".emy..eremy... Jeremy... Jeremy!" a shouting voice wrenched me from the void.

'Yes?' I groggily responded

"Whew, thank Logath. I thought something went wrong with your assimilation... Well... it's obvious something happened, but I'm not sure yet. I don't see any negative signs, so let's just write it off as turbulence shall we?"

The imp, whose voice I'd recognized, continued to spout more gibberish. I would be giving him a disproving glare because he wasn't making sense, but it seems my sense of sight wasn't working.

'Why can't I see anything?' I voiced my concern over the disconnection to my visual senses. I tried to move, but it felt like I was stuck in something damn near solid.

"Well, that's because-" 'Why can't I move either? What happened to my voice!' The rapid-fire questions interrupted his speech.

It was then I remembered the ghastly scene of my body evaporating, as well as the unearthly sensation of talking but with no words or sound emnating from me.

'You bastard! What did you do to my body!'

"Easily angered, noted. If you would calm down and let me answer you halfwit. Firstly, you can't see anything because your eyes haven't fully developed as yet. And concerning your voice, well you don't have vocal cords right now, so you're conversing through your will."

I instantly calmed down, realizing the severity of my situation. I was apparently kidnapped by some bullshit magic baby, and spirited away to somewhere the cops most likely wouldn't find me.

I also took a second to try and blink to confirm or disprove his claims. But other than an initial twitch, I couldn't open them. It felt like I was trying to move through tar or something. I also tried shouting, but I didn't hear anything, so either I was a quack or I'm only able to communicate coherent thoughts through the imp's method.

"Secondly, you can't move because your limbs are too weak right now to overcome the amniotic fluid around you. Finally, concerning your body, it was fully converted into the ether to create your newer form."

His last statement had a lot to unpack. So apparently I was in something that restricted my movement, and I'm too weak to break out currently. Amniotic fluid? Like the fluid, a baby is surrounded by in its mother's stomach? Did that mean I was a baby?

'What do you mean my newer form?'

"That my dear Jeremy, I'm not at liberty to disclose. The moderator you spoke to should have discussed the terms and conditions before you were brought into the tutorial. But for some reason he didn't, and for some reason you agreed, so let's just leave that as a pleasant surprise, shall we?"

Not wanting to anger my capture any more than necessary, I silently agreed.

"Be not afraid, however, the opportunity you were granted is one only shared by 8 others across the billions of humans on your Earth, ushering in this new age."

Earth. What happened to it... I vaguely remember feeling the ground rumble and distort. What about my family?

'What exactly is happening? What happened to the Earth? What about my family?'

I couldn't help voice my worries. I was confused, and I was afraid, more so for my family. There could have been a worldwide terrorist attack by this group of psychopathic magic babies. And although I was alive, albeit not so well, at least I knew I was alive...

"Ease your troubled mind, Jeremy. Although your civilization is barbaric, I can guarantee mine isn't. We wouldn't just instantly wipe out all life on this rock. No, we would first civilize them and opt for slower complete eradication. That way only the worthy survive."

'...So does that mean my family is safe?' Keeping my cool despite the creature's insidious ranting, I asked a more specific question.

"That depends... What is your definition of safe?"

By an act of inhuman willpower, I resisted the urge to curse the 9 generations of the bastard's family.

'... Okay... Are they alive and in good health?'

"Oh! Well yes, my good Jeremy, they most assuredly are alive, good health however, I'm not so sure. The tutorial just started, so the system prevents "complete" death for the first few months. However, they can still be hurt, bruised, abused, and all that good stuff."

I felt my heart fall out of my ass, I was right. This was a worldwide terrorist attack, and my family was involved... At least he claims they wouldn't be hurt. But I couldn't put my trust in some sadistic imp.

Normal brain function eluded me for an unknown amount of time before I was able to form a coherent response.

'.... Hurt?...by who?... Are there more of your kind...?'

"Ho, asking more directed questions now are we. Answering your last question. Yes, there are, but there are only 8 others able to interact with the mortals at this stage."

I felt hope return. Only 8 others worldwide? There was a really good chance then that my family wasn't captured by them.

"Hehe, but my kind aren't the only ones involved in the transition. The ferals exist, Ether-touched creatures not possessing the gift of intelligence. I think there were some examples of them in your world's culture. Hold on... Ah ha, they would be popularly known as 'Monsters'."

It hadn't occurred to me until now this voice could be lying to me, the topic of monsters actually existing only serving to validate that doubt.

'Monsters? Like the big, bad and dangerous type?'

"Hmmm, well other than the occasional zone lord, there aren't any particularly large monsters roaming about as of yet. Think more along the lines of a Tibetan Mastiff juiced up on roids level threat. Though I admit there are solitary monsters that are more along-"

It didn't sound like I was being lied to, but all this was just too much for my mind to digest. One second I was in the park having a conversation with the ever so enigmatic Ricky and then I'm whisked away and my body disintegrated before my very eyes.

Which was a lot more frightening than I made it seem, seeing your body disappear- Wait. My conversation with Ricky. The abnormal topic, the weird atmosphere surrounding him, and all the other little things that I had dismissed at the time, all came back to me like a flood.

'Did Ricky put you up to this? Where are the cameras? Is this a prank?' I interrupted his seemingly aimless tirade with a tinge of indignation- if indignation could be translated through thought-talk.

"Imagine Dwyane Johnson had an older brother called the boulder- Huh?- Ricky? Cameras? Pft- Grasping at straws now are we Jeremy? And here I was thinking you'd had a firm grasp of the situation."

I sensed a little annoyance in his voice, and that was just enough for me to remember who held the biggest stick here and keep my mouth firmly shut.

"I'm not sure who this Ricky fella is, but I can tell you that this is definitely no prank. The Earth you knew no longer exists. People in power, so high up I most likely would never reach the bottom of their big toe, decided that instead of judging the actions of man on a whole and eradicating your worthless species, they'd test you instead."

The conversation I had with Ricky flashed through my mind, was that was this was? A test?

'So how are we supposed to pass this test?'

"There we go, you're asking the right questions again. Well, the comprehensive answer is you don't pass, per say... you survive. Each individual is given abilities based on how they chose to live their life prior to the transition, while all that micromanagement is taken care of by the glorious system. There are special cases, however, such as yourself, who are given the 'opportunity' to play a more major role in your world's reformation, and you're instead blessed with the assistance of one such as myself."

I was disgusted. Not by the words I was hearing, but by the spark of excitement I felt run through me when I heard I might have a major role to play- A greater purpose. Something that I'd craved for the entirety of my normal boring life.

'..So... I'm like supposed to be the hero- well, one of the heroes that save the world or something?'

"..."

'...what?'

"You really have no clue what you signed up for huh...?"

I could feel its voice laced in something, an emotion that I'd been subject to countless times before. An emotion I heard in the voice of a teacher handing back a paper with a failing grade, or in the voice of your coach after your team lost a game... or in the voice of a guy telling you he didn't know she had a boyfriend... Pity.

'No, I have not a clue, but as long as you don't kill me I'll co-operate. Just let me see my family...'

I didn't let it affect me however and did my best to sound like an earnest and cooperative captive.

".... Hah- Nevermind I don't feel like playing with you anymore. I'll explain the basics of the system now, so pay attention. You just need to speak the words 'Status Open' and you'll gain access to your individual portion of the system. However, in your current predicament, you just need to think of the words for it to work."

'Status Open'

Name: Jeremy Silvertone

Level: 0

Class: Unavailable

HP: 10/10

MP: 1/1

Strength: N/A ~ The ability to exert and conserve force.

Agility: N/A ~ The ability to accelerate and decelerate.

Endurance: N/A ~ The ability to perform work without self-harm

Intelligence: N/A ~ The ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills

Skills: N/A

Time remaining in development stage: 4:34:07

Upon willing it, my 'Status' appeared as information on a table directly in my mind. What anything I was seeing represented, however, I'd no clue.

'Hey imp, I see the 'Status', what does anything here mean though?'

"My name is Ashby, Jeremy. Afford me the courtesy of referring to me by my name, as I have to you. The things you see on your 'Status' are numerical representations of physical and mental capabilities. As for your HP and MP, I imagine you'd have an idea with all your experience with games. Your level I'll discuss when it's pertinent after the developmental stage is over and when you start- Pardon me, I've been summoned for something, but I'll return in time for your birth, just mull over everything I've said in the meantime."

The awe I was experiencing due to having game-like metrics assigned to me was cut short by Ashby's abrupt statement. I could feel the hurriedness translated through thought, whether intentionally or not, when he said that, as well as a sliver of what I could only assume was fear.

Concluding he was indeed gone after unsuccessfully calling for him for about 10 minutes. I decided that whatever it was that could make the magic baby scared wasn't worth beating my head up about. So instead I refocused my attention inwardly, mulling over my status, the significance of these metrics, and more importantly any possible ways I could abuse them...