The first thing I became aware of was the smell of something burning. I was lying down in almost complete darkness. The ground beneath me was solid rock, with knobs of stone digging into my spine in two places. My head hurt, and I felt that I had been asleep for a long time. I couldn't recall exactly when I had fallen asleep, or what day of the week, or even what month it had been the last time I had been conscious. Slowly, I rose to a sitting position and tried to get my bearings. My vision was faintly blurred, as though I had just finished rubbing my eyes. I was in a cave.

Once I realized that I was in a cave, I tried to think of how I could have gotten there. I wasn't dreaming, I was certain of that. Numerous things can happen in a dream, but a headache and low-grade back pain are not among them. Had I been drinking? Probably not. I would have to drink a lot to get to the point where I could remember nothing of the night before. None of my Friday night binges in college had resulted in a blackout, although they had left me feeling nauseous the next morning. My stomach felt fine, so that couldn't be it.

Had I been kidnapped? I had to pause at that idea. I was dressed in a simple gray t-shirt and jeans. My feet were bare. My pockets were empty, so sign of my phone or my wallet, so that was something. My head was throbbing, but feeling along my scalp revealed no bump or sign of injury. Why would a kidnapper drag me into a cave and leave me there, with no restraints of any kind?

I suppose I ought to have felt afraid or worried at this point, but I couldn't muster any such feelings in myself. I was simply curious as to how I could have arrived at this strange place. I decided to get up and explore my environment.

My first attempt to rise to a standing position was rewarded with a painful knock to the back of my skull. The ceiling of the cave was not quite high enough to allow me to stand. I squatted and tried to look around. The chamber I was in was dark and cramped. The only light was a faint reddish glow coming from a small opening nearby. I began lightly slapping the rough stone of the chamber with my hands, trying to feel for some clue that I had missed. After several minutes, I became convinced that so further information was to be had from this tiny chamber. There were plenty of oddly shaped rocks and small slabs littered about, but no sign of anything artificial. Slowly, I picked my way toward the red light.

The opening was small. Small enough that I had a sudden fear of becoming stuck as I crawled inside. The ground was painful to lay on, and there was just room to worm my way forward, my shoulders grinding against the sharp protrusions on either side. The firelight became brighter and clearer as I crept forward through the narrow tunnel. At length, I found myself entering another chamber, a bit larger than the one I had just left. I saw the source of the glow I had been following. It was a torch.

The chamber was formed of massive boulders that seemed to have gotten stuck halfway through collapsing downward. There was a gap running between the boulders that formed the floor, separating me from the torch. The torch was of conventional design, with a burning wad of cloth secured to a wooden shaft about 2 feet long. It was protruding from a small bronze figure of a man's upper body, which in turn seemed to sprout from the wall of the cave. Seeing an old-fashioned torch burning merrily in a cave immediately called to mind a video game of some sort. Caves in games always have some convenient, inexplicable light source to guide the hero through the darkness. Who could have lit it? The only way into this chamber that I could see was the hole that I had just crawled out of, which was clearly a dead end. A torch like that couldn't possibly burn for long; maybe only a few minutes. Was there even enough air in this little room to sustain the flame? It seemed a bit absurd.

The crevasse below didn't seem like an impassible barrier, however dangerous. I hunted about for a safer way across, but it cut across the entire floor. The ceiling was low enough to be a serious obstacle to anyone who chose to jump across, but after a bit of inspection I found an angle that I believed was workable and made the jump. There was a tense moment as I landed when I thought I might fall backward into the pit, but I was able to wave my arms and steady myself.

I grabbed the torch and removed it from the bronze holder. No sooner had I done so, then the tiny human figure burst into flame, and from it sprouted a new torch, identical to the one I was now holding. I stood staring for a moment. What I had just witnessed was an impossibility, unless there were a hidden pneumatic tube in the wall. Experimentally, I pulled the new torch from the holder as well, and sure enough, a new one replaced it within seconds, like that kid with the hats from the Dr. Seuss book. I tried to pull the holder free of the wall, but the bronze was blazing hot and burnt my fingers as I tried to pry it loose. No luck on the idea of an unlimited supply of torches.

I turned my attention to the crevasse. There had to be a way out of this cave, and that was the only path open to me. I tried reaching one of my torches down as far as it would reach, but only managed to illuminate the first 15 feet or so of a very deep pit. The inner walls of the pit were formed from numerous large boulders, like the two chambers I had already seen. At least there were plenty of handholds.

Seeing that I was overstocked with torches, I let one drop into the abyss below. It spent entirely too long tumbling through the darkness before finally landing in soft sand in the chamber below. The climb down would be be at least 40 ft, with a shear drop at the bottom of about 10, but there was no other way to go, so I began slowly and carefully descending.

I was lucky that the walls of the crevasse were so uneven. There were several points during my descent when I needed to rest and get my breath back before descending further. Perhaps I gripped the handholds with more force than was necessary, but losing my grip would have meant a fall, very likely a fatal one. Of course, the climb down would have been easier if I had had both hands available to climb, but I would be utterly blind without a torch. After what felt like a long descent (it couldn't have been more than a couple minutes in reality), I dropped the last 10 feet and landed in the sand, panting for breath.

I was somewhat disappointed to discover that the torch I had dropped was still burning, as it meant I had wasted a lot of effort bringing the one I was currently holding. The torch sat hissing on the damp sand floor, just a few feet from a stagnant pool of water. I decided to pick it up anyway, just in case. This chamber was more spacious the the previous two, and had several small openings that might lead off into other chambers. I decided to examine the water. I was a little thirsty from the climb, but I wasn't yet desperate enough to try the water. The surface of the water was perfectly still, like a sheet of glass, so it could only be groundwater. I held the torch as close to the surface as I dared, trying to illuminate the bottom.

The water took on a yellowish hue from the torchlight. it was only about eight feet deep at the back. The sand I was standing on sloped gently downward, ending in the uneven stone wall. I noticed something catching the the torchlight in the sand at the bottom of the pool, like a small piece of metal.

I considered. The air in the cave was chilly, but not so much that getting wet would put me in danger. If anything, the pristine water looked tempting after that climb downward. I firmly planted my torches on the sand near the shore, removed my shirt, and waded into the water. Regrets set in almost immediately as I realized how cold the water was, but I wasn't going to turn back now. I reached the spot where I had spotted the shiny object and began feeling around with my feet. The water was just over my head as I felt a smooth metallic surface under my foot. I tried to catch the little thing with my toes, but it kept slipping away, so I took a deep breath and dived down to grab it. I mentally cried in triumph as my fingers closed on a little metal disc, a coin.

The instant I grabbed it, something grabbed me. A cloud of sand filled my vision as bony fingers gripped my forearm. Something was underneath me in the water, and it was strong. The grip crushed my arm. Before I could think of anything, my breath escaped me in a burst of bubbles. I struggled to free myself from the horrible bony grip, but it was like iron. I felt something like claws rake across my stomach, leaving long ragged gashes. I felt nothing but pain and abject terror, my heart was pounding out of control, my lungs were pleading for air. I was bleeding. I was drowning. I was helpless. I was going to die.

The thought should have terrified me, but instead I felt a strange sense of relief. I was dying. No, I was being killed. Cold rage filled me, and I embraced it. Instead of struggling with the skeletal arms, I began frantically pounding them with my left fist. It was like punching a piece of re-bar, and hurt more than the wounds on my stomach, but I was past caring. I was in a dark world now, where there was no light, no air, no pain, and no mercy. “Kill or be killed” I thought, as I brought my bare feet into play as well. I kicked and the horrible thing in the water with everything I had. It slashed its claw-like fingers across my calf as I pounded at its thin body. It was a skeleton. There was a skeleton killing me. No time to think, I had to kill it. I grabbed its forearm and braced my feet against its rib-cage, and pulled with all I had left.

Something popped, and I shot toward the surface. I coughed and sputtered, trying the clear my lungs and breathe at the same time. Thrashing at the water like a madman, I swam toward the shore. As soon as I was up on the sand, I turned around to look for pursuit.

The loathsome creature was just cresting the surface, a black, shiny skull, with a skull's humorless little grin. I realized the thing could not possibly swim with its fleshless limbs, a fact to which I probably now owed my life. It would not take long for the awful thing to catch me now that it was unburied. On land, it would be every bit as fast as me, if not faster. I frantically looked around for a loose stone I could use as a weapon, but the smallest rocks in sight were the size of small cars. I grabbed a torch instead and brandished it at the monster as it came up behind me.

It had no fear at all of the flame I was carrying, and I had to jump back to avoid a wild slash from its claw-like fingers. I brought the torch down on it as hard as I could, and was rewarded with a loud snap. Unfortunately, the snap was my torch breaking against the monster's collarbone, it's tip disappearing into the sand. Whatever evil force was holding this thing together in place of tendons and ligaments was not going to give up easily. I danced back and forth on the sand, trying to make myself a more difficult target. In a tighter space, I wouldn't have stood a chance, but if I made good use of the available space, I should be able to stay out of reach. It kept coming at me, however, and another horrible realization struck me: I would eventually run out of breath, but it never would. There was no escape, nowhere to run. Once again, the thought skipped across my mind as the those little fingers raked past: “Kill or be killed”.

What could I do? In video games, skeletons usually went to pieces at the first opportunity, but this one was obviously made of sterner stuff than that. I had felt its cruel strength in the water; I doubted I could overpower it. All my muscles were just useless dead weight in front of this thing.

...wait.

I swept with my leg. Sure enough, it bowled over completely and planted its stupid grinning face in the sand. No matter how strong it was, it was only a skeleton, and weighed practically nothing. It recovered quickly and came at me again, but now I had a plan. When It lunged forward, I gave it a hard slap to the side of the skull, and knocked it head over heels again. The poor thing had nothing to hold it to the ground, any force would knock it over. I took the split-second it took to regain it's footing to spot a boulder suitable for my plan. The torch burning behind it gave me just enough light to snatch it's thin wrist as it tried to claw at me again. Before it could react, I whipped it's entire body over my head and smashed it over the boulder with a satisfying crack. I continued to flail at the rock with my enemy's broken body as pieces of broken bone rained down all around.

I lay on the wet sand, surrounded by the pieces of the thing that had attacked me. I don't know how long I had been lying there, staring at nothing. I had just fought for my life against an undead monster. It took a long time for my breathing to return to normal. Where was I? Was I dead, and in hell? It wasn't a nightmare, I knew that much. I felt faint and exhausted, and no dream feels this painful. Pain is probably the most unarguably real thing you can experience. I picked myself off the sand and tried to survey my surroundings again. At the very least, I needed to be prepared if another of those skeletons made an appearance.

The torch was still casting its yellowish light, but I could tell it was better than half gone already. I could not not afford to waste any more time, the thought of being in this cave with no light was intolerable. It was then that I noticed the warm stickiness of the blood oozing down my chest. I needed to attend to my injuries.

I washed myself in the water and took stock of my wounds. The thing's dull spikes of finger had left wide, shallow gashes in my side, more like tears than cuts. I had fine collection of bruises on my wrist that would have made for a cool-looking tattoo of a skeletal hand. I was wary of the pool now that I had been ambushed there, but more rational side reasoned that anything that was waiting in there would have emerged when I was fighting with the skeleton.

I spotted the coin I had gone in to look for originally, and went in to retrieve it. Maybe it was silly, but I had almost died to get it, after all. It was a silver coin about the size of a half-dollar. On one face was the image of a man with long hair, and an unpleasant little smile. He was wearing a priestly robe with a miter on his head and was holding a scepter shaped like a cross. On the other side was an image of a tree with three men lying under it, with an image of the grim reaper standing off to one side. On both sides were engraved a Latin motto: “Radix Malorum Est Cupiditas”. It sounded familiar, but I couldn't remember where I'd heard it. I pocketed the coin and turned my attention back to my injuries.

A few minutes later, I was satisfied that was not going to bleed to death. My t-shirt had been torn into long strips to serve as bandages. I had also succeeded in salvaging the broken tip of my second torch. It was tied securely to a tibia I had taken from my bony friend. It wouldn't serve as much of a club if I ran into another enemy, but I felt a lot better having something to defend myself with other than my poor swollen knuckles. I left the make-shift torch unlit, as it had gone out as soon it had struck the damp sand. I would need a back-up when this one ran low. Confident that I was as ready to move forward as I would ever be, I began searching the narrow openings between the rocks for a way out of the chamber.

It took a few false starts, but after some experimental forays that ended in dead ends, I manged to find a path that widened out into a rough sort of tunnel. There were always gaps that ran off the main path in other directions, or occasionally ones that dropped straight downward, but with my torch burning down I had to keep to the widest path possible in hopes of finding an exit. Several times I was forced to climb straight upward or descend straight down to make progress. It didn't take long for my torch to run down to smoldering stick, and I was forced to press the little cinder against my improvised torch and hope for the best. Luck was with me, if you can call being trapped underground with maybe fifteen minutes of light remaining luck. I pressed on, trying to hurry as much as possible. The terrain just didn't allow for running; even a slow walking pace ran the risk of tripping and saving whatever horrors awaited me the trouble of finishing me off. I was getting hungry, and I badly needed to rest, but I had no food and stopping was unthinkable. I cursed myself for stopping to pick up that damn coin earlier, those precious seconds could mean the difference between life and death. Sure enough, soon my remaining torch was nearly exhausted. I tried wrapping the feeble flame in the remains of my shirt to extend it's life, but it was no use. Soon I was in pitch blackness.

I forced myself to continue. If moving had been difficult and tedious before, now it was an unbearable process. I tapped at the stone surfaces in front of me with my bone club, looking for suitable places for my feet. Despite my caution, I soon had painful bruises on my scalp from cracking my head against stone outcroppings. There was no reason to think that I could escape from this alive. For all I knew, I had already taken a wrong turn somewhere behind, and now I was just creeping deeper and deeper into the cave. Maybe there was no outside, nowhere to go, just inevitable death from starvation, thirst, or whatever monster lay in wait for me around the next corner. Hours passed, or at least I think they did. Sometimes, I thought I was beginning to see the rough stones that now composed my entire world, but I soon found that this was only my imagination trying to fill the blackness around me. The cave was completely silent, so much that sound of my feet brushing against the rocks sounded uncomfortably loud, and I was certain that anything that was listening would hear my heartbeat from 10 yards away. Faint blue images began to swirl before my eyes, and I welcomed the hallucinations as a distraction from the silent darkness.

My mouth was beginning to feel like sandpaper. I had gone past thirsty, through dehydration, and into the horrible realm beyond. If I were wandering in the dessert, the vision of an oasis surrounded by palm trees would be making an appearance right about now. I could feel the effects on my muscles and joints as well; every scrap of me begged for water. I briefly considered turning back, trying to find that pool again, maybe even find a way back up to that magical torch-extruding gizmo. There would be no point of course, I had gone through so many twists and turns that I hadn't a prayer of finding my way back. Nowhere to go but forward. I had already come to what I had thought were dead ends several times, but after vigorously tapping the rocks I always find a way through, or around, or over. The silence was beginning to wear on me. Heck, it had been wearing on me all day. I realized that I could not remember the last time I had heard a human voice, or any living thing. The closest thing to an animal I had seen was an animated skeleton whose leg bone was now serving as my tapping stick.

All at once, I noticed a change in the pattern of the cave as I tapped my way forward. I dropped down began to feel around with my hands to make sure that my mind wasn't playing tricks on me. Sure enough, I was no longer climbing across random boulders, but on an even floor. The floor was definitely rough to the touch and I still wished for a pair of shoes, but it was definitely worked stone. I had transitioned from a cave to a tunnel. Continuing to probe with the bone, I found that I was in a narrow corridor, about a yard wide and two in height. While this solved precisely none of my immediate problems, I still felt like leaping for joy (I didn't, obviously; no room). A worked tunnel would not be at the back of the cave system, it would be near an entrance, maybe very near. Encouraged, I started tapping my way forward again, delighted at how much faster I could travel on even terrain. I tapped along both walls of the corridor, as well as the floor, not wanting to miss a doorway if there were any.

I heard something ahead. By the time I became aware of it, I realized that I had been hearing it for a while. A faint rustling, so slight that I probably wouldn't have noticed it at all if not for the oppressive silence I had been listening to for hours. There was something...no, several somethings ahead, skittering and scratching around in the darkness. Oh well. Whatever they were I was in no mood for them. Straining my ears to try to identify the sounds, I heard something else that made my heart leap in my chest: the trickle of water.

This was it. I needed water more than I had ever needed anything. Whatever monstrosities were standing between me and that stream had better find somewhere else to stand. I abandoned my tapping and held my club at the ready, using my left hand to feel my way forward through the darkness. Stealth was probably too much to ask for, but I didn't want to announce my presence with my constant tapping. My friends in the darkness seemed to appreciate my effort, the shuffling noise grew steadily louder as I approached. There were at least three of them, maybe four. They were small and low to the ground, like cats, although cats don't scrape against the ground as they move.

I crept closer and closer. I should have been more worried about these creatures, but the sound of trickling water was driving me insane. As I approached the shuffling sounds, they suddenly stopped.

I froze. I held my breath. Whatever was in front of me had frozen in place too, like a deer in headlights. If they didn't move, I couldn't even begin to guess where they were. Attacking them with my club would be utterly useless, I'd be more likely to break the stupid thing against the floor. Whatever they were, they were probably a lot better suited to moving around in darkness than I was. The fact that they had responded to my presence by freezing suggested a prey-type creature rather than a predator. Maybe I could use that to my advantage. It was time for a hail-Mary. I drew in breath as quietly as I could, filling my lungs to capacity, then let loose the ancient battle-cry.

“HHHAAAAAVVOOOOOOOCCCC!!!!” I shouted as loudly as I could, surprising myself with how loud my voice now sounded after hours of complete silence, especially in such a confined space. The next thing I heard were the sounds of little feet scurrying away into the darkness. I still had no idea what they had been, or whether they had ever actually been a threat to me. I continued on.

I approached the sound of water. I could feel the coolness of it in the air, I could practically smell it. As I approached, I saw an opening on the right of the corridor. I...saw it. There was light and water in there, the two most wonderful things in all existence as far I was concerned. I couldn't drop my guard though. The weight of the silver coin in my pocket reminded me of how unfair this place could be. I cautiously peaked around the corner. The view was worth it.

Even the pale bluish light stung my eyes for a moment, but they soon adjusted. Beyond a stone archway was spacious chamber. The floors were polished tile, and the walls were decorated in bas-relief, showing images of warriors and monsters, palaces, forests, a dizzying array of images. In the back of the chamber was a marvelous ornamental fountain. A massive statue of an oriental dragon towered over the pool, and from its mouth flowed the stream of water I had been hearing. The dragon's eyes shone with brilliant blue light, and that was the only reason I was able to see any of it.

Immediately, I was torn with indecision. If I continued on without drinking, I may not survive until the next source of water became available. On the other hand, this room couldn't scream “temple” any louder, and the fact that the dragon's eyes were glowing proved that it was something abnormal. Suppose that the statue came to life and bit my head off as soon as I set foot on the tiles? Suppose it decided to punish me for daring to drink from its sacred spring?

Still, those fantastical threats, as credible as they were, were no match for the simple reality of thirst. If a man who is dying of thirst can just walk past a source of water because it might, theoretically, be dangerous, evolution had not done its job. I approached the fountain.

I stared up at the statue. Its huge serpentine body wrapped around the water, forming the basin of the fountain. It was as big as a bus. It was impossible for anything that big to move, even if it had been alive. But then, it was also impossible for skeletons to walk, so I could not be confident in anything anymore.

“Hello?” I tried. No harm in being polite. The statue continued staring with its glowing eyes and pouring gallons of life-giving water out of its massive fang-filled maw. I wondered briefly how the basin didn't overflow.

“Would you mind going away while I drink?” I said. The statue made no response.

No point in dragging it out. If I was going to die, at least it wouldn't be from thirst. I reached over the dragon's stone scales, filled my hands with water, and brought it up to my lips. To say that what followed was not what I had expected would be a tremendous understatement.

***Congratulations! You have discovered the Shrine of Initiation!***

The words appeared in my vision in a text box, in white-on-black lettering, accompanied by a fanfare of trumpets. I tried to yell in shock, but found that every bit of my body was frozen solid. Even the water I had been drinking ceased moving entirely, I couldn't even breathe. I didn't feel like I was suffocating, but having my entire body suddenly frozen in time was not easy to accept. I tried to will my fingers to move, even a tiny bit, but they would not respond.

This shrine is dedicated to the concept of Beginnings. It has the following unique characteristics:

Cannot be destroyed.

Cannot be claimed.

Does not accept sacrifices.

Does not require priests.

All basic shrine services up to 4thrd Tier are available to all who enter, regardless of Mystical Alignment.

All shrine services are available free of charge. No Piety is required.

This is a game. That was the main takeaway from the lines of text assaulting my eyes. This is a deep-immersion virtual reality game. That was actually somewhat reassuring. A game meant safety. It was impressive to be in a game with no memory of having agreed to play it. That was some serious commitment to immersion, if a bit undermined by the inclusion of in-game text notices.

Services currently available from the Shrine of Initiation:

View Introduction (0 Piety)

Unlock Character Sheet (0 Piety)

Start New Character (0 Piety)

System Query (5 Remaining)

Cleanse (0 Piety)

Heal (0 Piety)

It was not immediately obvious how I was expected to make a selection from this list of options. However, the moment I decided that I wanted to see the introduction first, that option was illuminated and I heard a soft click, as though I had pressed the button by my will alone.

Welcome. You have entered the world in which you will spend the remainder of your existence. This is a world of fabulous wonders and endless possibility, but it is also a world of nightmarish horrors and tremendous danger. As you are probably already aware, injury and pain are possible in this world. Death is also possible, as well as permanent and irreversible. Your life, your sanity, and your very soul are in jeopardy.

Learning to understand and use the system interface is essential to your success. You can access the system interface at specific sites within the world, including shrines, town halls, and certain crossroads. The system tracks all of your progress and achievements. You can view an abridged list of these in the “Journal” tab. As your journey progresses, you will accrue experience points. When enough experience points accumulate, you will gain levels, which will allow you to enhance your abilities and acquire new powers and skills. You can view and upgrade your character in the Character tab.

You can use system queries to answer specific questions you have about the system. You have 2 system queries at character creation, and 1 every level after that. Knowledge of the system is limited and valuable. Use your queries carefully, as you will have to learn most information through trial and error. You cannot use system queries to gain knowledge of the world itself, nor its inhabitants. That knowledge must be gained through exploration or through Learning.

You have the option of creating a new character at the Shrine of Initiation. Doing so will remove all experience you have acquired so far, but will allow you change any or all of your personal characteristics, including age, species, gender, and personality.

Good Luck.

Well, I had had a lot of questions, but after reading the Introduction, I had many more. The sense of blissful relief I had been experiencing at discovering that this was a mere game evaporated under the assault of little phrases like “nightmarish horrors”, “remainder of your existence”, and my personal favorite: “permanent and irreversible”. If anything, the “I'm in hell” theory was now more plausible than ever. How in the fuck did I get here? The list of options reappeared. This time, I mentally selected “System Query” and was rewarded with blank text box with little buttons marked “Confirm” and “Cancel” under it. Giving mental typing a try, I entered my question in the text box and clicked “Confirm”.

How the fuck did I get here?

System Response: Your consciousness was integrated into the system on January 9th, 2023. You have 4 system queries remaining.

Not terribly informative. The date meant nothing to me. I tried to remember if the last year I could remember was 2023. Did I even remember 2022? I wasn't certain. Evidently, I needed to be more specific.

What is the system?

There was a pause. Only a second or two, but a serious delay compared to my last question.

System Response: The system is a series of advanced artificial intelligences integrated together and with a large collection of human intelligences, for the purpose of advancing the well-being of all human consciousness. You have 3 system queries remaining.

Now we're getting somewhere. This world I had been experiencing was generated by advanced A.I. That explained why it seemed far more advanced than any virtual experience I had ever seen or heard of. I had heard of the notion that A.I. would eventually reach the point where they would be able to upgrade themselves exponentially, resulting in a technological singularity in which technological advancement occurred automatically and at ever increasing speeds. Is that what had happened? Was I in a technological singularity now? If so, why had these advanced A.I. who allegedly desired to “advance my well-being” chosen to have a simulation of an evil skeleton try to kill me? Also, if this was for my well-being, why did the introduction claim that death was permanent? None of it added up. I decided to drop my existential questions for the time being and focus on more practical concerns. The introduction had stated that understanding and using this system would be essential for survival, so I should save my remaining queries until I had looked at the system and learned what I could on my own. I exited out of the System Query searchbox and clicked on “Unlock Character Sheet”.

Raymond Garrison

Level 3 Human Wanderer

XP: 0/30

HP:18/23

Stamina: 16/23

Strength:13

Dexterity: 10

Constitution:11

Intelligence: 11

Wisdom:13

Charisma: 8

You have 6 unspent Attribute Points.

You have 5 unassigned Skill Talents.

Above this summary were a set of tabs. The the Current one was Character, and next to it were “Skills”, “Condition”, “Assets”, “Party”, “Journal”, and “Quests”. Apparently, this game was based heavily on DnD, with the familiar collection of six primary attributes. I was surprised to learn that for all the exhaustion and pain I was feeling, my hitpoints and stamina were barely down at all. Apparently, this game felt that I was ready for more. How comforting.

My stats were nothing to write home about. My lousy Charisma was no big surprise. My Intelligence was a little disappointing, but assuming that 10 represented the human average, I could live with above average. Overall, I had 4 stats out of six above average, so I suppose I shouldn't complain. I flipped through the other tabs. “Skills” showed me a long list of more specific abilities, most of which were familiar. I wasn't sure what “Instinct” or “Acuity” did, but I suppose if I really needed to know I could use a query. The query was probably better suited to this than to any of my ontological questions. Each skill was accompanied by the basic attribute that affected it. “Climbing” was based on Strength, “Diplomacy” on Charisma, “Endurance” on Constitution, and so on. Surprisingly, I saw few skills that were based on Intelligence, just “Medicine” and “Occult” . Intelligence must have more of an impact than just that. There was also a number next to each one indicating my current level with those skills None of my skills were higher than a 2 at present. Hmm.

The “Condition” tab was pretty lively.

Physical Conditions: Wounded, Thirsty, Poorly Clothed, Smelly, Barefoot, 2 unknown

Mental Conditions: Confused (minor), Depressed (minor), 3 unknown

Other Conditions: 1 unknown

There was something both unsettling and cathartic about having my various complaints spelt out in text form. I was, in fact, rather confused and depressed, not to mention a little annoyed to see how “minor” the system felt my emotional distress was. A critique of my current wardrobe and personal hygiene was also difficult to not take personally. But the icing on this shitty cake had to be the fact that there were 5 conditions I was under that I didn't even know about, including one that was neither physical nor mental. I tried to focus on a condition to see if any additional info was on offer.

Wounded: You have serious injuries that may reduce your mobility at a critical moment, and may become infected.

Thirsty: You have not drunk enough water to properly hydrate your body. Stamina will slowly deplete until you find something to drink, and physical tasks will be more difficult.

Poorly Clothed: Your manner of dress suggests poverty and slovenliness. This may reduce your perceived social status and trustworthiness when interacting with strangers.

Barefoot: The soles of your feet are unprotected, which is not recommended for a member of your specie in most circumstances. This will reduce your mobility on most surfaces, and increases your risk of injuring your feet.

Smelly: You have physically exerted yourself over a long period without washing yourself. This will make it easier to track you by your scent, and may cause issues when attempting to interact with others.

Confused: You are attempting to mentally process a major change in your life circumstances. This will increase your vulnerability to social influence, and may make you more likely to make rash decisions.

Depressed: Your mood is generally poor. Your emotions will tend toward apathy and despair. You will suffer reduced willpower and charisma as long as this condition persists.

Unknown: You are not aware of this condition, due to insufficient attributes or skills.

Well, it was useful to know I could drill down to get more information on conditions, but this tab wasn't telling me anything I couldn't have guessed on my own. I moved on.

Assets

Piety: 0

Karma: Unknown

Reputation: None

Wealth: Destitute

Titles Earned: None

Relationships: None

Knowledge: Very Limited

Languages: English (Eloquent), Spanish (Simple)

It was getting more difficult not to take this interface a little personally. Nice to know I have nowhere to go but up. The shrine mentioned “Piety” earlier, but only to say I didn't need any at the moment, which suggested that I would need it later. I tried my mental “right click” again.

Piety: This stat represents your degree of favor with the divine forces that you have devoted yourself to. Committing sins in the eyes of your deity will reduce your Piety, while acts that promote your deity's interests will increase it. Piety can be expended at Shrines in exchange for miracles and boons.

Karma: This stat represents the overall effect that your actions and choices have had on the world around you, whether positive or negative. It is impossible for most beings to detect or measure Karma, whether their own or that of others.

Reputation: This represents how others perceive you and what others may have heard about you. A good reputation can open doors and make social interactions much smoother, while a bad reputation can make people who have never even met you your enemies.

Wealth: This stat gives a general measure of your degree of access to physical goods and services that you may need or desire, and can take a wide variety of forms. Your wealth may impact how others perceive you, justly or not.

Again, none of this was exactly news, but it was nice to get a bit of a sense of direction. Maybe I could make it my goal to get some of these stats up a bit. I switched to the next tab.

Journal

Day 1

Began Journey at 28 years old: 28XP

Completed a dangerous jump: 1XP

Completed a difficult climb: 2XP

Defeated a Feral Skeleton: 1XP

Ambush Bonus: 1XP

Unarmed bonus: 1XP

Successfully treated an injury: 1XP

Completed a difficult journey in total darkness: 2XP

Successfully intimidated an unknown enemy: 1XP

Discovered the Shrine of Initiation: 2XP

Good. That explains how I was already level 3 if I was just getting started. I felt I deserved a little more for beating that skeleton considering I had barely survived, but I suppose it would have been much easier if I had met the thing in the open and had been carrying a sword or an axe or even a respectable rock. I would be grateful for what I had and move on.

Quests

Quests Completed: None

Active Quest: None

Waiting Quests: None

Quests Failed: None

Quests Refused: None

Quests Abandoned: None

In spite of this being essentially a blank page, there was something about the allure of possibility. Would I really live long enough to fill that page with amazing achievements? Wrongs righted, enemies conquered, damsels rescued? The fact that there were three empty lists waiting to proudly display my fuck-ups was a little less encouraging. Alright, enough surveying my inadequacies. Time for the fun part. I switched to the Character tab and left-clicked on the line that alerted me to my unspent attribute points.

You have 6 unspent attribute points, which you can spend in the following ways:

Increase you Strength from 13 to 14. (1)

Increase your Dexterity from 10 to 11. (1)

Increase your Constitution from 11 to 12. (1)

Increase your Intelligence from 11 to 12. (1)

Increase your Wisdom from 13 to 14. (1)

Increase your Charisma from 8 to 9. (1)

Open the First Gate of Destiny (2)

There was one item on that list that really stood out from the rest. What would happen if I increased my Wisdom? Okay, yes, I also admit to a degree of interest in the ominously titled “First Gate of Destiny”, but seriously, could this system actually make me wiser, as in, alter the way I thought on a fundamental level? It was already one of my best stats, after all. I would have to make my choices carefully. With 6 points, I had quite a bit to work with, but not enough to spend foolishly. Heh, foolishly. Maybe it was impulsive, but I really wanted to know what would happen. I selected the fifth option.

You have increased your Wisdom from 13 to 14!

+2 Attribute bonus to Insight, Mysticism, Focus, and Awareness

125% Willpower

25% Stamina Bonus

Traits Mature 25% faster

Refinement Range 1-5

Nothing could have prepared me for this. The text explaining the bonuses I received from the Wisdom attribute were of little interest. Suddenly, I felt as though I had been walking around with my eyes closed my entire life. Nothing I had experienced had felt truly real until this moment. My thoughts felt so much clearer, so much more immediate. Would it be like this for the rest of my life? I hoped so.

New Trait Detected: Introverted 1

Introverts are comfortable with long periods of solitude, and tend to dislike being the center of attention. However, you will find it easier to have conversations with a single person, especially about a topic on which you are knowledgeable or passionate.

New Condition detected: Paranoia

You acted on curiosity rather than caution, and it backfired. You have become distrustful of new situations and unfamiliar people. Sadly, this condition seldom increases safety, as real dangers can creep up on you while you are distracted by imaginary ones.

It was all so obvious now that I really thought about it. Why had I spent so long in the silence, when I could have simply spoken to myself? There was some danger, sure, but I really hadn't felt the need to do so at all. There had been something profoundly comforting about the empty silence of the cave. And of course I was paranoid, although that was only a temporary condition, not a permanent trait. Being nearly drowned by an undead monster would make anyone jumpy. Hadn't I been worried that a statue would come to life and kill me as I entered this shrine? It had seemed like a reasonable precaution at the time, but it had really been lingering fear. I had always thought of myself as a calm, rational type of person. Now I wondered if my inability to recognize and deal with my own feelings had created the illusion of rationality. Fear had been lurking under the surface, warping my reasoning around itself without my conscious knowledge. Shit, wisdom was never going to take off as a fun party drug. If anything, the sense of clarity and self-awareness was beginning to feel oppressive. It was like the opposite of being drunk.

Alright, Wisdom was interesting and definitely worth the investment, but I was going to face challenges and adversaries that would not be impressed by my capacity for navel-gazing. I needed to invest in abilities that would keep me alive. I spent another 2 points, 1 on Strength and the other on Constitution.

You have increased your Strength from 13 to 14!

Muscular Output 125%

Carrying Capacity: 30%-150%-300% of body weight

+2 attribute bonus to unarmed and melee attack skills and damage

+2 attribute bonus to Swimming, Jumping, Climbing, and Throwing

You have increased your Constitution from 11 to 12!

+1 attribute bonus to Endurance, Instinct, Immunity, and Acuity

12 Health plus 4 per level.

12 Stamina plus 3 per level

Luckily, increasing my physical stats was not accompanied by any startling personal revelations. Instead, I felt my body swell and harden with sheer robustness. I felt like had received the equivalent of months of intense physical training in seconds. I think I could get addicted to this feeling. I still had three hits of this magnificence left. Enough to open the Gate of Destiny, perhaps. There was one thing I need to try first though.

You have increased your Intelligence from 11 to 12!

Cognitive Speed: 110%

Cognitive Capacity: 110%

5 Skill Talents (+2)

Training Cap 3

+1 to Knowledge and Lore Abilities

Learning 9

The change was subtle, but I noticed my thoughts pick up speed. Things that I had forgotten began to trickle back into my mind. The capital of Bangladesh is called Dhaka. A trebuchet is fired by dropping a counterweight, while a catapult is fired by releasing tension in a cord wrapped around an axle. Corundum is a crystalline ore of aluminum oxide. Quicker thinking and an improved memory would definitely come in handy. It seemed Intelligence also affected how quickly my skills developed, and how far they could progress.

That left me 2 points still unspent. I decided to go back to the system query page to see what information was available on the Gate of Destiny.

What are the Gates of Destiny?

System Response: Opening the Gates of Destiny is an essential step toward developing magical abilities. The first gate is opened by expending 2 attribute points. This will allow you to select your magical axiom and magical art and gain access to your first spells. There are additional gates beyond the first, each with a different price for granting additional power. You have 2 system queries remaining.

I continue to be floored by the degree of detail and specificity available from this query system. That was about as vague and unhelpful as it possibly could have been. The Gates of Destiny grant magical powers. I had more or less guessed that on my own. The extent and usefulness of said powers I would just have to find out. Or not.

Considering that gaining magic was directly competing with increasing my mental and physical abilities, there might well be something to be said for just screwing that entire side of the system and focusing on abilities that I already had made investments in. In any RPG-style system, you usually had to forego developing some abilities in order to reach the heights of others. I had already selected 4 out of the 7 available options, so I was spread thin as it was. I decided then that I would rather transform into a more extreme version of what I already was than to try to glue a bunch of magic onto a setup that didn't really require it. I returned to the Character screen and made my final selections.

You have increased your Strength from 14 to 15!

Muscular Output 135%

Carrying Capacity: 34%-170%-340% of body weight

+2 bonus to unarmed and melee attack skills and damage

+2 bonus to Swimming, Jumping, Climbing, and Throwing

Now that you have increased one of your attributes to 15, you may choose an Attribute Specialization. Choose carefully, as you may not have the opportunity to change your mind later.

You options are:

Hauler: Double your carrying capacity, allowing you to carry twice as much without penalty.

Staggering Blow: Double chance of stunning enemies or knocking enemies prone when making a melee attack.

Sweeping Blow: No penalty to accuracy or damage when attempting to strike multiple opponents with a melee attack.

Strong Athlete: +1 skill bonus to Climbing, Jumping, Swimming, and Throwing

Wrestler: +2 to grappling, enemies take increased damage when thrown or used as weapons.

Beefy: Gain additional hitpoints equal to your Strength score.

Hauler was definitely tempting, but I needed to improve my combat abilities in a hurry if I was going to survive, so Staggering Blow made the most sense.

You have increased your Wisdom from 14 to 15!

+2 Attribute bonus to Insight, Mysticism, Focus, and Awareness

135% Willpower

35% Stamina Bonus

Traits Mature 35% faster

Refinement Range 1-5

Now that you have increased one of your attributes to 15, you may choose an Attribute Specialization. Choose carefully, as you may not have the opportunity to change your mind later. You options are:

Priest: +1 to Mysticism and Diplomacy. All Piety gains are increased by 35%.

Shaman: +1 Medicine, Mysticism, Deception, and Occult Knowledge.

Iron Eyes: +2 Focus, all Intimidation debuffs have half effect.

Hermit: +2 Awareness, +1 Endurance, +1 Mysticism

One with the Shadows: +2 Stealth, +1 Acuity, +1 Awareness

Adviser: +2 Insight, +1 Diplomacy, +1 Deception

It took me a little while to recover from my newfound mental clarity and focus on the matter at hand. Considering I had already committed to forgo the magical side of the skill system, Priest and Shaman weren't really what I was going for. Hermit has a certain appeal, but I don't really want to invest in Mysticism. Iron Eyes all the way.

I felt good about the choices I had made. I was going to be a badass warrior with plenty of willpower and physical strength to match. I decided to select my skill bonuses in the same manner, enhancing what I already excelled at. I chose Focus, Awareness, and Insight.

You have increased your Focus skill to +6! At skill level 5, you may choose you skill specialization. Choose carefully, as you may not have the opportunity to change your mind later. Your options are:

Fearless: All fear-based effects have reduced chance of taking hold and last half as long.

Self Mastery: Immune to all Charm, Suggestion, and Domination effects.

Mind over Matter: By focusing your will and blocking out all distractions, you can perform physical feats beyond your normal limits.

Diligence: No penalty to crafting or research projects that take longer than 4 hours.

Steady Casting: Reduced chance to lose control of a spell or ritual due to being distracted.

More choices to make. If I get a skill specialization every time a skill hits 5, that means a lot of my skills won't be far behind. Fearless is certainly tempting, but it's a bit redundant with my Iron Eyes bonus, and besides, a little fear keeps things interesting. Self Mastery would be pretty sweet if I run into some mind-control wizard asshole, but seems like just having high Focus means my defenses against those spells will already be solid enough. Really, I had to take Mind over Matter, it was too perfect not to. Still two talents to choose!

Mysticism didn't sound interesting, and neither did most of the Strength-based skills, so I chose Endurance instead. I wanted to be tough and durable, and also able to see through any tricks my enemies might play on me and see things that might try to sneak up. Finally, I decided to go for a Dexterity-based option: Reflexes. Quick reflexes would be a must for the kind of build I was creating, despite the fact that I wanted to use Dexterity as a kind of semi-dump stat. It was a bit of a struggle passing by all the other skills on the list. I might be alone right now, but skills like Leadership and Diplomacy would be missed in the future, as would Stealth, and quite possibly Immunity as well, if indeed that did what I thought it did. Really, I had little doubt that I would eventually come to regret my choices, no matter what they were. That is just how life works. One door opens, ten thousand close.

I still had to be cautious though. My level was as low as it ever would be, which meant I was going to be outclassed against most of the obstacles and enemies ahead of me. I would have to keep my newly sharpened wits about me. At last, I chose the “Heal” and “Cleanse” options. They're free this time, so why not?

All health restored to full. Lost “Wounded” Condition.

All contamination removed from body and possessions. Lost the “Smelly” condition.

I really hope I won't be meeting anyone I need to impress in the near future, but least I wouldn't smell like a locker room on top of being half-naked and covered in scars. I exited out of the interface, nearly choking as the water that had been sitting patiently in my mouth through this entire process suddenly reanimated. I spent some time drinking before I left the temple. Who knew when the next source of fresh water was going to come my way? If only I had had somewhere to store it besides my body. When I thought of how long I suffered from thirst after refusing to drink from that pool where the skeleton had hidden...

No matter. Time to hit the road.