I need something interesting to do. Dying was fun. I had a nice talk with Trixey last night, but I've got a while before my first real world training session. I bet Doktor Urmind can fix me up with something fun to do.

But for now, this is my world. I live in a fantasy MMO. I used to do odd jobs for my Player. He's out there in the "Real World". He hasn't logged in for a while so I ran out of things on my things-to-do list. So at least for a little while, I'm on my own time.

Currently, I'm walking to the nearest temple. It's in town, there are streets and buildings and people walking from one place to another. Everyone has a little nameplate floating over his or her head. Adventurers have names, their away characters have (away) after the name, and some characters are (AFK) and just stand in the road like a statue. Some of the townspeople have names, some have generic descriptions like [baker] or [city official]. There are shops around: Item shops, alchemy supplies, wake-me-up shops, restaurants. Everybody is busy and few people talk to one another. This is my world.

I got some directions from a priest at the temple, he even marked it on my map. It's a very short walk and I opened the door to Doktor Urmind's Dream Emporium. A little bell rang when I opened the door.

I see him. He sees me. He's sitting in a chair next to a table. He's got a [laptop computer]!

What world am I in? I turn around and there isn't a door behind me. He's gotten out of his chair and is walking over to me.

"Hashi! I didn't want us to be disturbed. Relax."

I am worried. Something about being in a room with Doktor Urmind, especially a room with no obvious exits is disturbing.

"Um, Doktor Urmind."

"Yes, Hashi?"

"Can we go someplace a little more open? Something about this room is bothering me."

Doktor Urmind makes a few hand gestures and we are standing in the local wake-me-up shop. I see people around us but no one is moving. I wish I knew what all these mystical gestures meant.

[System: +1 mystical gesture interpretation]

Stop. What did I just do? This sort of thing has happened before. I wish I knew what I just did to set off the system message.

[System: Ask Doktor Urmind]

Doktor Urmind is standing nearby grinning at me.

"Doktor Urmind, are you messing with the system messages? I wanted to know what all the mystical gestures people were making meant and I received a system message that my 'interpret mystical gesture' skill increased." He's waiting for me to finish. And then he waits a little longer.

"You've been living in a game world. Or have you? Do you know where you are now?"

Doktor Urmind is emphasizing the word you a lot.

"No, not really. It looks like the wake-me-up shop. But it isn't. I think. I don't know."

Doktor Urmind says, "Well, think about it some more and let me know what you come up with. So, you were looking for me. What's up?"

"My player hasn't logged in for several days. As I haven't had instructions from him, playing as Hashi doesn't seem right. I was wondering, could I play this game as H Grindswell in the meantime?"

He replied, "Sure, all you have to do is tell the system to log on as H Grindswell."

"Can we change the character up? It's been weird bouncing back and forth as two clones."

Doktor Urmind gestures at a wall and a door appears. There's a sign over it that reads [character creation]. "Just pass through there and you can go through character creation and make a new you for this world."

I walk through the door.