Author’s Note: Ok, here comes nothing. As always point out any mistakes you see, and I hope you enjoy.

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After I touched the glowing spot, the stele came to life and status was shown from top to the bottom of it as follows.

Rob King

Half-Human, Half-Dwarf

Jobs:

Titles:

Level 11

Hit Points: 100

Mana: 100

Strength: 102

Vitality: 101

Agility: 102

Wisdom: 100

Intelligence: 100

Charm: 92

Luck: XXX

Fame:8

Points available for distribution: 0

Passive Abilities: Life Gambler, Basic Prospecting, Basic Mining, Basic Smithing, Basic Negotiation, Basic Adaptability, Divine Protection of Farran, Basic Staff Handling, Basic Two-Handed Fighting, Basic Mana Sense

Skills: Smash, Dodge, Block

What. The Hell. How, how did I get so much points??? And all those skills? Luck wasn’t even visible, and I had shit-load of passives. When I saw that I already had level over 10, cold sweat ran down my spine when I thought about the fight earlier on. But then I noticed all those figures and thought something was bugged. I mean it must have been some error right? All except charm were 100 or more, and I had no points to distribute between them while I had level 11.

Leaving stats alone, who was Farran? None of the skills had any description, but except Life Gambler, Mana Sense and Divine Protection, all were pretty self-descriptive. And I having them could be explained. I memorized everything I had questions about and took my finger off the stone. It still glowed, so I checked where was caretaker who led me there, to see if that was normal. I saw him leaning against the wall near the door to the room I was in. When he saw me, he spoke.

“Finished already? Any questions about what you saw?”

“Yes, actually, first of all the stele is still glowing, is that normal?”

“After you leave the room it will stop glowing after half and hourglass. Was that your first time checking your status?”

“Yes, and if you don’t mind I have other questions”

“Ask away, I have nothing but time, since there are no others here today.”

“Ok, then first of all who is Farran? I have his protection apparently. Also I have level over 10, does that signify anything? And I have skills which I don’t recognize, could you tell me about them as well?”

I kind of forgot I was talking with NPC and bombarded him with questions. Despite that, he was able to respond.

“Farran, hmm? You must have done something for him in your previous life, he rarely blesses anyone. He is a god of luck and chaos, responsible for chance. He has almost no followers, some even deny his existence. People like to believe in fate, and that everything is predetermined, so his existence is uncomfortable to them, to say the least. Now, about having reached level 10, we will have to go somewhere more private to talk about that. I will answer your question about skills then as well.”

Hmm, so I was protected by god of luck? Did that have anything to do with randomizing all my initial stats and skills? I couldn’t find other explanation at the moment, so I left this topic for later. After logging out I could ask on forums about that. The other part of his response was cryptic, as if it was some hidden quest, or so I hoped.

He motioned for me to follow him, and we went to the stairs leading down, which were hidden behind statue of Regbert. The passage led to small cozy room with two sofas facing each other and a fireplace. What was this place doing beneath the temple?

“I am Cordby by the way, may I know yours?”

The caretaker said after we sat down on opposite sides.

“Sure, Rob, thank you for your time Cordby.”

“Oh, don’t thank me yet Rob. I am afraid you won’t like what I have to tell you. I will get straight to the point, after having reached level 10, have you tried logging out?”

What? What was he talking about? Wasn’t he an NPC? But how could he be temple’s caretaker as a player? Ohhh, right, he may have been an admin. That would explain this.

“Are you perhaps an admin, Cordby?”

“Admin? No, I am.. I WAS a player.”

Cordby frowned and I could see sadness, as well as melancholy in his eyes. Was a player? I didn’t really get his meaning. If he wasn’t a player anymore, how could he be in the game while not being an admin as well?

“Listen Rob, it’s easier shown then said. Try to log out right now.”

Still baffled, I did as he instructed. I said Menu out loud, but nothing happened. Hmm, maybe I remembered the command incorrectly? Options, Settings, Exit, Log out, Setup. Nothing. I had a bad feeling. Cordby just watched me with sad smile, as I was growing more and more desperate and confused. Finally I stopped trying.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON! WHO ARE YOU CORDBY, AND WHERE THE HELL IS LOG OUT BUTTON?!”

I don’t think I overreacted, looking back at that situation. It was fully justified, I mean I watched S*O and read many different fantasy stories, in setting based on world transportation and whatnot. And even though I did dream about such things happening to me, it wasn’t really my wish. Dreams, and those stories were beautiful, because they were not real. Everything that happens to the heroes of those stories is in their favor, and even if it isn’t it ends well. Real life is not like that, it’s fucked up, and you got to struggle with all your might to attain something. So, deep down, I didn’t really want to leave my boring, but safe and comfy life.

“Sit down Rob, and calm down. I will explain everything. You just have to listen to me calmly.”

“I DON’T WANT TO SIT DOWN! I WANT TO EXIT THE GAME RIGHT NOW! I WILL SUE YOUR COMPANY FOR SICK JOKES LIKE THAT!”

“SIT DOWN AND CALM THE FUCK DOWN BOY!”

Cordby roared at me, which shut me up. I sat down unconsciously, shocked by strength of his shout. He grunted, and continued speaking in previous, calm voice, as if nothing happened.

“This is no joke, and you better realize that as fast as possible. I don’t know how old were you there, but it doesn’t matter in here, in Avalon, you either grow up and adapt, or die. All players after getting level 10 are attuned to this world, which means you stop existing on your world. You become inhabitant of Avalon, one of the settlers. Don’t ask me how, why and stupid shit like that, because I don’t know. If you ever have chance, you can ask Gods, as these fuckers are responsible for reincarnation, and probably relocating here.”

He took a sip of water from glass which I didn’t notice standing on the table before. Or maybe it wasn’t there earlier? I have no idea. At that moment I was just staring at him blankly trying to listen and make sense of what he was saying. After seeing my stare, his tone became gentler.

“Look there, kid, the reality is that you are now living here. You will never see your family, unless they played with you, which also doesn’t guarantee it. Many people can’t handle it, many more die before level 10. There are also those thinking what caretakers say is bullshit, and dying after level 10. It is not. Every sentient being on this world, is either a former player, or descendant of one. This “game”, started a long time ago. And it doesn’t show any signs of stopping any time soon.”

I calmed down enough to ask the question bothering me the most at the moment.

“So when you die in here..?”

“You die. If you have divine protection, you will be reincarnated, in indefinite time, with no memories, as a normal baby of this world. That’s if you are lucky, some are said to be reincarnated as monsters or animals, but there is no solid proof for that. And if you lack divine protection…”

I gulped loudly. I probably achieved level 10 during the fight with bandits, so one wrong move, and I would be gone. Forever. And when I thought about it again, bandits were normal people right? Sentient and stuff? So I killed… My stomach hurled and I almost vomited, thinking about crushed skulls and disfigured faces of people I slain today. I was a fucking murderer! They were probably just trying to survive here, in these harsh circumstances, and I killed them, destroying that hope.

No! My head somehow cleared a little, when I was wallowing in despair and self-hate. They were attacking first, killing others and trying to kill me. It was self-defense, I had to kill so I wouldn’t be killed. Yes, that’s it. That’s the train of thoughts I need to take in this situation.

One more thought couldn’t get out of my head, and I spoke it aloud, growing angry again.

“Ok, Cordby, if all people here know these circumstances, then why the fuck don’t they warn newcomers about the situation? Why are they letting others be, “relocated”, as you named it, in here?? I mean, who in their right mind would have continued playing this until level 10 in this case?”

“It is because we can’t tell. Gods don’t do almost anything to interfere with us in here, except relocation of course, but one other thing they do, is smiting. You see, when first players played this game, they received a divine message, notification if you prefer, at level 10. Each and every one of them, same message. It said, that they were the first of the new settlers, pioneers, expected to pave way for the generations to come. But the crucial part of the message, was forbidding them from warning new settlers, under the threat of punishment, about the reality of this “game”. After some time, new “players” indeed arrive, they were immediately warned by some of the pioneers about situation they were in. Guess what happened to these pioneers.”

“Punishment?”

“Yes, punishment. The pioneers doing the warning were burned by flame from the sky. But not just them. Everyone they knew closely were included in this smiting. It was called purge, and there were 23 of them in our known history. The last one, was biggest, and was called The Test. Beloved granddaughter of a man who became one of the human leaders, started “playing”. And it just so happened, that she appeared in his house as a relocation point. She named her character with her real life name, so when the man found out who she was, he immediately told her to stop playing, and explained why. He didn’t want her to live in this cruel world, even if it meant dying with his closest ones from Avalon. But he miscalculated. This was set up by gods, as final show of power. All the people he led were purged, except the man himself.”

After these words, the room seemed to grow dark and ominous. I finally understood the meaning of the words “…and a happy new life!” but they didn’t sound cheerful. They sounded like death’s whisper, cackling at my fate.