Charles Forest, also known as Chuck, found himself in a strange and dark environment. With a dull headache, he tried to remember how he got here. Thinking back, he was sitting on the couch, he had just left a voicemail for his good friend. After that…
"What happened?" Chuck asked himself as he slowly stood up.
He couldn't recall. Although there was no light in the room, he could still barely see. The space was a ten-foot by ten-foot area. The floor, walls, and ceiling seemed to be made from stone.
Chuck reached out and ran his hand across the wall. The stone felt damp to the touch. With no visible way out, panic set in.
[Congratulations! You have been chosen to represent your family in the coming days.]
Chuck was stunned. Words appeared before his eyes as he quickly read.
[Your planet 'Earth' has been destroyed. All lifeforms on said planet have now moved onto their next journey.]
[You have been chosen as the most appropriate candidate to prepare for your family's arrival.]
[Will you be dead upon your family's arrival and cause them to shortly follow after you, or will you create a haven for them to live out the rest of their days in peace?]
[Welcome to "The World of Dungeons" where the next part of your journey will take place.]
[All participants will begin with a starter dungeon and a randomly chosen class which could range from the extremely rare 'Demon Lord' or 'Mighty Hero' to the humble 'Vehicle Mechanic'. Although your class is random, your previous deeds and accomplishments will open paths of possibilities.]
[Fear not, nothing is forever, and your destiny is in your own hands. If you don't like your fate, then set out brave soul, and change it.]
[The beginner protection will last for three days. During this time, no enemies will be able to enter your dungeon.]
[After one week… you will face your first real challenge. Make sure your dungeon is strong enough to survive if you want to have a place for your loved ones to settle.]
[After four weeks, the friends and family you represent will be sent to your dungeon's core room. Hopefully you can be alive and in control of your dungeon to welcome them.]
[Get ready participants. Set up your defenses, go explore the dungeons of a myriad of races, and see if you have what it takes to control your own destiny.]
"…"
"…"
"What the FUCK!" Charles screamed.
[Selecting starting class…]
[Assessing education level…]
[Highschool dropout. (Poor)]
[Assessing talents and skills…]
[Game show enthusiast. (None worth mentioning)]
[Assessing occupation…]
[Dish washer. (Poor)]
[Assessing hopes, dreams, and aspirations…]
[None found, participant is without motivation.]
[Assessment complete: (Worse than poor) No modifiers applicable.]
[Starting selection]
A large wheel with thousands of options appeared in front of Chuck and began to spin. He saw various classes flash before his eyes. Fire Mage, Sword Master, Gunslinger, Tech Warrior. Each one sounded exciting and good enough to let him prepare a good home for his family that would eventually come. The wheel started spinning faster and faster until he could no longer even read the options. Underneath the wheel a faint button glowed with the word 'Stop' written on it.
Chuck closed his eyes and got ready to decide his fate.
"No whammy, no whammy, no whammy, STOP!" He shouted before pressing the button.
Illusionary fireworks appeared, blocking out his view of the wheel that had stopped spinning.
[Congratulations, you have selected a class that has never once been selected in the history of The World of Dungeons. You will receive a 'First Time' bonus gift to accompany your 'Newbie Starter Pack'.]
"Ha, ha, ha, show me what I won!" Chuck shouted eagerly.
[For your starting class…]
[You have received the never seen before…]
[Fry cook (burger flipper)]
[Rating: Below trash]
[Congratulations! Work hard and be the master of your own fate.]
"What the fuck!"
"AHHH!"
Chuck's hand ached after he directly punch the stone wall. Thankfully, the years of living in his parent's garage and watching television all day ensured that the didn't have enough strength to seriously injure himself.
"Cheaters! Bullshit! What a rigged game. What the hell am I supposed to do with this?"
Chuck collapsed in despair. How the hell was he supposed to do anything with such a worthless class. Reading its description closely, he found he wasn't even a full Fry cook. He could only work with burgers and similar foods. In his eyes, he found it to be beyond worthless.
A pedestal began to rise in the center of the room. On top it sat a blood red gem the size of a bowling ball. When he looked at it, information appeared in his eyes.
[Dungeon core.]
[If your dungeon core is destroyed, your dungeon will become lifeless. Feed other cores to your own and it increases the size and strength of your dungeon.]
Several tabs then began to appear in Chuck's vision. It was similar to a video game interface. When he saw his personal stats, he sunk even further into the ground.
He opened the communication tab and saw it was divided into several sections. The first two being World and Regional. He was allowed to send one message into the World channel every day where the Regional channel was unrestricted.
The World channel was filled with curses and the occasional screen shoot of the lucky ones who got special classes and nice starting gear. The current population in the World channel was a little over a billion.
Switching to the Regional channel, Chuck found it contained 10,000 people. These were the people that were nearest to him. Many of them were talking about alliances and trying to make deals.
Chuck just shook his head. What did they know about anything here? Nothing at all. All that talk was meaningless.
Chuck sighed and then stood up. People may think it is easy to be a lazy good for nothing that leeches of his parents but that really isn't the case. It requires and insane amount of mental fortitude. To push away the guilt, block out the bad thoughts, and not succumb to debilitating depression isn't easy. In fact, not many things could agitate or excite Chuck. One of the things that could, was game shows. Watching the participants win big or yelling at the T.V. when they made a mistake, those things always riled him up.
With just a moment, Chuck was ready to enter this new world and see what he could make of it. He no longer cared that he had a class that was considered below trash and was determined to do what he could to make a safe place for his family.
Text appeared before Charlese eyes. But it was different from the introduction and the menus in his mind.
A white light rained down upon Chuck.
[You have received Class Upgrade X100]
[Fry Cook (Burger Flipper) has been upgraded to Fry Cook (Burger Master)]
[Fry Cook (Burger Master) has been upgraded to Fry Cook (Grillman)]
[Fry Cook (Grillman) has been upgraded to Fry Cook (Grill Master)]
[Fry Cook (Grill Master) has been upgraded Fry Cook]
[Fry Cook has been upgraded to Chef (Dinner food)]
[Chef (Dinner food) has been upgraded to…
…
…
…
The notifications kept ringing out nonstop in front of chucks eyes.
[Class upgrades complete.]
[New class: Immortal Chef.]