I wish I brought a jacket- apparently, late November in the Midwest gets colder than a thin white cotton t-shirt can comfortably block. Not my brightest idea, but that and jeans are my favorite outfit. I don’t mind much, because this is my favorite climate- the skies are grey and cloudy, and the trees are bright and look like they’re on fire. They aren’t, though- pretty sure fire and trees don’t play nice. Back to the journey at hand, I’m walking into a new cafe that opened down the street from my parents’ house to meet up with Stella, my closest friend. She’s also my only friend, but the first version makes me sound less lonely. See, we’re both nerds- she’s really into games, and I’m really into puzzles. The key difference is that she seems to be friends with everyone and their aunt, while I’m what I like to call, “selectively social.” Very, very selectively. Either way, I make my way down the sidewalk, and look for, “To Brew or Not to Brew,” which is such a bad name for a coffee shop that it’s almost good. Emphasis on the almost. Despite the naming sense, the place is really nice- white walls, clean tables, good lighting, fun decor, all that. I don’t focus much on it, because Stella’s at a back table, and she’s waving me down. Weirdly enough, there are two cups on the table.
“Were you planning on getting a caffeine transfusion, or was someone else here?” I ask.
“What? No, I ordered for you- you like Pumpkin Lattes in the fall, right?” She responds.
“Yeah- surprised you remembered.” I say, sitting down.
“Okay- before we catch up, Will, there’s something extremely important we need to talk about.”
“Are you okay?”
“BETTER! Fae Realms, that TTRPG about getting trapped by the Seelie court and having to run errands for the Fae Queen, with a bunch of politics and nobles you have to evade so you can earn your freedom is getting a reboot, and they…”
I smile a little bit, and get ready for a lecture. Most people don’t enjoy hearing about this stuff, but even though I’m not an RPG person, her recommendations have always been fun, and I enjoy hearing about things she’s passionate for. I start thinking of talking points for later, so I don’t stumble over my words, when all of the sudden, I just feel… Exhausted? I shouldn’t be this tired, I slept in, and I’m having coffee. Stella trails off in front of me, and her eyelids droop.
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“Stella? Are you okay?” But before she says anything, I slump over. And then I slip into a deep sleep, after hearing similar thuds around the room. “The hell? What’s happe…”
Blinking myself awake, I take in my surroundings. Not much to report, besides a seemingly endless void. It’s an almost tangible black color, simultaneously feeling like I could never reach it and like it’s suffocating me. Are those supposed to happen? I don’t think so. Actually, I’m pretty sure staring into the abyss is considered bad. But don’t worry, because there’s a blue, translucent screen in front of me! No, wait, that’s not normal either. Given that I fell asleep, I’m definitely dreaming. But I’ve never had a lucid dream before, so this is pretty cool. But, what’s the writing on the screen about?
[Welcome, User, to the System. The System is a universal manifestation of will that awards those who rise to the challenges of the Multiverse- as a newly Integrated planet, you will undergo a Unique experience known as the Tutorial. You will enter 5 sequential experiences known as Tutorial Stages that will be uniquely tailored to you, whilst providing information on 6 new topics: Status, Skills, Trades, Classes, Mana, and Combat. You will proceed through the six in any order you choose, with the exception of Foundation coming first, and based on User performance in each Tutorial Stage, you will earn rewards to help you in your Post-Integration world. The Tutorial Stages will have multiple difficulty options for the User to choose from, but Death will be restricted with Respawn mechanics. Once all Tutorial Stages have been completed, the User will face a final Boss challenge and earn a Unique Title to encapsulate their progress- however, Death restrictions will be removed during the Boss stage. To initiate your Tutorial, please enter a name for yourself, User.]
So… operating under the assumption that this is the coolest thing ever and I’m not dreaming, because this is getting more and more real feeling, then did I just read Mana? As in magic? Because that’s awesome. Like, Fireball. FIREBALL. BALL OF FIRE. I CAN DO THAT?? There are some major implications here, but… FIREBALL?? However, first things first, name- my full name is Willow, and it’s kind of the only one I’ve got, so I say, “Willow.”
[Name Confirmed: Willow. You will now undergo transport.]
What kind of transport gets you out of the void? Wait, am I going to pass out again? I honestly wouldn''t mind, I slept so well. Actually, should I be concerned about getting knocked out by the universal manifestation of will? Nah. That seems to just kind of be it’s thing. Not like I can do anything about it.
[Magical Transport Initiated to the Tutorial Chamber.]