A bright glow surrounds the chest and fills the cavern. It hurts my eyes as I stare into the chest, trying to make out what is inside. A piece of parchment rises from the chest and hovers in the air before me. It reads:

Congratulations, Esil! You have found a hidden chest. Make the most of its offerings and as always, never stop leveling!

-Pangea Online Developers

I have heard of the highly sought after Developer’s Chests, but I never in a million years thought I would find one in the mines. Most people found them in the bottom of an incredibly hard dungeon, or at the end of a long quest.

I turn around and make sure no one is behind me. If living in the orphanage has taught me anything, it’s to never trust anyone if you have something they want.

The glow of the chest fades and I can make out a few items inside. I quickly touch them and they all fly into my inventory. I nearly faint as I click through each item.

Item: Worldpass premium. Soulbound. Cannot be traded or discarded. Allows user to travel to any world free of charge.

Holy shit! The worldpass is a game changer.

Item: Dwarven Boots of Stamina. Soulbound. Cannot be traded or discarded. These ancient Dwarven Boots recharge 2% stamina every five seconds.

Even Grayson will be jealous of my new boots. The impact they can have on my work output will be astronomical.

Currency: 1000 gold.

My jaw drops wide open. One thousand gold was more money than I had made the entire year. We are paid in silver and it takes ten silver to equal one gold. That amount of gold could literally change my life. That, combined with my new Worldpass, means I can actually explore Pangea with my avatar instead of living vicariously through other players. Buzz is going to lose it when I tell him.

I stare at the items in my inventory. My head spins with possibilities of where I should go. The stream of the Elvin princess comes to mind.

I equip my new boots and immediately feel like I could work for hours. They gleam even in the dull light of the tunnel. The silver thread is beautiful and I worry that the coal will dirty them, but as I walk, they miraculously stay clean. I send Buzz a quick message on my way to the portal.

Buzz,

You’re never going to guess what just happened to me. We need to video chat ASAP.

-Esil

I desperately want to explore Pangea, but I know my room is low on power. I’ve already stayed longer than I should have. Nothing would be worse than traveling to an exciting new destination and having my entire system power off. No, first I’ll go home and charge my room, then I’ll plan my next move.

I step into the portal that takes me home. Normally, I go straight through and arrive at my home portal, where I logout of the game. This time, I am greeted with hundreds of different portals to choose from. Dozens of open worlds where I could become a king or a warrior or spend my entire life devoted to singling songs to tavern wenches. There are shops and villages, each more interesting than the last. I want to see them all. Soon, I will.

My home portal is a dark gray room not too different from the box I live in. It could use some artwork and a chair to sit in. Maybe I’ll use some of my newfound gold to spruce the place up.

After logging out of Pangea, I open the sliding door to the chute where my food is delivered and take it out. I’ve heard stories of people who eat fresh food, but in The Boxes, all we can afford is processed food. It comes in a wrapper and is packed full of nutrients. It tastes like utter crap.

I spend the next hour on the bike charging my box. My mind wanders, wondering where I want to go first. The premium Worldpass is something few people have. While it’s true that most people are not as poor as those of us who work in the mines, most people still have to pay to travel. Unlimited portals free of charge means I can go to a dozen worlds in one day. I can see all of Pangea.

Once I’m finished biking, I take a quick shower. The water is cold, but at least it’s clean. I towel off and strap into my haptic suit. As soon as I’m online, my message icon is blinking. I expect it to be Buzz, but it’s all of the notifications from leveling up. I quickly scroll through them.

Congratulations on reaching level five! You now have a new stat point to allocate as you see fit.

Congratulations on reaching level five! Your inventory has been upgraded to carry more items.

I laugh to myself at that one. I’ve only ever had two items in my entire life. A new notification pops up as soon as I close my inbox.

I open it and a wide smile creeps across my face.

Aleesia is streaming live, would you like to join in?Y/N

The Elvin princess. I focus on the No icon and close my inbox again. Any other time I would be ecstatic to watch her stream, but not today. I jump through the portal and focus on the Mortican Mountains. Today, I’ll be watching in person.

***

The portal empties me into the town square. I’ve seen it a hundred times through Aleesia’s feed, but it doesn’t compare to actually being there. Cobbled streets stretch out in front of me. In the far distance, I see the peaks of the Mortican Mountains with their snowcapped tops jutting above the nearby rooftops. To my left I see an armor shop and beside it a blacks—

“Get out of the way, noob,” a voice rumbles. A minotaur stares down at me, covered in bright blue chainmail that contrasts with his golden fur.

I jump out of the way, afraid of being trampled by his massive hooves. He pushes his way through the crowd. I can see his horns swaying back and forth above the sea of people.

The town square bustles around me. Dozens of players walk past, their nametags hovering above their heads. They distract me from how beautiful the city is so I focus my thoughts and they disappear. Elves, dwarves, humans and several other races all interact, buying and selling in the open market to my right. I even spot a gnome trying to fight his way through the crowd. It’s amazing! I’ve only ever seen other humans in the mines. It takes gold to start a character with a race other than human.

“Nice rags,” someone yells at me as they walk past and I am suddenly aware that I’m wearing the same starter clothes I’ve had for the past year. Now that I have money, I should buy something new.

Up the street I spot the tailor. A coat of arms hangs over the door with a needle and thread on a checkered purple and white background.

When I enter the shop, the tailor immediately scowls. The clothing that adorns the walls is of the highest quality. Richly died fabrics with intricate details of leaves or vines embroidered on the sleeves and collars. Stuff I could never have afforded a day ago. A green tunic with a black axe on the collar catches my eye.

“The soup kitchen is down the street,” he mutters. The man has the hooked nose of a hawk and beady eyes. His hairline recedes and what hair he does have is slicked back.

I pull a few gold coins from my inventory and lay them on the counter. His lips curl into a devious smile.

“I’m sorry, sir. Where have my manners gone? How can I assist you today?”

For a moment I contemplate leaving the store. In reality, no one still wearing their starter clothes would ever have the money to shop in a place like this, so I can’t really blame the man.

“I’ll take one of those,” pointing back to the green tunic. I find a pair of khaki pants and a nice leather belt with a golden buckle shaped like a lion. I check out the new clothing in my inventory.

Item: Green Tunic. +0 armor. Not everything is about stats, you know.

Item: Khaki Pants. +0 armor. Not everything is about stats, you know.

Item: Gold Lionhead Belt. +0 armor. Not everything is about stats, you know.

The clothing adds nothing to my stats, but I don’t care. For once, I don’t look like a beggar.

The tailor starts to offer me a pair of boots, but then he sees the ones I’m wearing and his eyes go wide. I can sense the greed in them. He wants to ask me where I got them, but he’s worried of overstepping his bounds again.

“That’ll be two gold, please.”

I hesitate to part with the money, but eventually slide it across the counter.

Exiting the tailor, I already feel like less of an outsider.

I want to explore the town, but there will be plenty of time for that later on. I set off for the mountains, taking in the shops as I go. What I’m truly excited about is leaving the town and exploring the countryside on my way to find the princess.

My inbox glows, indicating I have a new message. It’s from Buzz.

Esil,

Sorry, but it’ll have to wait. Mom is sick again and I need to make sure she’s taken care of before I log back in. I’ll catch up with you later.

-Buzz

I feel bad for Buzz. His mom has been sick for a while. In The Boxes, when people get sick, they don’t usually get better. Maybe I can use some of my gold to help her get the medicine she needs. I’ll talk to Buzz about it at work tomorrow.

I push the thoughts of his sick mother to the back of my mind. Two guards stand sentry at the entrance to the town. Their steel armor reflects my green tunic and I can’t help but admire how good I look. Such a stark contrast from the rags I am used to. The guards, along with the tailor and most of the shopowners are NPCs, non-playable characters, the game designers implemented for tasks no one else would want to do. They nod at me as I walk past.

The landscape before me is the most beautiful I have ever seen. Lush fields and clear blue skies abound for miles. I take off running. My stamina bar drops slightly and replenishes with each step. With my new boots, I could no doubt run for hours.

A small dot on my map tells me an enemy is nearby. My first battle! Adrenaline pumps through my veins as I search for my opponent. I spot the bird-like creature crouched below a giant oak tree. When I focus on it, its stats appear to the side of my vision.

Lesser Harpy. Level 3. Its bark is just as bad as its bite.

I’m level five, so I should have no problem taking it out. I’ve seen harpies before on the streams, but seeing one in person is an awesome feeling. The creature is half bird, half human. It has the body of a woman, but the legs of a bird. Sharp talons curl menacingly where fingers and toes should be. Wings sprout from its back, allowing it to hover slightly off the ground. It watches me warily as I approach. It lets out a raucous crow and digs its claws into the dirt, ready for battle. Feathers ruffle and then it attacks. The harpy jumps into the air towards me feet first. Its talons extend, ready to rip my body to shreds. I duck and roll to the right and it lands in the grass with a thud.

I pull my pickaxe from my inventory. The harpy jumps at me again and I swing my pick. My pick digs straight into the ground and a small stream of green numbers sprout from the earth. Why did I just use mine in the middle of battle? Claws connect with my chest and I feel the pain of the talons ripping through my flesh. It feels like someone has stabbed me with pins. My health bar shrinks by half. I try to swing for the harpy again and my pick digs into the earth. Green numbers flutter past my ear. My stupidity dawns on me. Mine is the only ability I know. The pain in my chest has lessened just as the harpy attacks again. Its claws dig into my arm. Blood has stained the grass beneath me. My vision begins to darken at the edges. The harpy lunges for me again and everything goes black.