His head hurt when he woke up. The bright sunlight hurt his eyes and he put his hand in front of them. His mouth felt dry. Everything felt as if it was on fire. He checked himself to make sure and evidently he was not on fire. Then why the hell was everything hurting?

He gingerly got up in a sitting position. He examined his body to find himself completely naked.

Fuuuuuuuuuck, he thought. What had happened to him?

He tried to get up but fell down. The world was spinning now. He waited for it to stop spinning. Then he got into a sitting position again.

He looked around. He seemed to be in a clearing in a forest. He was sitting on grass. The clearing seemed to be about ten feet across. Lush green trees surrounded him. The forest seemed dense as he could not see much through the trees. There was not even a path.

Now what?, he wondered as he got up. This time the world did not spin and he was happy. He started off towards the forest and then stopped.

Wait, why was he going that way. He needed to go… he did not know where he needed to go. He looked up at the bright sun with squinted eyes. It was almost overhead. So it must be either almost mid noon or just past mid noon.

He could not guess more than that from the position of the sun. Out of habit he tried to look at his watch. There was no watch. He cursed mentally. Then he looked again. He did not see a tan line for the watch.

Then he examined himself.

“What the fuc…”, he said.

His body seemed to have changed. He remembered he had body hair. Currently, his skin was smooth. Ok, this was weird. He felt his face and felt a jolt of shock. His beard, and his moustache. His pride and joy. Gone. He was clean shaved. At least he had hair on his head. He felt it. It seemed short.

What the hell had happened to him? He was also shocked to see his six packs. Did he have six packs? He could not remember developing them. What was going on?

He started off in the direction which he thought was West. Maybe there was civilization that way. He knew he did not have much survival skills but he persisted.

After walking for an hour in the dense forest he was tired, sweating and covered in scratches and dirt. He was feeling disgruntled and wondering why he had decided to go through the forest. The forest showed no signs of ending and currently he was not even sure whether he was going West.

He was now feeling thirsty and a little bit hungry. He still continued to walk. He did not know for how long he walked. The sun was now getting low. He was now staggering while walking. The forest was thinning though and he considered this to be a good sign. Next moment he heard a low growl.

What!, he wondered and turned around. He could see eyes glowing in the dark. There were many. That was not good. He looked around and found a tree with a low hanging branch. He did not think. He was exhausted but adrenaline pushed him. He knew what those eyes were. Wolves; and wolves hunt in packs.

He heard scuffling behind him but he rushed and climbed up the tree fast. He felt a claw scratch his leg as he climbed and he cried out in pain. He did not look down till he had gotten to a particular height. Then he looked down.

He was met with a curious sight. What he thought to be wolves were not in fact wolves. The animal had similar structure but the face was different. It was spherical with a single eye in the centre. Below the eye there was a round nose and a mouth which showed sharp fangs. There was a mane of dark feathers around the animal’s face. It was completely black in colour.

“What the fuck are you?”, he said to the animals at the base of the tree. The animals put their front paws on the tree and snarled. It seemed that they could not climb and that was good.

He found a comfortable branch and lay there. He did not sleep but kept dozing off. The animals kept on snarling and growling at the base of the tree. He wondered why they did not give up.

It went on all night. He was feeling really fucked up now. He had no food, no water and now no proper sleep. He was getting pissed at the animals. He wondered many times whether he should break off a thick stick, get down and whack the shit out of the animals below him. He vetoed his idea as soon as he got it. Considering the number of animals below him, he was sure he would be eaten before he could do any damage.

He could now see the sun over the horizon. He felt delirious. Suddenly the animals stiffened below him. An arrow struck one of them, killing it instantly. They scattered as more arrows struck. He did not know what was happening but hoped that someone had come to help him. However, arrows!

Who the fuck hunts with arrows?, was his last thought. Then he saw no more.

***

Silas Cornerstone had been running the facility successfully for over a 100 years now. He was the Director of the New Adventures Induction Facility or NAIF for short at Solaris and was happy with his job.

Silas was an elf, in his mid five hundreds. He was tall and thin with dark skin, pointed curved ears and a pointed nose. He knew he was not as beautiful as the other elves but he was always focused on practicality rather than beauty. That had always set him apart from his fellow elves.

He got up, got ready and went down to eat his breakfast. His wife had already left. He knew she would have. She had to reach the clinic earlier than him. The breakfast was cut fruits and plain milk. He smiled. As he ate he thought about his only daughter who was currently studying in the capital. She had not decided whether she wanted to be an adventurer or not.

Silas finished his breakfast and checked himself in the mirror one last time before leaving home. His blue and green suit was immaculate. His utility belt was fastened properly across his waist and his hair was perfect. He left. He took his mechanical quadruped or MQ for short to the facility. He was humming all the way. Today was going to be a good day.

He reached the NAIF facility and entered his office. He asked his secretary Dimor whether there were any messages for him. Dimor was an orc; a very efficient orc.

Dimor said, “Some of the hunters came here early in the morning. Some of the locals had complained about Zagui on the edge of the forest and were scared. Hunters were dispatched by the police and they took care of most of the Zagui. However, they came across a man. Human. Completely naked.”

Silas raised an eyebrow at that, “And how does this concern us?”

Dimor said, “He did not even have a utility belt on him. Police are trying to identify him but he is not in the system. They do not know what to do. So they came here to ask for your help.”

Silas had frozen at those words. No utility belt! How was that possible? Had he misheard?

“Are you sure the hunters said there was no utility belt? The human could have taken it off but it still would have come back to him”, said Silas, “Hmm. This is weird.”

Dimor said, “The hunters told me they had found the human at around 6 am. It is currently 9 am. The hunters had come at around 8 am. There was no utility belt.”

Silas said, “Cancel any appointments for today (“You have none”, muttered Dimor). I am going to the police station. Are the hunters still around?”

“No, they left about half an hour ago.”

“All right then”, said Silas going back the way he had come, “This is going to be interesting.”

***

He woke up to hear something beeping. He seemed to be in a hospital of some sort. He was lying on the bed and was hooked on to some machines which were monitoring his status. As soon as he woke up, the door to his room opened and the strangest creature walked in.

The creature was humanoid and was wearing a doctor’s uniform. However, it was completely green. The creature had a pointed face which had no hair. There were two tube-like protrusions on the top of its forehead and it was wearing spectacles. It was smiling.

As the creature came close it spoke something in a language that he did not understand.

“What?”, he said a bit groggily, “What are you saying?”

The creature tilted its head as if it did not understand what he was saying. Then it put some entry in the clipboard it was carrying and left speaking further nonsense.

He calmed once the creature left. What was going on? Was that an alien? Had he been captured by aliens and then brought to their planet and then the aliens had lost him and then recaptured and brought him to a hospital.

Nothing was making sense to him. He was supposed to be... Wait. Where was he supposed to be? Where was he? And finally the question he never considered; Who was he? He tried to recall something, anything but it was all blank.

“Fuuuuuuuuuuck”, he said out loud.

He wondered what he was going to do. As he lay there thinking what was going to happen to him, the door of his room opened and a nurse came in this time. She was human; thank god. She smiled at him and said something in the same language the creature had spoken.

He said, “I do not understand what you are saying. Does no one speak English here?”

The nurse tilted her head and said, “So no one has put the spell of [Common Speak] on you have they?”

He jumped a bit. The nurse spoke English. It was with a lot of accent which he could not place but he could understand her. He gave a short laugh.

“Finally”, he said, “And what spell? Are you talking about magic?”

The nurse said, “Calm down. There is much you need to know. Also there are many questions that even we need to answer. Could you please lie down. I will give you further sedatives. You need to rest a bit longer. The next time you wake up, we shall have some clarifications. Is that alright with you?”

It took him some effort to understand what was said but he nodded in the end. Some more rest would not hurt. He was still tired.

He said, “Before you put me to sleep again, how long was I out?”

“For two days only”, replied the nurse, “You did not have any major injuries; minor cuts and bruises only. However, you were dehydrated and malnourished. That was not good.”

The nurse now injected something into him and then again he saw nothing.

***

The next time he awoke he saw the doctor creature standing in front of him. The human nurse was with the creature and with them was;

Is that an elf?, he thought.

The doctor said, “How are you feeling?”

He felt a little startled. He could now understand the creature. It sounded male because of the deep voice but he could not be sure.

He said, “I feel amazing. Except for the fact that I am hungry. And a bit thirsty.”

The doctor nodded and noted something in a piece of paper on a pad. The nurse gave him a glass of water asking him to drink slowly. He complied.

After he had drunk he started to say something but the doctor interrupted, “I am sure you have questions. I am not the right Umaru for the job. I am merely a doctor who is giving you a clean chit now. We have healed you completely. The good director here”, it said, “Mr Silas will take you from here. He will explain everything to you”, it turned to the director and continued, “However, feed him first. He does need something inside of him.”

The elf, who was apparently named Silas nodded. The nurse helped him dress. She wheeled him out of the hospital and once they had exited he got up. He did have a moment of trouble getting his bearings but he was soon able to walk normally, though slowly.

Silas said, “Wait here. I shall get my MQ.”

He wondered what Silas meant but he waited. Thousands of questions were running in his head but he knew he would get answers soon. Hopefully. He examined the clothes he had been given. It was a simple sleeveless V-neck t-shirt and comfortable track pants. They had given him boxers too. All of it was black in colour. Ominous.

Soon Silas came back with an interesting car. It was definitely a convertible, greyish in colour. It was a four seater with its hood down and it was hovering about a foot from the ground.

“What! Is this a flying car?” he asked.

Silas rolled his eyes at the question and said, “It is a mechanical quadruped or MQ for short. I am aware of this car you are talking about. It is your mode of transportation on Earth. This is not, however, Earth. Come on then. Hop in.”

He did not, however, hop in. He opened the door to the MQ and took the seat beside Silas. It was a right hand drive. He did not understand the buttons nor the controls but Silas seemed to be an expert.

As they drove, he looked around. The sights and sounds were overwhelming at first, but then he got used to them. He could see many people going about their daily routine. They were not all human. Nor all elves or the species the doctor was. He saw many species. He gulped and forced down the panic rising inside of him. He hoped this Silas guy would be able to answer his questions.

Silas drove them to a dome shaped building which seemed to be outside the city they were in. They had to pass a security check manned by species which he could not identify. Silas led him into the domed shaped building. They had to pass many security checks before Silas led him to Silas’ office.

He had been looking around everywhere and everything he saw increased the number of questions he wanted to ask. The feeling of panic he was suppressing threatened to come out from time to time but he was managing it quite well.

They had not talked the entire way. Once they were in Silas’ office, Silas asked him to wait and called someone into the office. After some time a creature, no, a person, he decided to start considering everyone as a person now, walked in. They were the same species as the doctor. He tensed, then took a deep breath as the person entered. Then he turned towards Silas.

Silas said, “I assume you have some questions. We have some questions of our own. However, let me introduce you to the Assistant Director of this facility, Ms Sumira Untu. She is an Umaru. From the looks on your face, I am guessing you have never seen an Umaru.”

He shook his head and said, “I have never seen an elf either.”

Silas raised an eyebrow at that. He said hurriedly, “You know. The pointed ears. I am sorry if I said something wrong.”

Silas gave a short laugh and said, “Don’t worry. The pointed ears are a dead giveaway but elves are not the only ones with pointed ears. Anyway I should continue. You are a human. We conducted tests on you to confirm that while you were unconscious.”

He must have looked uncomfortable with that statement because Silas said, “I am sorry but we had to do it. We have no records of you and you did not even have your utility belt.”

He frowned at that, “Utility belt?”

“I am getting to it”, said Silas, “Please be patient. As I was saying, you are a human. That means you are from Earth. That is the only planet currently where the human species are present. As you may have realized by now, you are not on Earth anymore. You are on a planet called Una. It is a planet which can sustain multiple species at a time. It is also called Game World.”

Silas paused to let all this sink in and he took a deep breath. He nodded to indicate Silas to continue.

Silas said, “There are many sentient intelligent species residing on this planet. This planet is called Game World for a reason. All of these species come together because this planet acts as a live MMORPG. Yes, that is the term you would be familiar with. Consider this planet as a MMORPG you play with just the difference that the NPCs are actually different species with different personalities and the quests are more... adaptive.”

“What?” he asked. A MMORPG. He was in a game? No. The elf. Silas. He said that the world was designed like a game. That was what he meant right? Thoughts swirled in his mind.

Silas said, “Sumira. Would you like to take over?”

Sumira nodded and said, “You are familiar with the concept of games, right? Did you play video games while back on Earth?”

He thought back. He knew of video games. Did he play them? He was not sure.

He said, “I am not sure. You see. I am having memory problems.”

Silas and Sumira looked startled. They looked at each other and then back at him.

“What do you mean?” asked Silas.

“It means”, he said, “I don’t remember who I am, where I am from, anything. I just don’t remember anything.”

Silas said, “Well you do remember how to function normally. Also you integrated with our language pretty well. It means you definitely do not have brain damage. Are you sure you have amnesia?”

He said, “Wait. What do you mean integrated with your language?”

Sumira said, “We speak Loquella on Una. We have a spell through which you can learn how to speak, write and read Loquella in a jiffy.”

He swallowed as he digested this new information.

He said, “So I have been speaking Loquella?”

Silas nodded, “As if you have been speaking from birth. You can switch back to English but you have to make a conscious effort. Loquella shall now come naturally to you first. English is now your secondary language.”

He started, “How could you-“

Silas raised his hand, “I am sorry but this needed to be done. Normally we do not do things this way but your circumstances are unique. We do not know whether you are an ally or threat and we are ready to give you the benefit of doubt. That is why you are here and not being interrogated in a prison.”

He nodded. He tried to imagine the situation from their point of view and failed. He was not sure what was happening.

He said, “Okay. So this is Game World. Una. Many species live here. We all speak Loquella. So what next?”

Silas said, “The world is divided into adventurers and non-adventurers. The non-adventurers live a normal life. However, we have developed a game type system for adventurers. These adventurers travel from one place to another, completing quests, levelling up and following a major plot line which ends in a final quest. I am not going to give you any spoilers but if you were an adventurer, you would start to understand.”

“So am I an adventurer or non-adventurer?” he asked.

Silas and Sumira shared a look before Sumira answered, “We do not know. We have every person here on Una registered through our utility belts. If you do not have your utility belt, it means you have taken it off and put it somewhere nearby. You cannot lose your utility belt. It is your whole identity and moving without it is a crime. You did not have a utility belt on you when you were found. Also, you are a human. And from the way you were speaking only English, it means that you had just somehow arrived on Una. This raises a lot of questions for us. You are, what we call, an anomaly.”

He felt as if everything was spinning.

“Breathe”, said Silas.

He took a deep breath. He took a few more deep breaths. The world started to right itself. Few moments later everything looked back to normal.

“What does this all mean?” he asked.

Sumira replied, “We do not know. It simply means we need to design you a new utility belt first of all. However, if we cannot, it means you have a utility belt in existence already. That would mean we need to search for it. Then we shall discuss how to best integrate you in our society. But before all that, I recommend you rest. All this must be hard for you. We want you in a better condition, physically and mentally before you make any decision.”

Silas said, “Sumira is right. Rest for now. We shall talk tomorrow. Is this okay with you?”

He nodded. Silas smiled and said, “Sumira shall take you to your room for now. Also, while you are there, think of a name for yourself. I am hoping that you have simply lost your utility belt and can’t remember where because of your amnesia. However, if we have to make a new one for you, we shall need a name.”

With that parting message, Sumira took him to his room. It was a small room with a bed to the left side of the entrance, a study table in front of the bed, a window to the right which he later discovered was a projection of some sort showing the view of a garden, and bathroom door exactly opposite to where they had entered from.

Sumira bid goodbye to him and left him alone with his thoughts. There was also food on the study table. It was a sandwich which he devoured considering how hungry he was.

He now had a lot to think about. He was on a different planet. He did not remember his life on Earth. He was in sort of trouble over here and he did not even know why. Everything was just messed up. He still had many questions but he believed that they would not be answered quickly. He needed patience and for some reason, he believed that he could be patient for the answers he needed.

His eyelids were now starting to feel heavy. He really needed sleep. He had no idea he was so tired. The last thing he thought about before he passed out was a name. He liked that name. He was not sure whether it was his name but it was the one he would give if they would be making a new utility belt for him. Marcus Blank.

***

King Rauros Shadowfang was awakened from his sleep by one of his assistants. He could not remember the name of the assistant. He blamed it on the lack of sleep because the assistant had awakened him up in the middle of the night. He looked at the time. It was six o’clock in the morning. Yes. As he thought. The middle of the night.

He looked to the right to find his wife stirring. Leyda Lightweaver. His better half. She woke up and asked what was happening. The assistant said that both the royal highness had been called by Charles Bushford.

Charles Bushford was the president of NAIF. He aided his king and queen to ensure that the game world was running smoothly.

Rauros and Leyda quickly got dressed after the assistant had gone. Rauros grumbled a lot while Leyda chastised him from time to time.

Finally, they were ready. Rauros looked just as if he had gotten up from bed and put on some clothes hastily while Leyda looked resplendent as usual.

Damned elves and their eternal beauty. They can look radiant any time of the day, even the middle of the night, thought Rauros.

Rauros Shadowfang was a human and the game master of the game world. He was in control of the game part of the world. He was helped by his wife Leyda Lightweaver who was an elf. He had his support staff but he and his wife were the main personnel looking after the entire thing.

Rauros Shadowfang had been a game master for a long time. He looked as if he was in his mid twenties but was over a thousand years old. He had dishevelled short hair, scrubby stubble and a roundish face. He was tall, about six feet three and had a lanky athletic frame. He was currently wearing a black robe and pants. He had forgotten his crown, again.

Leyda Lightweaver was, what Rauros considered, his exact opposite. She was tall, at five feet ten, dark skinned with a long face and pointy ears which curved at the tip. She radiated the ethereal beauty of the elves. She was the most beautiful elf according to him, even when they had been married for over nine hundred years now. She was dressed in a long flowing peach dress and glided across the room by his side. She was wearing her diamond studded tiara on her braided hair, when did she get the time to braid it, and looked ready for the day. He was jealous of her for this purpose.

They walked up to the study of their castle. Well, according to Rauros, Leyda glided and he stumbled along like a drunk fool. In his defence, he considered the time, six twenty now, to be slightly after the middle of the night.

They walked into the study to find Charles pacing nervously. Charles was an Umaru, over a hundred years of age. He had a jovial feeling around him, usually attributed to the paunch he carried. He had the normal oval face of the Umarus with their tubes protruding out, slightly greying skin and he stood just over six feet. He was wearing a pinstripe suit, very businesslike which made Rauros wonder as to when Charles had woken up.

Charles bowed when they entered. A servant shut the door behind them and Leyda performed a spell.

“There”, said Leyda, “Now we won’t be scryed upon or be heard. What is it Charles? You look highly nervous. Quite unlike you.”

Leyda was speaking in a gentle soothing tone. And it was good that she spoke first. Rauros would have started swearing the minute he spoke.

Charles said, “I am sorry to have woken up so early. (“It is an ungodly hour, no doubt”, muttered Rauros receiving an elbow jab from her wife) But I would not have come if this was not urgent.”

“And what”, said Rauros trying to speak in a calm tone, “is this urgency?”

“There is an anomaly”, said Charles.

There was pin drop silence for some time. Then Rauros said, “Are you one hundred percent sure Charles.”

Charles nodded and started to explain about the naked person found in the woods near the town of Solaris but Rauros had stopped listening. He was wide awake now. He was grinning.

Finally, Rauros thought, he had come.