Prologue: A Passing Dream

The boy walked across a dark, dreary hallway. There was no source of light, yet somehow he was still able to see. Thoughts of this hallway not ending filled his head, but then suddenly, a light shined upon him. It seemed to guide him somewhere using its almost holy visage. When he finally reached the end of the hallway, he was faced with a towering statue, almost to an intimidating level. In front of said statue, stood a man, somehow even more eye-catching than the statue itself. The man said something to the boy, before he -almost like a ghost- vanished.

“Now, it’s your turn”

RING RING RING RING

“AHHHHHHHHHH, I’M LATEEEEEE”

I quickly got up from bed, somehow I had slept through my alarm and now I only had 10 minutes to get to school! I brushed my teeth, got dressed, and took a second in front of the mirror to make sure I was presentable. Looking back at me was a 16 year-old boy with a fairly plain face and black hair, that same hair was quite the mess. I escaped through my house’s door while running to get to my destination as speedily as possible.

“Have a good day James!”

“YES— YOU TOO!”

My mom saw me off on the way out while giggling at my bed head, which I didn't brush. I arrived at the school and walked through the door to sneak into my first class as quietly as possible.

[New Skill Learned: Stealth Lv 1]

“HUH?!”

As I reached my desk I heard a weird mechanical sounding voice and my voice came out unintentionally. The teacher proceeded to give me an annoyed stare.

“James, if you’re going to be late to class, at least make it quieter.”

“Sorry Mrs. Kim...”

I went to sit at my desk still wondering what that voice I just heard was…weird. It talked about learning a skill or something…? As if I was in a game, I might be a little too tired for my own good. Yet, I spent the rest of the school day doing my daily routine of just getting through my classes, and the events from the first class were just mere distant memories.

I left school and I was now on my way home, taking casual steps towards my freedom. It was eerily dark because I had to leave later that day, due to Mrs. Kim’s lecture about punctuality. She then had me help her with moving equipment in the school.

As I walked back home I spotted a strange figure in the darkness, it was crouched in an unbalanced manner, but I was sure that it would’ve been towering, had it stood up. The figure looked humanoid, so I went to check if anything was wrong. Unfortunately, I failed to notice that the surroundings were surprisingly quiet, with no one nearby at all.

“Excuse me, are you ok?” I asked the person. I couldn’t see their features too well because of the dark, but I smelled this awful stench without a clue as to its origin.

“GUH HGH KHERI GREG HRT”

What the hell?!?! The “person” turned around and started spewing incomprehensible nonsense! My alarm bells rang and I backed away slowly, I really wanted nothing to do with all this. Suddenly, the thing turned around and tried to BITE ME.

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!!! WHERE’S EVERYONE??? SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP!!!!!!”

I started to yell in fear and panic, but no one responded! I finally realised that there wasn't anyone around... I ran as fast as I could to escape, while also keeping in mind my surroundings until I heard something almost as strange as the thing chasing me:

[New Skill Learned: Navigation Lv 1]

✶✶✶

Run! That was the only thought going through my mind.

[Navigate Activated], [Navigate Lv 1: Turn left after 100 metres].

I quickly turned left into an alleyway, I was too scared to look behind at the….thing… that was chasing me. All I heard were the weird grunts it kept sounding out, and I could smell the horrible scent of its rotting flesh… absolutely disgusting.

[Navigate Lv 1: Warning, Obstacle will appear in 50 metres].

Damn it! That weird mechanical voice was still inaccurate. I needed to think of some way to escape this situation, and quickly. I’m going to fight it, that’s the only way. My thoughts were jumbled up, I couldn’t think of any other way but to fight! I reached a wall, but sadly it was far too high to climb up with my current skill set. I only had a few seconds before the creature would arrive. I found a metal pipe near me and grabbed it. I’m ready for you now you piece of crap….

Now I was here with a metal pipe in my hand, waiting to fight for what was quite possibly my only chance at survival. The creature, having finally arrived, gave a perfect view of itself. Still looking… Horrifying, with pieces of flesh that fell off from its body constantly, and equipped with an inhumanely large jaw, fitted with rotting teeth that looked way too sharp for someone to have. Now I’m sure of it- this thing wasn’t human, I didn’t know what it was, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to find out... Yet, almost as if to make fun of me, that mechanical voice sounded off again.

[Hidden Skill Revealed: Analysis Lv 1]

[Analysis Activated. Retrieving Information]

{ Zombie Lv 1:

Strength: 3

Stamina: 10

Agility: 2

Endurance: 4

The most basic form of undead found commonly in areas/subspaces, with high amounts of negative emotions}

“What is this…? “

All of a sudden a bunch of information appeared in my head. I didn’t want to believe it, but this thing was a zombie… huh? I also got a hidden skill? Analysis, looks like that was what delivered that information to me, I wonder what would happen if I try to analyze myself…

[Analysis Activated. Retrieving Information]

…

…

…

[Error. Couldn’t Retrieve Information. Analysis Level Too Low]

[Recommendation: Say “Open Status”]

Didn’t work, but I guess I’ll try what it’s advising.

“OPEN STATUS ”

[System Partially Activated]

[Welcome Player]

[Opening Status]

….

….

….

Ding

[Status Open]

{ James,

Health 100 Mana 50

Job: Player: Lv 1 Exp 0%

Base Status

Strength: 5

Stamina: 5

Agility: 5

Endurance: 5

Allocatable Stat Points: 0

Skills: Stealth Lv1, Navigation Lv1, Analysis Lv1}

Another wave of information hit me, giving myself a wave of nausea. I steeled my nerves as much as I could to not leave me open to any attacks from that zombie. I grip the metal pipe so hard the whites of my knuckles start to show, I’m going to live, if it takes me killing a monster then so be it. The zombie got ready to charge at me, while I got ready to beat the undead crap out of it. We both ran at each other-but I stopped and held my ground to hit it with the pipe. I was sure the angle I'd hit it at was awkward but there was still damage done, I hear another system message:

[Passive Skill Unlocked: Beginner Blunt Weapon Mastery 0%]

All of a sudden the pipe started to feel more comfortable in my hands, and I got a slight intuition of where to hit next. So this was the power of a skill huh? I prepared for the next attack, last time I'd aimed for the chest, but now I was doing my best to get a good swing at the head. The zombie “looks” at me, it’s eyes appearing extremely rotten and about to fall off. It gets ready for another charge. Luckily for me, this thing clearly doesn’t learn from its mistakes. So, I wait for the right moment… NOW… I swing as hard as I can and get its head.

“Finally, it’s over”

[Zombie Eliminated]

[Experience Gained]

[LEVEL UP]

…..