《Healer? No that's not right....》 Just another day Class was over. Another mind-numbing lecture on things I¡¯d already forgotten. I needed out. Badly. The problem? Finding someone to come with me. Instagram was full of people who loved the outdoors. Unfortunately, none of them were my friends. Instead, I had friends who could spend twelve straight hours raiding dungeons in video games, but the thought of spending one night in an actual forest? Apparently, that was too much. After debating with myself all week, I finally decided¡ªscrew it, I¡¯ll go alone. Of course, the second I made that choice, my brain had to be a smartass about it. ¡°Okay, Layton,¡± I thought. ¡°On one hand, you¡¯ve never been camping alone. On the other hand¡­ how hard can it really be?¡± I wasn¡¯t an idiot. I knew enough to know I probably didn¡¯t know enough. But whatever. I¡¯d figure it out. As I walked toward the shuttle back to my dorm, my head was still spinning with hypotheticals. How bad would it be, really? Would I get lost? Run out of food? Be mauled by a mountain lion? How often does that even happen? ¡­Almost never. Probably The shuttle was empty. Of course it was. Who takes a night class on a Friday? Oh, right. Me. That¡¯s what I got for procrastinating on class registration. Maybe if I hadn¡¯t spent hours gaming with my friends, I would¡¯ve actually gotten decent class times. Not my words¡ªmy mom¡¯s. To be fair, she had a point. Instead of being out, I was in Business 1010, stuck in a two-hour Friday night death march. Meanwhile, my friends were gaming, partying, and making terrible life choices. Oh well. Back to the business of camping. I could handle a weekend alone. My only real concern? Getting eaten. But hey, how often does that even happen? ¡­Yeah. Still not looking it up. Anyway, it was settled. Tomorrow morning, I¡¯d pack up, hop in my car, and head north until I found a good spot¡ªsomewhere remote, surrounded by trees, and most importantly, with no other people. Just me, the wilderness, and a non-zero chance of getting murdered by nature. Perfect. - BZZZZ. BZZZZ. 6 AM. No. Snooze. I was going camping, not training for the Olympics. I finally rolled out of bed at 8 AM¡ªright as my phone buzzed again. Dad. Because of course. "Hey, Layton!" my dad said, his blood worked like a natural caffeine. "What? Did I wake you up?" "No, Dad," I said, deadpan. "I actually just got back from my morning hike. Great sunrise."Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "Uh-huh," he said, not buying it for a second. "So, gaming until two again?" Ugh. It was too early for this interrogation. "Why is that always your go-to?" I sighed. "You do know video games aren¡¯t the only reason people sleep in on Saturdays, right?" "So you¡¯re telling me you weren¡¯t up until two playing?" I scoffed. Opened my mouth. Closed it. Damn it. Not that I was ashamed¡ªI totally had stayed up until two (maybe later). But it was the smugness in his voice that really got under my skin. "Now you listen here, sir," I said, shifting to full mock outrage. "I will not lie to you. I was up playing video games until two¡ªbut I will be damned if I let you act all high and mighty just because you went to bed first. Let''s not forget, old man, that you don¡¯t even have a choice anymore. I¡¯m pretty sure at your age, you fall asleep on the couch by eight, whether you want to or not. That¡¯s why pilots over fifty can¡¯t fly past five." My dad chuckled. Growing up, I learned that if I could make him laugh, I could get away with a lot. "Well," he said, still amused, "I just wanted to remind you about your promise to help me fix Charlotte''s sprinklers today." Oh, right. That. Charlotte was my parents'' next-door neighbor. Sweetest old woman in the world. And her sprinklers were absolute garbage. If I had a nickel for every time those damn sprinklers needed fixing, I could fill a sock with them and put the poor woman out of her misery. "Ah¡­ crap," I muttered. "Dad, I¡¯m really sorry. I totally forgot¡ªI just planned a camping trip this weekend." Silence. Just for a second. And just like that, the guilt hit like a truck. But instead of being mad, he just said, "You know, Layton, normally I¡¯d be disappointed. But if you¡¯re standing me up to get out in nature? I can live with that." Ow. Somehow, when parents don¡¯t get angry¡ªeven when they totally could¡ªit hurts so much worse. If I felt guilty before, now I was drowning in it. "Dad," I groaned, "why¡¯d you have to hit me with the healthy parenting tactic? You know that¡¯s my weakness!" "Haha! I learned that strategy from your mom. She¡¯s the real pro, and you know it." I laughed, shaking my head. "Well, I appreciate the pass. But yeah, I¡¯m heading out this weekend. Still not sure where. I figured I¡¯d just drive north until I find a good spot¡ªsomewhere with decent trees and no people." "You¡¯re quite the planner," he said dryly. Then, after a beat, he perked up. "You know, I think this could be good for you. It¡¯s better than being cooped up staring at a screen all day. Just be safe, and I¡¯ll see you next weekend. I¡¯m sure I can find another job we can do together!" "You know, Dad, manual labor is not the bait you think it is," I said. "And yet somehow," he replied, "it has such a high success rate." Damn it, he had me there. "You know I love you, Layton," he said. "Take care of yourself out there." "Love you too, Dad," I said, smiling. As I hung up, I sat back and exhaled. How did I get so lucky to have such great parents? - After that phone call, there was no point going back to bed. I stretched, yawned, and¡ªOW. Something stabbed my foot. Hard. I lurched back, cursing, and looked down. A mechanical pencil¡ªhalf-buried in my disaster of a floor. Right. Packing. Should¡¯ve done that last night. I grabbed my school bag, flipped it over, and dumped the contents onto my bed. Thud. A stack of overpriced textbooks hit the mattress. A few half-filled notebooks followed¡ªmostly doodles, zero actual notes. Good enough. I spotted my sweater hanging on the bedpost and hesitated. Mid-summer, but nights could get cold. I stuffed it in. Better safe than freezing. What else? That should pretty much cover it, right? Tent, sleeping bag, and pad? Already in the trunk. One less thing to think about. Food? Eh. Gas stations existed. My fridge was practically a wasteland anyway. Cool. Time to go. I grabbed my keys and headed for the door, slipping on my low-rise white Converse that had seen better days. I was halfway out when I froze. Wait. Shit. My lighter. Patted my pockets. Not there. I scrambled back, found it on my desk, and sighed. I would¡¯ve felt like an absolute idiot if I¡¯d forgotten that. And to think, I was a Boy Scout once. The Drive Although I¡¯d been camping plenty of times before, a minor¡ªokay, major¡ªproblem hit me the second I merged onto the highway: I had no idea where I was going. I knew I wanted trees, water, fresh air, and zero people. That was it. McCall, Idaho came to mind. I¡¯d been there before¡ªgood trees, good air, and not far. Maybe a little over two hours from my dorm. Good enough. Windows down. Music up. The road stretched ahead, nothing but endless asphalt and the occasional cow. For a while, it was just me and the hum of the tires. Excitement warred with the occasional nagging thought that I might be about to make some very poor survival decisions. Then, after two hours of singing way too dramatically to songs no one else could hear, I saw it. WELCOME TO McCALL.
Stocking Up Pulled into town. Immediately got distracted. Almost drove straight into the woods with zero food. Great survival instincts, Layton. No cooler. No plan. And at least one adult decision had to be made. I stared at the grocery store shelves, contemplating my options. What did I land on? Perfect.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Finding Camp After another hour of winding roads, I spotted a dirt turnoff that looked promising. I turned onto it, and immediately regretted it. My Toyota Corolla¡ªcertified highway princess¡ªbounced like a dying horse, groaning as if personally offended by the terrain. Yeah. This was as far as it was taking me. I pulled off to the side¡ªcareful not to get stuck¡ªand stepped out. The air was cool and crisp, thick with pine and damp earth. Hell yes. I grabbed my backpack¡ªnow stuffed with food instead of books¡ªslung a gallon of water over my shoulder, and carried the other in my hand. Less than a hundred feet in, I stepped into another world. A clearing, wide as a football field, bathed in golden light. The wind rippled through waist-high grass, turning it into a rolling green ocean. Somewhere beyond the trees, water rushed¡ªsoft, steady, alive. Across the field, the base of a mountain loomed, its shadow stretching like a sleeping giant. I grinned. I couldn¡¯t have picked a better spot if I tried. Time to set up camp. I walked back to my car, popped the trunk¡ªand froze. My tent was gone. Where¡ª? And then, like a sack of bricks to the face, it hit me. The golf clubs. I¡¯d taken everything out to make room for my stupid golf clubs. My tent. My sleeping bag. My sleeping pad. Every single thing I needed to not die in the woods. Oh. No. Oh no, oh no, oh no. Brain. Engage. Fix this. I rummaged through my trunk, shoving my idiot golf clubs aside, hoping for a miracle. Aha! A picnic blanket. My only line of defense against the freezing dirt. I am going to have the worst night of my life. I set down my water and backpack, trying to figure out how to salvage this. Maybe I could¡ªA noise. Sharp. Wrong. I froze. And just like that, the world stopped turning. One second, I was running. The next, I wasn¡¯t. I wasn¡¯t anything. Everything around me froze. Like reality had just ctrl-f4¡¯d it out of existence. I stood there, muscles locked in place, like the world had just stopped responding and needed a forced restart. Then, after what felt like an eternity¡ª Everything went black. The voice from the abyss "What the hell is going on?" "Hello, Layton." Huh? A mechanical female voice echoed from the darkness. "Uhhhh, hello creepy void voice. Am I dead?" I asked, trying to sound calm. (I was not calm.) If I had to guess, I probably suffered a spontaneous brain aneurysm or something. Instant death. Damn. Though¡­ now that I thought about it, I was probably going to freeze to death anyway. Okay, maybe not freeze, but I was definitely going to be really cold all night. Unless I just packed up and went home. ¡­Did I dodge a miserable camping trip by just straight-up dying? "No, Layton, you are not dead. Congratulations! Earth is the 1,500,453,485th planet to be inducted into the multiverse." The what now? My brain, still trying to process the "not dead" part, latched onto another key phrase. "Inducted into the multiverse?" "Query accepted. Your world is now experiencing induction, like many others before it. Hundreds of eons ago, an anomaly in deep space flickered to life..." The voice launched into a full sci-fi monologue. Apparently, some big space anomaly started leaking magic energy (mana) into planets, changing everything it touched. At some point, Earth got hit. Now we were in the club. Honestly? This sounded suspiciously like the intro to every RPG I had ever played. "Okay, cool. But, uh¡­ who exactly are you?" "Query accepted. I am a construct designed to assist with planetary induction." "So¡­ not the anomaly itself?" "No." Helpful. "Who made you?" "Query not accepted." "Okay, why not?" "Query not accepted." "Oh, come on¡ª" "Query not accepted." I groaned. This was getting nowhere. Fine. New question.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. "What exactly is changing on Earth?" "The pertinent information is as follows:" Earth just absorbed three other planets. The world is now four times bigger. ¡­What. There will be many deadly threats. Teamwork is recommended. (I was alone.) Most modern technology will cease to function. Cars? Dead. Phones? Dead. Planes? Uh¡­ please don¡¯t be midair right now. I swallowed. Hard. "Alright, alright. You mentioned something about class selection?" "Query Accepted." (I swear to if it says that one more time¡ª) "You will now choose a class based on your personality traits."
Class 1: Fighter A well-rounded melee combatant. Strong, reliable, adaptable. Great start. Exactly my playstyle. Let¡¯s see what¡¯s next.
Class 2: Jester¡ª Absolutely the hell not. "SKIP."
Class 3: Healer Supports allies with healing spells and buffs. Not strong in combat. "Sure, a healer sounds perfect. Alone. With no party to heal." I muttered sarcastically, barely paying attention. "You have selected Healer as your starting class." ¡­Wait. What? WHAT. NO, NO, NO. HOLD ON. I WAS BEING SARCASTIC. "Query accepted." "NO, NO, TAKE IT BACK!" "Unfortunately, all choices are final." "WHAT?! THAT¡¯S BULLSHIT!" I felt lightheaded. I had just accidentally locked myself into the squishiest support class in existence! This was the best thing that had ever happened to me¡ªreal-life RPG mechanics¡ªand I just screwed myself into the worst possible start. My parents warned me that my sarcasm would get me into trouble. I just never thought it would get me killed. ¡°It is time to choose your starting gear. Below are choices suitable for your class choice.¡± I scanned the options¡­Staff, spellbook, robes¡­ "There is nothing here that I want." I muttered. As soon as the words left my mouth I knew I messed up. ¡°You have chosen to skip gear selection. You will proceed without gear.¡± WHAT. "NO, I DIDN¡¯T! THAT¡¯S NOT WHAT I MEANT!" ¡°You will now be reintroduced to the world. Be prepared for anything. Good luck, Layton.¡± And just like that¡ªthe voice was gone. I was left alone. In total darkness. Still frozen, trapped in my own thoughts. I had one job. Pick a good class. Get some decent starting gear. And I screwed it up. At first, I wanted to rage against the machine. Curse the system for making me a joke. But deep down¡­ This was my fault. I did this to myself. No use dwelling on it now. The darkness vanished¡ª And I fell flat on my face. I climbed to my feet, brushing dirt off my pants. Dang. Where was my car? I turned, orienting myself with the clearing at my back, and started walking toward where I was sure I had parked. Ninety feet later, I stopped. No car. Even worse? No road. That¡­ wasn¡¯t right. There should definitely be a road. There had been a road. But now? Just endless forest. The only thing that looked exactly the same was the clearing itself. If this was part of the ¡°world expansion¡± that creepy voice mentioned, why did everything else change, but this spot stayed the same? Was that weird? Or was I just overthinking it? ¡­What the hell do I know? Pulling Up the System Speaking of things I don¡¯t know¡ªDidn¡¯t I just get a healer class? I wasn¡¯t excited about it, but I was definitely curious. The problem? I had no idea how to check. I frowned, then did the first thing that popped into my head¡ª I reached out, clapped my hands together, and made a dramatic swiping motion, like I was summoning a hologram in a sci-fi movie. Nothing. Okay, maybe I needed pure focus. I closed my eyes really, really hard, willing a status screen to appear. Still nothing. I squeezed my eyes even tighter. Started seeing stars. Maybe that¡¯s a good sign¡­? Nope. Just me, giving myself a migraine. Sighing, I finally opened my eyes¡ª BAM. A glowing status screen hovered in front of me.
Status Screen

Layton

HUMAN - Rank F Humans are well-rounded, known for adaptability. Receives +5 free points per level. CLASS: Healer (Lvl 1)
STATS HP: 20/20 Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.MP: 20/20 Core Stats:
ABILITIES: None SPELLS: Weak Heal ¨C Heal self or target for minor HP. (Scales with Wisdom & Intelligence) Weak Regeneration ¨C Heal minor HP every 20 seconds for 5 minutes. (Scales with Wisdom)
BONUS OBJECTIVES: Life¡¯s Gambit (Risk = Reward) "Some carefully prepare before facing overwhelming odds. Others¡ªlike you¡ªlaugh in the face of danger, betting on themselves regardless of the risk."
TITLES: Forerunner ¨C Be the first to set foot on the new world. Man or a Mouse ¨C Be the only newly inducted to forgo a full tutorial while also removing the system failsafes.
Looking over the screen, I could almost cry. This was everything I wanted. Maybe even better. But then I reread the bonus objective. And the title. "Life¡¯s Gambit" ¨C Risk equals reward. "Man or a Mouse" ¨C For idiots who skip tutorials and remove their safety nets. ¡­This system thought I was an absolute dumbass. And honestly? It was probably right.