doing?” Nelson’s voice came out stronger this time. It felt divine to speak clearly once more. “Were you . . . changed as well?

There was no answer for a few more moments, longer than the last pause.

“Yes.”

Something was off here. His roommate was acting stranger than usual. Nelson lifted his body easily, something he hadn’t been able to do in a long time. He flexed his muscles, feeling the power in his limbs.

It felt like he’d been reborn.

He swung off his hospital bed, using the momentum to swiftly take a few steps towards the light switch. He then turned it on, revealing the light gray curtain separating the two beds. Nelson hesitated for a split second as his hand went towards the button that would automatically pull back the curtains.

“I’m pushing the button,” Nelson announced. “I need to go to the bathroom.”

Without waiting for an answer, Nelson pushed the button. The curtains made a whirring noise as they parted slowly. He strained his neck to see what exactly had his roommate so wrapped up that he couldn’t speak to him.

His roommate turned to look at him. He was holding his phone in his pale hand, shock clearly evident on his face.

“Dude, we’re in a game now,” his roommate whispered. “I’ve been looking at this stuff for the past hour.”

Nelson was taken aback. His anticipation melted away into confusion. What was Anthony saying? What game?

“What—” Nelson responded, raising his eyebrows. He was interrupted before he could finish.

“Yeah, I mean I don’t even know where to start,” Anthony continued, unfazed. “Just say status.”

Nelson saw Anthony look into the air absentmindedly right after he spoke. It was as if he was looking at something Nelson couldn’t see.

Saying it wouldn’t hurt, Nelson thought.

“Status,” Nelson repeated after his roommate. To his surprise, a screen popped up in front of him.

Name: Nelson Niu

Stats

Value

Level: 1

STR

10

HP: 75/75

MP: 125/125

AGI

10

Total EXP/Percentage to Next Level: 0 / [0%]

INT

10

Nelson scanned the hologram-esque image that had popped up in front of his vision and committed it to memory. It must have been this system that had healed him, most likely a divine intervention from his savior.

He took out his phone whilst standing in front of Anthony, browsing the internet for information. His practiced fingers quickly found out that everyone now had the minimum of ten in each of the three stats and differing HP and MP values along with it.

Nelson read some more, enraptured by the flood of new information. It looked like the entire world was changing, as people started discovering monsters like slimes.

It wasn’t a joke.

The information was spreading like wildfire online. Nelson was easily able to find articles about comparisons between STR, AGI, and INT builds. There were even more articles doing guesswork into what the future would hold.

He read them all. Nelson went back to his bed and browsed the internet, plugging his phone into the charger. He was able to sit there all night, digesting the information and making new connections as to what this new system might hold.

It seemed like God had ordained this. This was what could save the world. Nelson felt his faith grow stronger as he steeled his will for what was to come.

He had his doubts before, but now it was for certain. His doubts dispelled, Nelson rose up from his bed to open the blinds and took a deep breath.

He needed to see the sun rise on the new world.