Jorgen Ryker woke up with a yawn, he stretched his arms out like he did every morning. Out of habit he reached his left arm out in an effort to turn off his alarm clock, only to find nothing there. Immediately he knew something was wrong, rapidly blinking his eyes in an attempt to be rid of his blurry vision he found himself staring up at the massive blue expanse above him.

'Why am I outside? What's going on here?'

After trying and failing to find a reasonable explanation for his current situation he sat up and was suddenly even more astonished. All around him there was sand that seemed to stretch for miles in all directions, he was dressed in crude and uncomfortable clothing. Which consisted of a simple shirt and shorts, along with a pair of worn sandals and definitely the itchiest pair of underwear he had ever worn.

Jorgen wondered just how he had got here, where he lived there weren't any deserts anywhere close to him. All he remembered was going to sleep worried about if he was going to pass the math test he was studying for. Had he died in his sleep and was reborn in this new world? He accepted that as the reason he was now in a desert with poor clothing and no food or water. Even though it just raised more questions, to him it seemed like the most reasonable explanation. How had he died? Was he murdered or had he just died peacefully in his sleep? Was it even possible for a sixteen year old to die in his sleep, what are the chances of that? Why was he sent to this world? As questions flooded his brain he massaged his temples and decided to put those questions off for later. He had much more important matters to attend to. Such as the fact he was stuck in a supposed desert without food or water.

Just as he was about to further investigate his surroundings a chime sounded in his head and text rapidly scrolled in front of him.

Running Start up Procedures...

Accessing Knowledge Database...

Analyzing Surroundings...

Determining needed Skills...

Planning and Creating Starting Equipment...

Jorgen stared wide eyed at the rapid text scrolling in his vision, until a notification caught his eyes.

'Please Note, starting skills have been selected. Beginning knowledge injection in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.'

Once the countdown hit one he felt a trickle of knowledge steadily flow into his brain, it was quite a weird feeling but it didn't hurt at all and the feeling quickly disappeared as his brand new knowledge situated itself inside his brain.

'Knowledge Injection complete, skills granted include: Swordsmanship[Expert], Alchemy[Master], Herb Gathering[Adept], Item Identification[Master], Water Magic[Adept]. Due to Water Magic[Adept] the spell Ice Shard[Novice] has also been added. A general information database has also been added, this database contains general information on how this world functions. It can be searched by simply asking it a question.'

'The Startup system recommends the user familiarise themselves with a necessary ability in this world while the installation is being completed.'

Jorgen got to this most recent notification a few seconds after it had popped up, he was busy salivating at his impressive sounding skills, and thinking about how cool it was going to be to cast magic. After seeing the notification from the system he quickly asked in his mind 'Ok, so what do I need to do to use this ability.'

Immediately the Startup System replied to him 'Close your eyes and think Status, you should see your current stats in front of you after doing so.'

He closed his eyes and did as the system instructed, giddy with excitement. This obviously sounded like a video game style leveling system. As soon as he had closed his eyes and thought Status a golden screen burst to life in his vision revealing his current stats and abilities.

Name: Jorgen Ryker

Age: 16

Race: Human

Level 1 (0/100 Xp)

Strength: 20

Dexterity: 20

Agility: 20

Constitution: 20

Endurance: 20

Wisdom: 20

Intelligence: 20

Mana: 200 (Regeneration: 3/10s)

Stamina: 200 (Regeneration: 6/10s)

Skills: Swordsmanship[Expert], Alchemy[Master], Herb Gathering[Adept],

Item Identification[Master], Water Magic[Adept]

Techniques: None

Spells: Ice Shard[Novice,Water](Shoots a shard of ice from your hand dealing minor damage. Mana Cost:10)

After Looking at his stats, which seemed rather impressive. He decided to make use of the general information search function the system had told him about earlier to obtain a bit more information about just how powerful he was. He casually began asking the database a few questions about how this world worked.

'How high ranked is a master level skill?'

'Skills can be divided into eight rankings, starting with Novice being the least skilled the rankings would go: Novice, Initiate, Apprentice, Journeyman, Adept, Expert, Master, and finally ending with Grandmaster being the highest level. Skills can be leveled up over time by training that specific skill or can be increased through the use of skill books, although skill books are very rare and hard to find.'

'Why are spell classified with the same ranking?'

'Using your current spell, Ice Shard which is a Novice ranked spell as an example. In order to cast Ice Shard you would have to be at least a Novice water mage. Which of course as an Adept mage means you can easily cast Ice Shard, but you could not cast a spell ranked expert or higher.'

'How do the stats such as Constitution function?'

'Here is a simplified description of how your stats function:

Strength: Increases damage done by melee and throwing weapons, Increases Carry Capacity by 5kg.

Dexterity: Increases Attack speed and Accuracy with all weapons.

Agility: Increases Movement Speed and Reflexes.

Constitution: Increases resistance to illness, extreme temperatures and poison. Increases Stamina regeneration (Regen Increases 0.2/10s, Base Regeneration 2/10s). Reduces physical damage.

Endurance: Increases Stamina by 10 per point. Increases resistance to Hunger and Thirst.

Wisdom: Increases Mana Regeneration Rate (Regen Increases 0.1/10s, Base Regeneration 1/10s) and Increases resistance to magic.

Intelligence: Increases Mana by 10 per point. Slightly Increases overall intelligence.

With a value of 20 in every category, if you were to be put back into your old world you would be considered at around the level of an Olympic athlete.'

'Ok, last question. What is a technique?'

'Techniques are similar to spells, but they have no requirements to use them. They can operate off stamina or mana depending on the technique and can be learned through technique books, learning from someone who already has the technique or by creating your own technique, although creating your own technique is extremely hard to do. A good example of a technique would be a power strike, which in exchange for a portion of your stamina or mana would allow your next strike to deal increased damage.'

After receiving this information Jorgen grinned in satisfaction. He was already quite powerful and although his stats probably couldn't be compared to people who were several levels above him, his adept, expert and master level skills were very impressive and might even help even out a fight with someone a few levels above him.

As he looked out upon the seemingly endless sand around him he found that he had regained his lost hope and then some. He felt ready to take on any challenge that lay ahead of him. He had an urge to go find some monsters and slay them for their experience. Just as he was daydreaming about becoming a great adventurer, slaying dragons and being a hero for all the people on this world, a notification popped up in his vision.

'Starting equipment has finished creation, the Startup system has fulfilled its task and will shutdown in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.'

'Shutdown Complete'

Jorgen felt a bit disappointed, after all the system had been quite helpful. He definitely wouldn't have minded it sticking around for a bit longer. Just as he was thinking this saddening thought, a small line of text appeared in the top left corner of his eye just barely noticeable to him.

'Dungeon Finder Version 1.3 has finished it's installation…..'

'Dungeon Finder Version 1.3 has begun booting up...'

'Dungeon Finder strongly recommends its host to immediately begin preparations for an Endless Adventure…..'