The headache was what I noticed first. Like someone had taken a jackhammer to the inside of my skull. I couldn't feel my body—couldn't even be sure I still had one. Floating in absolute darkness, I tried to piece together what had happened.
Class. I'd been sitting in Dr. Mayer's Economics lecture. The fluorescent lights had been flickering, giving me a migraine on top of my sleep-deprived brain fog. Three all-nighters in a row to finish my term paper. I remembered putting my head down on the desk for just a second…
Then that blinding flash of light.
Am I dead? The thought drifted through my consciousness. That would be such a stupid way to go. Death by boredom in Econ 101.
The darkness surrounding me wasn't threatening. It felt… neutral. Like being suspended in a void between realities. No sensation of time passing. No physical discomfort beyond the headache.
[Transfer complete: Welcome Kale Lucas, to the world of Norrath.]
The message appeared from nowhere—not exactly visible, more like it had been downloaded directly into my brain. The text glowed blue against the darkness.
"What the hell?" My voice sounded strange, like it wasn't really coming from me but rather echoing inside my own mind.
[Question detected: Your entire race, the 9 billion people on your planet, have all been transferred to this world. You are one of the first. This is not an illusion of your subconscious.]
My brain struggled to process this information. The entire human race? Transferred? Like some kind of mass abduction? It had to be a dream or hallucination.
[You are now being moved to Stage 2: Character selection.]
Before I could form another coherent thought, the darkness around me shifted. The void dissolved, replaced by solid walls forming around me. Gravity returned with a vengeance, and I stumbled as my feet suddenly made contact with a stone floor.
"Jesus!" I gasped, reaching out to steady myself against a wall that appeared to be made of polished marble.
The room was circular, about fifteen feet in diameter, with smooth white walls that seemed to emit their own soft light. Directly in front of me stood a full-length mirror in an ornate bronze frame. To its left and right were floating panels—actual holographic screens hovering in mid-air.
I looked down, relieved to see I had a body again. I was wearing the same clothes I'd had on in class—worn jeans, a faded black t-shirt with the periodic table on it, and my lucky red Converse sneakers. But something felt different. My body seemed… lighter? More responsive?
Approaching the mirror cautiously, I examined my reflection. It was definitely me—six feet tall, lanky frame, perpetually messy brown hair, and the three-day stubble I hadn't bothered to shave. But my skin looked better than it had in years. The dark circles under my eyes were gone, and I looked… healthier.
I turned my attention to the screen on the left, which displayed what looked suspiciously like character stats from an RPG:
Kale Lucas
Gender: Male
Level: 1
Mana: 0/60
Attributes:
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 6
Vitality: 6
Intellect: 6
Will: 3
Luck: 4 [+2 for being one of the first one hundred players]
Vocations: None
Skills: None
"Players?" I muttered. "This can't be happening."
I reached out tentatively to touch the screen. My fingers passed through it, causing ripples like I was disturbing the surface of a pond. The stats remained unchanged.
The screen to the right of the mirror was different, displaying a menu of some kind:
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CHARACTER CUSTOMIZATION OPTIONS:
- Physical Appearance
- Base Attribute Reallocation (3 points available)
- Starting Vocation Selection
- Racial Affinity
I tapped "Physical Appearance," and the mirror in front of me shimmered. My reflection remained, but now a series of slider controls appeared along the edges of the mirror.
"This is insane," I said aloud, my voice echoing slightly in the chamber. "If this is some kind of elaborate VR game, it's incredible. If it's not…" I didn't want to complete that thought.
Experimentally, I touched one of the sliders labeled "Height" and dragged it upward. My reflection instantly grew taller, stretching to about 6'3". When I moved the slider back down, my reflection returned to normal.
"So I can change how I look?" I stepped back, considering the implications. "But if this is real—if I'm actually in some other world—do I want to?"
I decided to leave my appearance alone for now. Better to look like myself until I understood what was happening.
I backed out of that menu and selected "Base Attribute Reallocation."
A new screen appeared:
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You have 3 points to distribute among your attributes.
Current allocation:
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 6
Vitality: 6
Intellect: 6
Will: 3
Luck: 4 [+2]
I studied the numbers carefully. They seemed average, maybe slightly above average in some cases. The bonus to Luck was interesting—apparently being among the first hundred "players" had some advantages. But what did these stats actually mean in this world?
"System," I said, taking a guess at how to interact with whatever was controlling this, "can you explain what these attributes do?"
[Strength: Determines physical power, carrying capacity, and damage with melee weapons. Each point increases base damage by 5% and carrying capacity by 10 pounds.]
[Dexterity: Affects speed, coordination, reflexes, and accuracy with ranged weapons. Each point increases movement speed by 2% and dodge chance by 1%.]
[Vitality: Governs health, stamina, and resistance to physical ailments. Each point grants 10 additional health points and improves stamina regeneration by 3%.]
[Intellect: Influences mana capacity, spell power, and learning ability. Each point increases maximum mana by 10 points and spell effectiveness by 3%.]
[Will: Determines mental fortitude, resistance to mind effects, and persistence. Each point improves concentration duration by 5% and reduces mental effect durations by 4%.]
[Luck: Affects critical hit chance, random encounters, and loot quality. Effects are variable but significant.]
The explanations appeared one after another, floating text that dissolved after I'd read each one.
I mulled over my options. With only three points to allocate, I needed to be strategic. My initial thought was to boost Will since it was my lowest stat, but was mental fortitude what I'd need most in this world?
After careful consideration, I placed one point in Strength, one in Will, and one in Luck. Physical power, mental resilience, and good fortune seemed like a solid foundation for whatever challenges lay ahead.
The left screen updated immediately:
Kale Lucas
Gender: Male
Level: 1
Mana: 0/60
Attributes:
Strength: 6
Dexterity: 6
Vitality: 6
Intellect: 6
Will: 4
Luck: 5 [+2]
Vocations: None
Skills: None
I backed out and selected "Starting Vocation Selection." A new screen materialized:
YOUR AVAILABLE VOCATIONS:
- Warrior (STR/VIT focus)
- Rogue (DEX/LCK focus)
- Mage (INT/WIL focus)
- Ranger (DEX/STR focus)
- Cleric (WIL/VIT focus)
- Alchemist (INT/LCK focus)
- Craftsman (STR/DEX focus)
- Merchant (LCK/WIL focus)
- Explorer (VIT/DEX focus)
- Scholar (INT/WIL focus)
Each vocation came with a brief description when I hovered over it. The Warrior was a front-line fighter specializing in melee combat. The Mage manipulated arcane energies to cast destructive spells. The Rogue excelled at stealth and precision strikes.
I'd played enough RPGs to understand the basics of these classes, but this wasn't a game—or at least, not just a game. If I was going to be living in this world, I needed a vocation that suited both my natural abilities and my survival needs.
My cursor hovered over "Explorer" for a long moment. According to the description, Explorers specialized in traversing difficult terrain, finding hidden locations, and surviving in harsh environments. They received bonuses to stamina, perception, and resistance to environmental effects.
"That could be useful if I need to find my way around this world," I muttered.
But my eyes kept drifting back to "Scholar." The description indicated Scholars received bonuses to learning speed, information retention, and analytical abilities. They could more easily identify objects, creatures, and phenomena, and had enhanced comprehension of languages and written materials.
In a strange new world, knowledge would be power. Understanding how things worked might be my best path to survival.
I selected "Scholar," and the screen displayed a confirmation message:
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You have selected Scholar as your starting vocation.
Benefits:
- +10% to all learning rates
- +15% to information retention
- Advanced analysis capability
- Enhanced comprehension of written and spoken languages
- Access to Scholar-specific skills and progressions
Do you confirm this selection? (Yes/No)
I tapped "Yes" without hesitation. The decision felt right.
The left screen updated again:
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Kale Lucas
Gender: Male
Level: 1
Mana: 0/70 (+10 from Scholar vocation)
Attributes:
Strength: 6
Dexterity: 6
Vitality: 6
Intellect: 6 (+1 from Scholar vocation)
Will: 4 (+1 from Scholar vocation)
Luck: 5 [+2]
Vocations: Scholar (Level 1)
Skills: Analysis (Level 1), Research (Level 1)
I was about to select "Racial Affinity" when a new message appeared before me:
[Character creation is now complete. Your selections have been recorded.]
"Wait, I didn't choose a racial affinity yet!" I protested.
[Human racial affinity has been automatically assigned based on your origin. Modifications to this selection are not available during initial character creation.]
Before I could object further, the room began to shimmer around me. The walls became translucent, then transparent, gradually dissolving to reveal a vast landscape beyond.