Chapter 1 As Hiro looked at the darkness in front of him, he felt confused. Am I dreaming? It was so dark that he could not see anything. Then he noticed that he could see some things that looked to be icons in his field of vision. They were similar to what his view looked like in his role-playing games (RPG). He saw his name “Hiro” in the top left-hand corner along with a green bar that had the numbers 100/100 below to it.

You’ve got to be kidding me!

He noticed a picture of his face below the green bar. He reached out to touch it but his hand passed right through the icon as if it wasn't there. He scratched his head. I guess I can’t physically interact with it. Maybe there is another way. He decided to try some different commands to see what could do to learn about his environment. “Menu!” then a light green translucent screen came up reminiscent of his RPG games that showed his stats

Status Window Name: Hiro Alignment: Neutral Level: 1 Class: ?? Race: Human Gender: Male Health: 100 / 100 Health Regen: 0.5 / Sec Mana: 0 / 0 Mana Regen: 0.0/ Sec Stamina: 100 / 100 Stamina Regen: 2.5 / Sec - Strenght: 5 Agility: 5 Vitality: 5 Intelligence: 5 Wisdom: 5 Leadership: ?? Luck: 5 - Attack: 5 Defense: 5

This is soooo cool! Am I actually in a game? Or has the world become a game? Maybe I was sent to some sort of strange world and it operates like a game.

Hiro's mind began going crazy with all of the thoughts of what could be going on. He never even registered the idea that he was alone and in the dark without any knowledge of where he was.

Wait if this is like a game and that was my character sheet is it possible that I might be able to use magic or skills or something like that? Let's see ummmm.... show me spells.

Nothing happened.

Show me magic.

Nothing happened.

Show me skills.

Immediately, he saw his skills come up in the translucent screen.

Skill Name: Skill Rank: Skill Level: Skill Experience: ??? ??? ?? ??% Description Here.

No skills. What?!! I can’t believe this. Even the weakest characters have some skills. How broken is this game? No game lets the character start out with absolutely nothing.

A sinking feeling entered into the pit of his stomach as a realization hit him.

What if this isn't a game? What if this is all real? How will I survive here if I don't know anything about the world around me?

Hiro shook his head. He refused to let his dream of being in a game-like existence be taken away. He began to look around at his surroundings but all he saw were some different types of rocks in the cave. He looked at the texture and size of the rocks and studied them it was remarkable how real they felt. Even the air he was breathing was musty much like you would imagine a cave to be. Hiro continued to look at his surroundings and then he heard the chime again.

Ding! you have learned a new skill, observation. Skill Name: Skill Rank: Skill Level: Skill Experience: Observation 1 Beginner 0% Observe allows you to look at things and determine what they are and some of their attributes. Greater levels will allow you ascertain more information about the object..

So it's that kind of game. I have to perform actions with some sort of base skill level in order to learn skills. Hmmm......This is very interesting. This observation skill will come in handy. Maybe this can keep me from eating something dangerous.

“Grumble” Hiro’s stomach was growling. He forgot that he had not eaten in a while.

A new quest is available to you! Quest: Find food before you starve. Upon completion you will gain experience and maybe more...

What!? Did I just get a quest? So soon in the game? This must be basically one of those introductory quests that help you learn to play the game. I'll bite and try this out and see what happens.

Hiro read the quest box again.

I gain experience too! This is so cool! That means I will be able to increase my level too. This too much. I can barely contain myself. My inner gamer is really starting to come out.

So Hiro walked towards the light he saw ahead of him and when I got there he noticed that he had come out of a cave. He looked around at his surroundings. He noticed that he was in a beautiful forest filled with trees and plants. He saw numerous fruits growing on the trees but he was wary of whether or not the plants were dangerous. He decided to use his observation skill. He looked at a plant that looked like an apple but it was purple with several white-colored horizontal rings going around the exterior of the fruit. His observation skill gave him the following knowledge about the fruit.

Ringed Apple Type: Food Durability: 1 / 1 Quality: E This fruit grows rapidly in the forests from a tree. It is sweet tasting with a soft core.

Well I guess, it’s not poison so I’ll try it.

Hiro pulled the apple from the limb of the tree and ate it. It was so good that he ate 4 more. His stomach felt satisfied as he let out a loud belch.

"Excuse me", he said as he patted his stomach.

You have completed a quest. Experience gained by points.

On the top right of his heads-up display, he noticed another bar that was partially red. It said 20%. Hiro surmised that this was his experience bar. He almost had enough experience for his next level.

Due to becoming full you have gained a temporary boost to your vitality. Vitality +1.

So food can help improve my stats? That is definitely good to know. Hopefully, I can keep myself full so that I can keep the added stats constantly.

Hiro looked at his hp bar because he knew from his previous gaming experience that vitality was linked to how much hp he would have.

My hunch was correct the hp bar now had 100/105. I gained 5 hp points by increasing my vitality by 1 point. So if I want a larger health pool, I need to increase my vitality score.

Hiro looked around and the sun was overhead. He felt the heat from the sun and he began to sweat. The apples he had eaten were very good but they did nothing to quench his thirst. He let out a dry cough.

I really need to get something drink.

Ding! new quest available. Quest Find water and get a drink. Upon completion you will gain experience points.

Wow, that is pretty convenient. Is the quest system in my head or is the quest system just dynamic and changing based on my current situation?

He had no real direction that he needed to go so Hiro just took off in a random direction.

Hiro began looking around the forest for any signs of civilization or at the very least a water source. As he blindly looked through the trees and foliage, he heard the sound of moving water. There he saw a large waterfall with flowing water below it. The waterfall looked to be over 100 feet high. It was clear blue water that fell down the waterfall into a secluded area where the trees did not grow. Here there were only rocks of various sizes from very large to very small around. Upon looking around Hiro ran to the water and took a drink. The water was cool and refreshing. He could feel the raspiness of his throat clear as the water flowed down to his stomach. He drank greedily until his thirst was quenched. Hiro then dunked his entire head in the water to cool himself off.

Ding! You have completed your quest. You gain a small amount of experience.

It's really hot out. Putting my head in helped but maybe a swim in this water should help me cool off even more.

He ran as fast as he could to the edge of the water and jumped in. The water felt great and made his body relax as all his anxiety and tension seemed to fade away. As he walked back to the edge of the water. Hiro felt something was wrong. The hairs on the back of his neck began to stand up. He felt like he was in danger. He frantically searched around…

You have gained the new skill, sense danger. Skill Name: Skill Rank: Skill Level: Skill Experience: Sense Danger 1 Beginner 0% Sense danger allows you to feel when danger is near. As your level increases you can determine the degree of danger and sense the foe from greater distances.

Immediately Hiro looked around and he saw a small animal that reminded him of a rat but it was much bigger. It was the size of a small house cat. Its eyes were red like fire and it was covered in matted black fur. Hiro used his observation skill.

Forest Rat Type: Beast Health: ?? / ?? Mana: ??? Forest rat, very aggressive. Its strong jaws allow it to bite down on its prey.

Hiro thought he should move away from the forest rat but before he was ready the rat jumped up and bit his arm. Pain went through Hiro’s body as the forest rat bit down as hard as it could. The pain was incredible.

Fuck this hurts! How could this be so real?

“Ding!” you have developed the skill endurance. Skill Name: Skill Rank: Skill Level: Skill Experience: Endurance Beginner 1 0% This skill allows your body to endure pain by increasing your vitality making you more durable. With each level that you increase you will gain +5 to your vitality

He noticed the hp gauge dropped by 5 after being bit by the rat. Hiro shook his arm as hard as he could and the forest rat was flung off. Now, Hiro got ready with his hands up ready to fight. Hiro was to defend himself against the rat. He knew he was not a fighter but in this case, he had no choice.

This thing is not Chu. It's not bigger than me. It is just a dumb rat. I can beat this thing.

Doubt still spung up in Hiro's heart. Images of all the times he was beaten up flashed through his head but the pain in his armed flared again and brought him back to the here and now.

He looked down at the rat and saw that it drew itself back on its haunches ready to leap at him. As it jumped up this time Hiro barely managed to dodge it. He began to calm down and think of all of the lessons his father had tried to teach him and the combat sports class he had taken. The rat was relentless but Hiro continued to dodge its attacks.

He gained a bit of confidence after being able to keep the rat from hurting him anymore. Hiro breathed in and out deeply and took a fighting stance. His hands were up in a boxer’s stance but his legs were spread open so he could move or kick. This is what his dad referred to as a mixed martial arts stance. The rat came at him again. Hiro decided to try and block the attack. He failed miserably and the rat bit him again. He lost 5 more points of health. He shook the rat off again and the two combatants reset.

It was stupid of me to try and block its claws and teeth with bare hands. I need to dodge and attack from a blind spot. I don't have anything sharp so I'm going to have to bludgeon it to death with my bare hands.

Hiro decided this time he would try to dodge and counter. The rat charged at him again, bearing its large teeth. He waited for the rat to leap at him. Once it was airborne Hiro sidestepped it. While the rat was in mid-air he brought down his hand, chopping it across the back of its head. There was an audible thudding sound as his hand hit the rat and then another when the creature hit the ground hard.

I must have done a lot of damage with that blow because it is now moving slowly and shaking its head. This is my chance to finish it before it regains its composure.

Hiro quickly followed up and stomped down on its head killing it.

“Ding” you have learned the passive ability, unarmed combat. Skill Name: Skill Rank: Skill Level: Skill Experience: Unarmed Combat Beginner 1 0% You have developed the beginnings of empty handed combat. As you gain proficiency in this skill you will unlock greater more complex forms of combat. In addition all damage from all of your physical attacks are increased.

Hiro also noticed that he had gained some experience by killing the forest rat. Hiro looked at the carcass of the rat and thought to himself, “This is going to be tough”. Exhausted and bloody from the fight, Hiro decided to take the dead rat and walk back to his cave. Time began to pass and he noticed something peculiar as he looked up at his hp gauge. It was full again. He also noticed that his arm was not hurting at all anymore. Then he looked down at his arm and the wound from the rat had healed as well.

Strange. I guess my hp is a true value of my actual health. As it ticks up my wounds will heal. So as long as my health regenerates, given enough time I can recover from nearly anything. I guess except for things that would be an instant kill like being beheaded or my heart being pierced.

As he walked Hiro began to take stock of what he currently had. As of now, he had an abundant source of water at the waterfall. He had a shelter in the cave. All he needed to secure now was a food source. If worst came to worst he knew he could eat the rat if he could somehow get a fire started and cook it.

Well, dad told me that in a foreign country you have to get 4 things, food, shelter, water, and intelligence about the enemy. I'll go back to the cave before any more creatures come out and attack me. For now, that is my best move. I can figure out what to do next from the safety of the cave.

On his way back, Hiro grabbed some sticks he saw at the base of a large tree trunk that he could use f kindling. He also grabbed some flint stones that he found on the ground. He would use these to hopefully make a spark that would ignite the kindling to make a fire. As he neared the clearing that lead to his cave he picked a few more of those ringed apples so he had something to eat.

Once he was back in the cave he put all of his supples on the ground. Once his hands were free he went back out and found some larger stones to make a fire ring. He definitely didn't want to start a forest fire. Once he had his fire ring built he placed all of his kindling sticks in the center of the ring and then he grabbed a few leaves from the ground and placed them amongst the kindling. Now, he was ready for the hard part. He hit the rocks against each other over and over again. It was time they created a small spark but nothing lit. The sun had already begun to go down and the temperature was dropping. He needed to get the fire made to keep himself warm and possibly cook himself some food.

He persevered through each disappointing strike of the rocks and kept trying. Strike after strike but nothing happened. He even saw that he had lost a few health points as his hands had taken damage from smashing the rocks together. Then finally, the flintstones cracked together once more in his hands and a spark lit one of the leaves on fire. A tear nearly fell from his eye as his hard work was finally paying off. The leave burned as he put more leaves on top of it. The little fire greedily consumed the leaves and grew. Soon it burned brightly and began to engulf the rest of the kindling.

Hiro laughed maniacally and in his best impression yelled out, "I have created fire!!!!"

Hiro quickly found some large pieces of wood and threw them onto the fire causing it to grow even more. The warmth from the fire quickly fought against the chill in the air. Now that he had his fire it was time to see what else he could do.

He looked at some of the stones he had collected. None of them looked particularly sharp but that didn't matter. Hiro knew that he could sharpen any of them slightly. Soon he found one that had a bit of a point and a sharp edge. He rubbed against another stone trying to use the second one as a whetstone. It wasn't perfect but he was able to make the original stone a bit sharper.

Now, let's see if this works.

Hiro grabbed the rat corpse and then used the stone to peel the fur off as he had learned back in his time of survival training with his father. He knew he had to try his best to separate the skin and fur from the meat. His skill was poor and his makeshift knife was a joke but the skin was coming off little by little. Eventually…

Ding! You have gained the passive ability, skinning Skill Name: Skill Rank: Skill Level: Skill Experience: Skinning Beginner 1 0% This ability allows the user to remove fur from animals creating various types of leather and fur which can use for the creation of various items.

This is amazing! Every time I do something I gain a new skill. This means that my opportunities for improvement are solely based on what I try to do. I hope this continues like this or maybe I'm getting the skill for these things because I already had prior knowledge on how to do these things. Never mind, it is not like it matters much. As long I can improve my skills I will take it.

Once the rat was skinned he took his stone knife and cut the creature down the middle. The blade wasn't very sharp so he had to push hard to pierce the skin. Once he made a small cut he used his hands to rip the skin open. It was grisly work but he managed to get through it without vomiting up whatever he had in his stomach. Once he opened the creature up he pulled out all of the organs. He then grabbed some sticks and sharpened the ends with the improvised stone blade. Once they had enough of a point through them, Hiro pushed the sticks through its lifeless body and began cooking it on the fire. After a few minutes, the meat began to darken and smell good.

Ding” cooking skill created. Skill Name: Skill Rank: Skill Level: Skill Experience: Cooking Beginner 1 0% This skill will enable you to create nourishing food from various ingriedeints. With greater skill the food cooked will give those who eat it temporary stat increases as well as increase to health and mana amounts and recovery.

Yesss! I will definitely need this because I have no idea what is going on or how long I will be out here.

Hiro said a prayer and ate the rat down to its bones as well as the apples. After eating, Hiro checked his hp gauge.

Just as I thought, my vitality went up another couple of points after eating. His Hp was now at 145. Feeling stuffed, he looked down and saw that the spine of the rat might be useful. He thought he might be able to take the spine and turn it into some sort of weapon, maybe a makeshift spear to fight anything at a distance. Before long sitting in the light of the fire, Hiro fell asleep.

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