Chapter 2: Do You Want to Play the Game?

Erik felt a smile of wonder stretch across his face at this sudden confirmation of all that Janus had told them. It might not be entirely what he imagined, but it was an opportunity for a second start in a different world—something he had longed for every day he’d been forced to endure the petty torment and malice of his peers.

“So, you see it too?” Erik heard the same wonder echoed in Helena’s face as she posed her question, her eyes on a blue screen of her own that was not visible to Erik’s eyes.

“Yeah, I do.” Erik responded.

Helena glanced at him. “Do you think we should accept? I mean, from what Janus told us, we would be fools to think this is going to be simple.”

Erik took a breath and let it out before responding. “Yeah, I can’t really argue with that. But think about it, what are we really going back to, if we refuse? A world full of assholes constantly judging each other based on superficial looks and appearances? Endless insults, snide remarks, sneering looks, false assumptions and petty hatred? Not really much to miss, in my experience,” He said bitterly, taking a breath and pushing away his anger as he looked at their surroundings, his eyes taking in the details but not really perceiving them.

“As far as I’m concerned, this is just a well-timed opportunity to start over again in a place where people haven’t tormented me my whole life because I have an eating disorder and my abnormal appearance,” Erik muttered darkly, his tone becoming more gruff as he remembered all the things about their home that had angered him and made him feel powerless over the years.

Though he was typically a quiet and solemn person, it was usually because he’d lived in constant fear of being judged by others. Interacting with Helena felt a lot more…natural than anyone else he’d ever met, and he felt more at ease in believing she wasn’t constantly judging him and holding her tongue regarding his appearance to keep from offending him. When Erik looked back and met Helena’s gaze, he saw a similar anger and resentment of their old world there in her eyes. Maybe she spent a lot of her life being judged by the way she looks, just like I did, Erik contemplated silently.

“You’re right,” Helena nodded. “There isn’t much worth going back to on Earth and this place, this world,” she said, gesturing to their surroundings, “Is a promise of another start, one leading to greater things than the misery and pointlessness of our previous lives,” Her eyes briefly flicked to the man she’d clobbered with her frying pan, who was rubbing the knot on his head and glaring in their direction as he talked with a small group of people around him. “We might not be able to get away from all of them, but we’ll at least be getting another chance in a world that will be treating them just as harshly as I imagine it will us,” Helena said.

Once more, Erik wondered what Helena, who clearly wasn’t lacking in the looks department, had endured to make her feel just as strongly about this decision as he did, but he quickly dismissed that line of questioning, knowing it would likely be an awkward and unpleasant conversation for them both. Instead, he attempted to touch the yes option on the window that had appeared before him. When his hand passed through it with no apparent effect, Erik’s brow furrowed in confusion. Glancing to the side, he saw that Helena seemed to be having similar troubles.

“Hmmm…. maybe it responds to thought?” Erik thought aloud as he idly scratched his bearded face. Not really seeing any other option, Erik focused on his intent to say yes and tried to direct it at the message hovering in his vision. A moment later, the message disappeared and was replaced by another.

Initiating System Integration and Status Assessment…

Erik felt an uncomfortable sensation, like ants were crawling all over his skin and insides and he shuddered. Shortly after it began, it disappeared along with the window in front of him. Now, at the very corner of his vision, he saw a trio of bars hanging just far enough out of the way they didn’t crowd his field of view. After examining them for a moment, he realized that as he focused on each one a descriptor and a number indicating the bar’s capacity appeared. The red bar marked Health showed 236/236. The bar below it, slightly smaller, was marked Stamina with 300/300. The last bar, colored a light blue, was labeled Mana and was by far the smallest of the three, 138/138.

Turning his attention away from them, the three bars faded into the corners of his vision, becoming nearly unnoticeable but leaving behind a strange awareness of the resources they’d denoted. Erik would have sworn he could tell someone the exact status of his Health, Mana, or Stamina by feel alone now but he dismissed the notion for contemplation later as he noticed other things begin to populate in the System’s version of what was apparently a personalized UI integrated directly into his senses. Similar to the set of bars at the top left corner of his vision, there were another three set at the bottom left corner of his vision, positioned just above a long, filigreed bar that stretched across the bottom of his visual perception.

Inspecting them, Erik found that they weren’t labeled as his main resources had been but nonetheless his mind was instantly made aware of what they were. The first was Fatigue, the second was Satiety, and the third was Thirst. Also, unlike his main bars, these three faded entirely from his view and he knew they would only reappear if he willed it. The final bar stretching across the bottom of his vision held a small ‘XP’ symbol inside it, making it rather self-explanatory so Erik continued his examination of his UI.

The next thing to catch his attention were the four tabs evenly spaced apart in a small cluster on the opposite side from his resources, each of which was currently grayed out. One was marked with a symbol resembling a map, another was an empty outline of a man, the third was an open book, and the fourth resembled a traveler’s pack. Since he didn’t have access to them, Erik could only guess but he felt they were likely to be a map, a character sheet, some sort of journal or quest tracker, and an inventory. Those were what he felt to be the most probable based on the symbols and what he remembered from RPGs.

A few moments after he’d finished his inspection, another window popped up in front of Erik.

Integration complete, Status assessment complete. Displaying Status…

Almost immediately after he’d finished reading this new message, it faded and was replaced by another, larger panel.

Name: Erik Thayne Health: 236/236 Stamina: 300/300 Mana: 138/138

Level: 1 Health Regen: 2.36/Min Stamina Regen: 3.00/Min Mana Regen: 1.38/Min

Experience: 0/100 Renown: 0 Class: N/A Titles: None

Strength – 14 Constitution – 12 Dexterity – 6 Endurance - 15

Intelligence – 5 Wisdom – 8 Willpower – 9 Charisma - 3

Traits: Blood of Fenris (Rare Hyborean Bloodline)

Goliath Sasquatch Hirsute Ravenous Glutton Glutton’s Gut

Erik noted there were several similarities to some RPGs he’d once played in his spare time, with a few notable differences like the list of Traits. The rest of it he felt was rather self-explanatory, but he still focused his intent on what he wanted to know, hoping this ‘System’ would produce some tool-tips to tell him what he wished to know much as it had when he’d focused on his resource pools and what apparently was his experience bar. Thankfully, it seemed the System was more than willing to comply. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, a cascade of windows popped up with an explanation breaking down the rudiments of each stat.

Strength

Strength is a measure of the physical power of your body. This stat determines how much you can lift and how hard you can hit. It is a secondary modifier in determining your total Stamina and also governs your ability to ably wield melee weapons in combat

Human Average: 8

Constitution

Constitution is a measure of your body’s resilience to harm and its ability to recover from injury and illness. It is the primary stat governing Health and also acts as a secondary modifier for passive resistances. Increasing this stat will give you more vitality, allowing you to withstand more damage before dying, and slightly raises your resistance to poisons and disease

Human Average: 8

Endurance

Endurance is a measure of your body’s vigor and ability to endure both long and short-term physical strain. Increasing this stat will allow you to fight and run for longer periods of time and enhance your ability to withstand damage in combat. It serves as the primary modifier in determining your Stamina and acts as a secondary modifier in determining your Health

Human Average: 8

Dexterity

Dexterity governs the body’s reaction speed, coordination, and agility. This stat is a secondary modifier in determining your overall Stamina and affects your ability to move quickly and with precision. Higher dexterity will allow you to more capably and accurately wield ranged weaponry and will also affect your control and finesse in melee.

Human Average: 8

Intelligence

Intelligence is your mind’s capacity for memory and short-term recall and governs its innate ability to accumulate and hold magic. It functions as the primary stat in determining your overall Mana pool and allows for more efficient spell-casting, decreasing the cost of spells by increasing the level of control over one’s Mana.

Human Average: 10

Wisdom

Wisdom determines the mind’s ability to apply what it knows in abstract ways, solve puzzles, long-term recall and its ability to channel Mana quickly when casting spells. It is a secondary modifier in determining your overall Mana pool and may grant you greater insight in your surroundings and other matters

Human Average: 5

Willpower

Willpower is the strength of your mind, the force of your personality, and the ability to focus despite all distraction. It functions as a secondary modifier in determining your total Mana pool and governs both the potency of your spells and your ability to resist magic effects targeting your mind and body

Human Average: 7

Charisma

Charisma is your talent with influencing people with word and body. It affects all social interactions to a varying degree and determines your ability to empathize and understand interpersonal reactions and emotions. Higher Charisma can allow you to get better deals in shops, makes others react more favorably to you in social settings, and can increase your ability to detect lies and deception in a social setting. Charisma also modifies your ability to resist Charisma-based spells and skills

Human Average: 10

As Erik read the description for each stat, he experienced an odd revelation, almost like the System was projecting the deeper, hidden meaning of each stat directly into his mind. More than simply reading the words, it felt like he was being given a glimmer of the true foundation each concept was rooted in. It was a mechanic that surprised him, and it helped emphasize that this wasn’t merely some game he was playing; the System could affect his senses and his mind, gifting him with knowledge and understanding he wouldn’t otherwise be able to achieve.

Reviewing his stats, Erik was mildly surprised to find that his Strength, Constitution, Endurance, Wisdom and Willpower were all above what the System reported as being average for his species. He understood his deficit of Charisma—he’d been reaping the consequences of all that he understood that stat to represent for most of his life—and his lower-than-average Dexterity made sense, considering his clumsiness coupled with his large size.

But he didn’t think his Wisdom would be three points higher than the average human or that his Willpower would exceed the average by two points. Thinking it through, Erik decided the relatively low Wisdom score for the human average was probably reflective of their ability to make deadly, uninformed, life-altering decisions and completely fail to understand their surroundings based on stubborn idiocy alone, though he supposed he was a little biased, considering his past.

His Intelligence score was less of a mystery to him—he’d always considered himself more introspective than intelligent, and he believed himself to be slightly more self-aware than the average person due to his…colorful past. He was by no means stupid, but he’d shown himself repeatedly to be a slow learner. As for his Willpower, Erik thought that was likely the result of the inroads he’d made in controlling his hunger. His Strength and Endurance, in comparison to his other stats, weren’t outside his expectations. Erik had just never taken the time to step back and objectively compare his size and strength to other people.

Having thrown himself into powerlifting in his ardent quest to alter his self-image into something more positive, Strength and Endurance were something he’d forged in spades through hours of dedicated lifting. Though he’d never felt a need to record any numbers from his lifts, Erik knew from having seen the stats of competition-level power-lifters like Kirill Sarychev or Eddie Hall, that he was of a similar size and mass as they typically were when competing. It was therefore unsurprising that Strength and Endurance were his highest stats.

However, looking back and forth between the average scores for humans, it still seemed that his scores were a point or so higher than he himself would have judged them to be. Maybe there are some modifiers at work here that I don’t know about yet, Erik mused to himself. It seemed a likely possibility, considering it would mirror some of the mechanics he remembered from the days when he used to spend his time playing RPGs and the System so far seemed to be strongly rooted in similar elements.

Feeling more intrigued, knowing it was probably best to get the cascade of other messages sure to follow out of the way as well as wanting to satisfy his own curiosity, Erik mentally dismissed the tool-tip the system had spawned—and the sensations they had evoked—and focused his attention next on the section listed Traits, thinking it likely they might better explain any bonuses or deficits the System had tacked on to his Status. He was immediately bombarded by a series of messages, each of which overlaid itself on top of the other before it. Each message brought an odd awareness of himself with it, as if by reading each one he was engaging in understanding the depths of what made him tick.

Blood of Fenris (Rare Hyborean Bloodline Trait)

Like all those descended from the original inhabitants of Hyborea, your ancestors were shaped by the will of the Titans, who wished to bless their most faithful followers with a small fraction of their strength, leaving them larger and stronger than normal humans. Your ancestors were among those few Hyboreans blessed with power by Fenris, the Lord of Wolves, who gifted his followers with savage ferocity as well as strength. You might look like the obese bastard son of a gorilla and an ox, but the power of the Titans flows through your veins and the strength of the wolf lurks in your shadow.

-2 Charisma

+2 Strength per level

+1 Endurance per level

You have inherited the unique Traits Sasquatch, Ravenous Glutton, and Goliath

“I’d rather fight the sons of Fenris than get eaten alive by monsters but from what I’ve heard there isn’t much of a difference between the two.”

As Erik read through the first message, a chill traveled up his spine. The sensation this message evoked from the dark depths of his mind was not one he had ever wanted to dwell on for any length of time, yet the System forced it screaming into the light and there was no denying its existence. Erik had learned the necessity of accepting the darker and unwanted parts of himself the hard way—doing so had proven the only way to even begin to control the gnawing hunger of his eating disorder—but this was something he was loathe to even acknowledge. The very thought of doing so terrified him. Frantically, he shoved the sensations from the forefront of his mind and continued through the messages, needing a distraction. Fortunately, that was a request the System seemed more than willing to grant.

Ravenous Glutton (Unique Trait)

Your body is driven by an endless yearning for something it cannot name. Your hunger is insatiable, and you devour every scrap of food set before you. Even when you have consumed all your body can handle, you cannot help but continue eating.

Grants the ability Ravenous Appetite

You are afflicted the secondary physical Trait Glutton’s Gut

“My hunger cannot be tamed. I ate the first dozen who tried.”

Erik clenched his teeth, feeling the old shame claw at him along with the deep and gnawing hunger the System instilled in him, as if to remind him of the bottomless, aching hunger that never really went away. It was something he had learned to tolerate but had never been able to control. His problem would never fade or go away, but he had made himself able to live with it. Still, having the System shove its existence in his face didn’t exactly do wonders for Erik’s state of mind. He felt a deep anger churn in his gut like acid, clawing at his insides.

“Like I need another fucking reminder. None of the assholes I grew up with ever let me forget it,” Erik muttered darkly through clenched teeth. Knowing the futility of it, Erik refused to allow his anger any further foothold. He’d spent his entire lifetime allowing himself to be controlled by his fear and he was only now learning not to let it hold him back. His anger was deeply connected to some of his oldest and most intense fears and he was just as opposed to letting it control him as he was allowing his fear to do so. Steeling his resolve, Erik moved on to the next Trait.

Glutton’s Gut (Secondary Physical Trait)

Constantly consuming mass-quantities of food in extreme excess can make you fat. Who knew? No matter what you do, this gut will never quite go away so long as your hunger rules you. Exercise has made it more solid and slightly less unwieldy, but it still makes you look fat.

-2 Dexterity

+3 Constitution

“Remember David and Goliath? Well, I’m pretty sure you ate David.”

This time, rather than inspiring a newfound mental introspection, it was as if Erik was suddenly and unerringly aware of the layer of fat that still clung to his mid-section. For a moment the old humility and shame warred with his elation at his accomplishments, fed by the anger beginning to stir in him, but his pride won out by a short margin and Erik snorted, patting the girth of his mid-section, his previous displeasure muted.

Whatever the System said, more than three years of near-obsessive dedication to lifting and other exercises had crafted the previously horrendous and unsightly mass of flesh and fat into a solid wall of muscle, even if it was still covered by a concealing layer of fat. He’d tried—and failed—to cut down the excess weight he was still carrying around his mid-section but his struggle with his eating disorder had made it a hopeless battle, so he’d given in and settled for just making it as solid as he could. If the System wanted to be petty and make fun of the gut he still had despite all his effort, then he would resign himself to it. Turning his attention to the next message, Erik resumed his review of the messages.

Goliath (Unique Trait)

Like most of the favored of the Titans, your ancestors were blessed with size and strength beyond mortal means. You seem to have been skipped over for most of that, but you’re still built like an ox. A fat and stupid ox, but an ox nonetheless

+2 Strength

+2 Endurance

-3 Intelligence

“Huh, I thought you’d be taller.”

Erik blinked. That message seemed almost…conciliatory, even if it was still a bit mocking. It brought with it an abiding and total awareness of his physical size and emphasized once more how he towered over the comparatively diminutive Helena, Erik being more imposing both in stature as well as sheer mass. Oddly, the sensation didn’t inspire any feeling of degradation but rather made Erik feel almost powerful, like he could accomplish anything. It was exhilarating. Erik knew he was of above average height at six-foot-four, but before he’d lost weight, it hadn’t mattered; he’d just been a rather large target for the ire of his tormentors. Now, reading that message, the feeling it inspired in him made him almost uncomfortably aware of precisely how ‘above average’ he was in size and for once, it didn’t feel like an entirely negative thing to Erik. “Huh, maybe the System isn’t going to be a complete dick about this,” Erik said hopefully. The messages that followed immediately proved him wrong.

Sasquatch (Unique Trait)

Your hands and feet are disproportionately large, and you have enough body hair that you scare people when shirtless. Need I say anymore?

Grants the secondary physical Trait Hirsute

Bonus to successful intimidation when shirtless

“I swear to all the gods if you ate the last of the jerky I’ll tear your arms off and eat them instead.”

Hirsute (Secondary Physical Trait)

You are one hairy bastard. Haven’t you ever heard of manscaping?

-1 Charisma

A vein throbbed in Erik’s head, but he refrained from venting his frustration. Just like before, rather than a distinct feeling or impression, the messages imposed a sharp awareness of a particular facet of his body. This one was much easier to brush off than the others, since it was one that he could do little to mitigate despite the discomfort it caused him. Others might have argued otherwise but there was no changing the awkward size of his hands and feet and anything less than a full-body wax wouldn’t have made much of a dent in the other part of that problem—an inconvenience he found unworthy of the time and discomfort it brought with it. Like so many other things, he’d decided to live with it and manage it as best he could. The System apparently thought that his admittedly meager efforts weren’t worth anything other than petty mockery.

Knowing he needed to stay focused, Erik pushed his feelings down into the depths of his mind, burying them in the darkness. Much as he hated to admit it, the System wasn’t noting anything he hadn’t already been aware of—although it seemed it had used his more distinguishing characteristics as not only an excuse to poke fun at him but also to give him some positive and negative characteristics. It might not have weighed in his favor as much as he’d have liked, but the fact alone that the System had obviously looked for ways to counteract his bonuses to Strength and Constitution was telling.

First, the System seemed to exaggerate and leverage the distinguishing qualities and characteristics of a person to justify granting them appropriate bonuses and disadvantages. Erik would have had to ask around about the other’s Traits to be sure, but the fact that all his Unique Traits were ‘inherited’ from his Blood of Fenris was interesting, especially considering the interesting…feelings it had awoken in him. Second, the System was obviously trying very hard to maintain the idea of balance among his characteristics. If the world they were in truly resembled an RPG as much as Janus had implied and the System had indicated thus far, then from those details alone Erik could make several assumptions about the mechanics of the universe and how it operated.

“Hmm…if it needs to maintain balance and uses our own physical features to justify giving us increases to stats while decreasing others, then I suppose it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say that it made up a lineage for me in this world based upon attributes I already possess, which would provide a perfectly plausible explanation for all my physical Traits, while also serving to be it’s justification for their existence in the first place,” Erik shook his head, feeling a minor headache coming on from his deliberation on that particular logic-loop. It was a large leap to make but it was one he had a hunch was relatively accurate, based upon what he’d seen so far. Shaking his head, Erik dismissed his thoughts and returned his focus to this new and strange reality he’d found himself in.

Now that he’d sorted through all the information from his status page he was capable of understanding, Erik found his attention drawn once more to the platform where Janus stood next to the obelisk. The crowd’s attention was entirely focused on the Titan again, a feat which seemed to be some sort of mystical accomplishment—when he attempted to turn his attention elsewhere, Erik found his body unresponsive and his attention unable to focus on anything other than Janus. It would appear that he’s ensuring we all pay attention, somehow. I’m not sure why he chose to do this now instead of earlier when he was telling his story, but he must have something important to tell us and knew we’d be utterly distracted by the wonder of this ‘System’, Erik contemplated silently.

“As anticipated, very few of you chose to decline my offer and return to your world, and for that I am glad. Much as I would like to explain the mechanics of this world to you, there is little time to do so. Suffice it to say, the System is logical, if not rational. Now, on to the things you must know right now. First, in the System you cannot die permanently,” Janus paused here, apparently taking some small measure of amusement at the sudden shock garnered in the crowd from the news they were basically immortal before he continued orating.

“However, that doesn’t mean you can be reckless. Dying is excruciatingly painful and the disorientation of having your soul repeatedly ripped out and shoved back into a perfect replica of your body can and will erode your sanity. If that wasn’t enough, every time you die, you expose your mind to the corrupting touch of Chaos, and it slowly poisons your psyche. To ensure the Balance, the System prevents you from coming back if you die and your mind has passed a certain threshold of corruption. Die too many times and there will come a point where your mind is simply gone, and you cease to exist. Ill-advised actions and stupidity can and will destroy any hope you have of survival,” Janus continued grimly.

I suppose that makes sense, Erik thought. Keep recycling the mind and eventually it just falls apart. This ‘Chaos’ Janus keeps mentioning must be some force or concept the System invented to drive conflict in this world. Logical but not rational, indeed.

“Second, some of you may recall that I called this place the Proving Grounds earlier,” Janus said, gesturing to their surroundings. “Those who wish to join the System and gain access to its benefits must prove they are ready to face its perils. To leave this place and enter the world of Terra, you must overcome a basic test of your mettle. Normally, you would need to know the basics of a combat Proficiency before undergoing the Proving but as Travelers, the System will allow you to choose two abilities to help you in combat as well as a basic combat proficiency and one non-combat skill. The world of Terra has always been a place of strife and conflict, but it is doubly so now that the Balance has been disrupted and Chaos runs rampant,"

"Choose carefully, for it may determine whether you live through your Proving or not, and until you have succeeded in your Proving, the System will give you no second chances. Many of you may die, but that was a risk you accepted when you agreed to join the System,” Janus paused momentarily, once more allowing the crowd to process what he’d said before he spoke again. There was a murmuring at this grim realization and nervous chatter as some people were filled with dread and apprehension by Janus’s words, but no one dared raise their voice in outrage.

None of them understood what it meant when Janus called himself a Titan but, standing in his presence, listening to him speak, the air of unquestionable power he emanated was evident to even the least observant of those present in the gathered crowd. Some of them might have wanted to complain about Janus withholding that information from them, but the rest knew what he’d said was true; they’d made their choices, and now they had to stand by them. Of course, none of that meant the crowd was pleased with the news. From where Erik stood, it seemed a few had even broken down into near-hysterics, only being calmed and quieted by the groups of people around them, who seemed only mildly less shaken. As for himself, Erik had been waiting for that hammer to drop—however much he might have leapt at the chance for a better future than the one waiting for him back on Earth, he knew there had to be a greater risk than they were being told about. Still, it didn’t matter. He’d made his choice, and now he and everyone else who’d made the same decision would have to live or die by it alongside him. Erik glanced at Helena, but she seemed unmoved by this news, her face impassive.

“Finally, once each of you pass the Proving, you will receive a boon of power from me to help you on your journey. You will appear, alone, at a random location in the land of Eralia, the largest continent on Terra. I advise you to seek out your fellows or other people and try to make as many allies as you can. However, no matter what you do, you will make enemies, such is the design of the System and its Balance. Some of these enemies will be easily dissuaded, but others…they will only stop when you force them to stop. You must be prepared not merely to fight but to kill, to survive in this world. Of course, not all enemies will be as they appear in Terra, and many of the most vicious cruelties you suffer will come from those monstrous in mind and not merely monstrous in flesh. Do not hesitate when you face them and do not show mercy, for they will show you none. Now, there is no more time to waste,” Janus said as he gestured to the wide set of steps leading up the platform he stood upon. “Each of you must simply approach and lay your hand upon the obelisk. Once you do, you will be sent to an isolated pocket dimension inside of the one the Proving Grounds exists in, where each of you will undergo your Proving.”

Erik looked around and saw that maybe a fifth of their number had chosen not to accept the System’s offer, and the remainder were nervously whispering to each other, hesitating to be the first to approach and deliberating over the exceedingly grim tone of Janus’s final remark, the first nail in the coffin of their wonder at this new world.

Just as it seemed no one would take those first steps, several people stepped from the crowd and approached the obelisk. One by one, they placed their hands upon the stone monolith and disappeared in azure flashes of light followed by the punishing sound of rolling thunder. Soon, more and more joined them and eventually a line formed. Erik found himself behind Helena, steadily advancing toward the obelisk now that no one was hesitating to begin the ‘Proving’ Janus had mentioned. When it finally came to be Helena’s turn, Erik touched her shoulder, prompting her to turn. “Good luck, Lena. I’m not sure if we’ll see each other again any time soon but it—it was nice meeting you.” Erik said, reddening as he stuttered a bit.

Helena threw a smile at him before turning and reaching out to place her hand upon the obelisk. “Likewise. See you on the other side,” She finished just as she disappeared.

Knowing that if he hesitated he would be holding up the line of people that remained waiting in fretful anticipation behind him, Erik hurriedly stepped forward and placed his hand upon the obelisk.