Chapter 1. And So It Begins

I could be doing other things right now, like reading or playing a multiplayer game with my friends. Instead I was sitting in the bleachers of my school's stadium watching a soccer game. Now don’t get me wrong, soccer is interesting and maybe even exciting to watch but I could think of many things I would rather be doing.

That being said I feel I had an obligation to be here to watch my younger brother kick the crap out of the opposing team. My parents who were sitting next to me did not really care for the game either but like most parents supported all our decisions. My mom in particular was embarrassingly vocal.

My little brother Kyle had managed to become the star player this year and was living it large. He had climbed to the top of the social pyramid, were as me and my friends were probably near the bottom. We are very different people. He is outgoing and athletic while I am more comfortable alone and reading a good book.

All things considered I think we had a pretty good relationship despite our differences. Family is important to us and I was someone outside his circle of friend he could talk too and gain good honest advice.

Now my pale existence might have been seen as a stain on his greatness to some people but after one of my friends was bullied my retaliation consisting of pepper spray, social media attacks and incriminating evidence made me rather infamous. I am one of those people who go to great lengths for the people they care about.

My focus on the game is interrupted by vibrating in my pocket and I look away from the game to check the text.

-Hey Zen u up for a game?

-sorry watching a game with the family

-Hah to bad for you!

Of course he rubs it in my face

-Are you all online?

-Yup, we will save you a spot in the party though.

-okay

With my texting finished I turned back to the game just in time to see my brother score a goal. The crowd went wild and I joined in.

The whistle calling halftime blew and I was preparing to get up and raid the concession stand when a bright light flared up in the middle of the field. People cried out in surprise. Closing my eyes and looking away did nothing to help and soon there was only white. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain that seemed to come from every part of my body and the white turned to darkness.

When I regained consciousness I felt sore everywhere, not just skin deep but legit sore EVERYWHERE inside and out, it reminded me of the tearing pain from before but softer. There was also a strange sense of pressure bearing down on my body like I was underwater.

When I opened my eyes and looked around I realized I was lying on cold stone with a glowing ceiling above my head. After I sat up it became clear I was in a cave with an odd bioluminescent emerald colored moss covering the ceiling. The air was moist and a bit warm.

After I had gathered my thoughts I decided the moss was suspiciously convenient and a glowing moss in a cave system would warrant heavy public interest. I had watched plenty of documentaries and never heard of something like this.

The light, apparent teleporting and unlikely glowing moss suggested a summoning to another world cliche, which would be pretty cool except I appeared to be alone and reality is harsh. I just hope there is a world system, those stories were usually not as harsh as the others. On the flip side it better not be a cultivator world, the logarithmic gain in power does not sit well with me, plus everyone is so damn arrogant in those worlds.

Well here it goes ‘Status’

Ding!

Query Received…

New User Detected…

Testing…

I felt a slight drop in pressure before the pressure returned to normal. Is that pressure mana?

Otherworlder Detected…

Compiling Knowledge…

Integrating New Skills into Skill list…

Changes completed resuming initial query...

Displaying Status…

Status: Name: Zen Chardo Race: Human Lv: 17 Class: None Titles: Otherworlder Traits: Zen Mind Atb pts: 17 Skill pts: 17 Health: 170 Mana: 210 Physical() Mental() Skills()

‘Yes’ I shouted in my head, there was a world system.

I tried opening Physical().

Str: 13 Dex: 12 Vit: 14

Mental() gave.

Int: 18 Wis: 21 Will: 21

And now Skills()

Mind()

Concentration Lv. 3

Resistances()

Mental resist Lv. 3

Where did those come from?

Perhaps my trait?

Zen Mind

Advanced Variation of calm mind with addition of skill creation gain.

Gain mental resist exp equivalent to Lv. 3

Gain concentration exp equivalent to Lv.3

Chance to gain new skill increase.

Okay thats cool.

I should have more skills though. Perhaps I have to demonstrate them.

‘1 + 1 = 2’

ding!

Math (Elementary) Lv. 1 gained. Int + 1

I muttered a sarcastic "yay".

What is the description on that one? And isn't the stat gain relatively high?

Elementary Math: Query system for answer to equation.

Interesting. It’s like I gained a calculator.

I should check the title Otherworlder.

Otherworlder

Being from another world.

Skills must be reacquired.

Well that was a waste of time.

My experimenting is suddenly interrupted by a scream in the distance.

So I am not the only one here. I had better find my family. Hopefully what ever killed that person is full now.

People will probably move away from the scream and the predators probably have their own domains so I should circle around where I think the scream is coming from.

With that in mind I choose to enter the tunnel from where the scream originated.