Logan swiped his left hand down to pull up the menu like he saw Dr. Masters do, and pressed the button to log out. The black space was replaced by his hospital room, with him sitting in the bed. Another swipe brought up a different menu, and he selected to create a mirror. He looked at himself, like he had a few times since waking up, not fully believing that the face that stared back at him was his own.

A thin pale man stared back. Hair to just under his chin parted to the right, standing in stark contrast being a dark brown to the pale sickly skin it hung over. The eyes were the most recognizable, since he was born with a genetic mutation that made his left eye green and his right eye blue. The scars scattered around his body were all correct, but his skin hung from his frame like ill-fitting clothes. He used to be a larger guy, not exactly obese, but still heavy; around two hundred and fifty pounds.

He let the mirror fall to the ground, where it quietly broke into digital particles. He decided to use this hour to get more information on what was going on in the game and how he might be able to overcome this setback. Pulling up the menu again he selected the option for the browser window, quickly searching for anything he could find.

His search didn’t prove useful for helping him out of the situation, but it did let him know that there were plenty of players complaining about the same group that was harassing him. Most new players had an encounter with them, either like he had, or as part of visiting the last planet in the tutorial region. It looks like they had set their base there, and required payment and membership to be able to use the dungeons they had set up near for leveling and gear farming.

This had proven to give them a very negative reputation for anyone who didn’t join them, but the members made counter-posts saying that they wouldn’t have been able to level up as quickly or get gear as good as they had gotten if it weren’t for the Free States providing a good system for them.

He didn’t get much information about the planet he crashed into before the ship smashed into it, so he couldn’t figure out where he was or how to get off of it. He was frustrated that everything went wrong so quickly, made even worse with the fact that his ship only had enough resources to repair itself once. He was finally able to find a basic rundown of how the tutorial mission was supposed to go; wake up and repair the ship, move on to fighting the pirate and winning, learning how to land on a planet gently and then how to gather resources and find the right ones to be able to repair your suit, your ship, and your weapons as necessary.

He was barely able to get past the first step before things went wrong. He knew that when he got back into the game he would need to grab what he could from the cargo hold and run. He would be able to find his way back when he was stocked up with enough to fully repair the ship, but until then he would have to be on the run trying to get away from the group that shot him down.

He let out an angry sigh, one that lasted at least five seconds. Closing his eyes and laying back, he enjoyed the calm and peaceful nature of the room. He was able to mute the beeping sound from the monitor next to him, which was nice. Prestige Entertainment was kind enough to put an array of cameras, microphones, and speakers around the physical room, which made it easier for the doctors and nurses to get in touch with him as they all fed directly into his virtual copy.

A gentle cough let him know he wasn’t alone, and lifting his head he saw the perfect smile of Archibald. Assistant of the System Administrator for Prestige Entertainment, he usually showed up when he wanted some more information to the game world that the forums couldn’t provide.

“Archibald, it’s good to see you,” Logan greeted him warmly. He adjusted himself to be more comfortable in the bed for conversation.

“It’s barely been a few hours since we last spoke, sir, but I understand the sentiment. System Admin has alerted me to your predicament, and they have determined that you deserve to be given your experimental assets sooner rather than later.”

“Wait, I get new stuff? Why?”

“Of course, sir. You’re taking part in a special experiment, remember? System Admin has determined that the eight of you who chose to enter the games would get special privileges; nothing too crazy or over powered, but something to allow you a small step above the competition if used correctly,” Archibald flashed an even larger smile at the end. The implication was pretty clear at that point. He would get something to help him out, but only if he used it the right way.

“So what’s my asset? I could use a new ship or an awesome weapon to deal with the people who shot me down. Maybe an army or a way to destroy planets? That’d be cool,” Logan started to ramble, forgetting that the asset wouldn’t be too strong, but enjoying the escalating ideas he was having.

“Unfortunately, sir, it is not something so grand as that. System Admin has granted your character the ability to natively access alternative uses for items. Normally a hidden skill is required for this feature to be available, but they wish to see how you will use it from the outset,” Archibald explained. “As HEx Number Five, your ability is a little less extravagant than a few of the others, but you’re also in a very interesting position. I’ll come back with news if the System Admin wishes to expand on your skill set.”

“Alternative uses for items? Could you explain a bit what that means for me?” The confusion was clear on Logan’s face, as this didn’t seem like a great prize that would lead to a good experiment. Since it was likely other people had unlocked it from the hidden skill like Archibald explained, why not have one of those people do the experiment?

“Of course, sir. Repair Kits can be used directly from your inventory, or by tapping on them and using the context menu that pops up. Alternatively, you can simply open it and use the tools yourself, which provides much more control and can give your items bonuses depending on how you tune them. Some abilities can be used on items to create a different effect when you want to use them. If you have a grapple attachment on your forearm and an ability that applies electricity, you can use the ability and fire the grapple at an enemy to shock them,” Archibald calmly gave a few examples of how this would be beneficial, but Logan didn’t want to interrupt and be rude by pointing out that he didn’t have any of those items or abilities available to him.

“Thanks. I think I can figure it out. Hopefully I’ll have the chance when I get back in there,” Logan said. A thought came to him, so he asked, “Hey, Archibald, why did the game specify Real World Hour when it showed me the death message?”

“Ah, you’ve been out of the loop. I apologize for not explaining earlier, and I guess because everyone knows about it the forums don’t have many posts explaining it either. The virtual reality runs six times faster than real life, sir. Every hour you spend here is six hours in game. It’s mostly to allow people the chance to experience what it’s like to be in a new world for as long as possible.”

The news crashed into Logan like a brick wall. He didn’t even realize that was possible; changing the way the mind perceived time. He figured that Archibald was right for why he didn’t see anything about it on the forums; everyone already knew it so they didn’t see a need to repeat that information. Archibald had also been going over legal documents and figuring things out for him, so he wasn’t surprised that the assistant hadn’t thought to mention it.

“Are you okay, sir? It looks like you’ve just realized something incredibly important.”

A brief shake of his head broke Logan out of his stupor.

“Yeah, Archibald. I’m fine, don’t worry. I just didn’t think I would be able to live in a new world for days at a time before the workday was over.”

“System Admin has expressed that while some people will be angry about how quickly the world progresses, they will be able to work through days of the game at a time, which would negate some of the negatives. There also aren’t any specific daily reward systems put in place for exactly that reason.”

“I think your System Admin is pretty smart. I wish I could talk to them myself sometime,” Logan responded, impressed by the foresight that was shown.

“Sadly that it is not possible at the moment. They will contact you when the time is right.” Archibald said, a hint of sadness in his voice. Archibald looked to the left and nodded. “It seems, sir, that your respawn timer has ended, so you may rejoin the game whenever you desire.”

“Thanks, Archibald. I guess I can try to get something good to happen from this whole mess.” Logan replied, actually excited to get back in and figure out how to flip this mess to his favor.

—

The world snapped into place around him, a mess of broken computer equipment and the smell of a fire. Logan was still sitting in the chair, leaning to the right as the whole ship was tilted as it lay in the dirt. Thankfully, while the viewport was cracked, it wasn’t shattered, which meant when he got the computer parts fixed and the engine repaired he would be able to take off.

“Just got to make sure that I can get that far.”

Logan stood and made his way to the back of the ship. A short corridor lead to the hatch that would lead outside. The left side was an alcove with a bed, a table that would fold out of the wall, and a box with a lock icon floating in front of it. The right side had a couple of cabinets with a small sink, a food replicator, and a material processor, for washing things, making his food, and taking the trash to refill the containers for the replicator to pull from.

He shook his head when he thought of the whole process for food creation with the basic tools. He was just breaking trash into its good parts and putting them back together into new food. It was a little disturbing, but he didn’t need to eat while in this world, so he might not even have to experience it while he was here.

He looked to the lockbox and tapped the icon. A screen appeared, showing a grid of squares. Most of them were empty, but a few on the top left had small icons inside of them. He put his hand through the icons and pulled, the item appearing in his hand. He looked at the Survival Pistol Mk.3, the most basic weapon that the game had that wasn’t his fist.

Survival Pistol Mk. 3

Unique

Pistol

Damage: 8-10

Durability: 20/20

Range: 15 meters

Ammo: 7 (10)

Special Effects

Unbreakable: Cannot be destroyed.

Recharging: Recharges (1) ammo every (2) hours.

Soul Bound: Cannot be stolen, dropped, or traded.

He knew that it wasn’t supposed to be impressive, but he liked the sleek, no frills design it had. It didn’t have many controls on it, just a button for releasing the magazine and a button for the safety. Logan moved it toward his right hip, where a holster appeared, seemingly perfectly fitting to the weapon. He slid the gun in and it held tight.

Logan looked back at the screen ahead of him, noting that there were three more squares to empty. He pulled out the next item, which was a Repair Kit. A small gray box with a yellow wrench icon in the center, it was rather underwhelming. He unlatched the box and lifted the lid, showing a few screwdrivers, a wrench, and an assortment of screws, with a small tube of adhesive taking the last of the sparse space.

Placing it near the belt pouch he read about on his left hip, the repair kit disappeared. He knew it would go into his own inventory and that he could call it back when he needed it. Looking to the next item, he pulled out a clear case that held three syringes full of a gently glowing green liquid. Emergency Medical Kit was what the case was called, and it could be used to restore his health almost instantly. He placed this in his inventory as well.

Logan looked at the last item and reached forward. A small brown paper bag appeared before him. Emergency Food was the name given to the sack. He opened it to reveal what looked like three granola bars. Curiosity overtook him, and he poked one.

Emergency Ration

Unique

Consumable

Special Effects: A single use item that will give a small boost to your Vitality

and increase your Health Regeneration for ten minutes.

The effects of the item were pretty good, even if they didn’t specify the amount they would increase his attributes by. He put the bag into his inventory, hoping he wouldn’t have to waste them too quickly.

He knew what it should look like, having researched the game a bit before jumping in, but he wanted to see his character sheet for himself. A swipe of his left hand a few buttons later a new screen appeared.

Name: Logan

Level: 1

Class: None

Subclass: None

Species: Human

Strength: 10 Health: 200/200 Health Regen: 1 /sec

Vitality: 10 Armor: 0

Dexterity: 10 Stamina: 200/200 Stamina Regen: 1 /sec

Agility: 10 Endurance: 1

Intellect: 10 Psi Focus: 200/200 Psi Focus Regen: 1 /sec

Willpower: 10 Shield: 0

Skills:

Tinkerer - Level MAX

Allows the user to access alternate functions for items and abilities.

Astro Pilot - Level 1

Increases speed and maneuverability of star ships by 1%.

Logan’s abilities were about where he expected them. He was surprised to see that he had gained a skill point in Astro Pilot, and Tinkerer must have been the name of the HEx ability they had given him, since the description matched what Archibald had told him. He was excited to figure out how to use this new ability to get ahead of the other players.

He closed all of the menus in front of him. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he turned toward the hatch that would lead him outside. He released the breath and opened his eyes, lifting his hand and releasing the lever. A hydraulic hiss filled the cramped room, followed by a rush of fresh air rushing in to replace the oxygen that had been consumed by the fires.

As Logan stepped out, he took note of the landscape around his crashed ship. A dusty wasteland surrounded him on all sides, with the patch on his right full of dead or dying trees. The harsh light of the sun simply gave an even more desolate feeling to the land, as the gentle wind that passed by kicked up small clouds of dust from the cracked ground.

Not a single living plant could be seen anywhere around him. It took him a moment to notice the small flashing icon in the bottom of his visor. As he focused on it, a small red screen appeared before him.

WARNING: You have entered a region that is a higher level than you, and it will be very difficult to survive.

You have landed on the planet Dust Hive, which has an average level of 12. This planet has been deemed inhospitable long-term due to an infestation of an insectoid species called Devourers. Good luck out there, spacefarer!

Logan sighed, shaking his head. Not only did he get ambushed by pirates, but he crash landed on a planet that was very likely to kill him. He’d have to find the materials to fix his ship quickly so he could get to a better spot to gain experience.

A quick tap on the hull of his ship brought up a few lines of text.

Repairs require; Metallics 0/12, Glass 0/2

Buy or gather the materials to repair your ship!

Another sigh. He started walking toward the dead trees, hoping that they would give some relief from the glaring sunlight. Logan would stop to poke at any rock larger than his head, hoping it might give him some resources to work with.

After nearly an hour of walking around the dead woods poking rocks and wandering aimlessly, he found a rusted wreck of what looked like a broken military truck. When he poked it, a small screen appeared.

Dust Haven Free States Militia Scout Transport

Destroyed

While Logan didn’t get much information from it, a helpful button with the word Scrap appeared near the screen. He happily pressed the button, and the entire wreck faded and a small indicator showed up on the right side of his visor.

Resource Gained; Metallics x6

Quite happy with his find, he was even happier when he saw that there was a small metal box where the back of the truck used to be. He rushed over and opened it. Inside he found a combat knife and what looked like a pack of batteries. When he touched the battery pack, the description came up that they were ammo. Light ammo, he took one out to inspect it more closely. It looked like a AAA battery, but without any of the brand logos he was used to. He put the ammo into his inventory, and clipped the knife to his belt on the left side, knowing it was better than trying to punch things to death.

Logan took a better look around since he had a reason to stop. Dead trees surrounded him, with a hill rising behind where the truck stood. There was a pile of dust gathered on the hillside and he saw claw marks along the hill, a pretty good indicator which way he should avoid going if he wanted to stay alive.

Turning to where his map indicated was South, he started walking, hoping to find another wreck to get some metal from. If he was lucky, maybe he’d even find something for the glass!