The sounds of birds chirping, the feeling of a warm breeze, the rustling of leaves, and the feeling of soft grass on his face caused Micheal to stir.
"Uhhhhh…" He groaned.
He felt heavy and drained. He opened his eyes, revealing a lush green landscape with sparkling rivers leading to towering mountains in the background. Huge white clouds moved lazily across the sky.
"Beautiful" was all he could think. He took a minute to drink in the scene before him and feel the cool breeze wash over him. He turned over on his back, seeing the green leaves above him that granted him shade. They swayed gently in the wind.
"How did I get here?" He wondered. Last thing he remembered was working at his day job, flipping burgers and filling orders. He felt woozy, and as he thought back things just weren't making sense.
"I was working, and then…" Micheal put his hand on his chest, feeling a wall of solid muscle. Whoa. That doesn't feel right.
"I'm a lot more…" Micheal paused. "Squishy." He remembered. He remembered all the lunches and dinners he ate at work, BurgerFries sure wasn't healthy, but it helped him stay on budget. Barely being able to cover rent did him no favors when it came to being able to afford meals. Neither did it help when the long nights turned longer, bleeding into his gaming sessions into what felt like an endless cycle. Micheal was by no means overweight, but he definitely wasn't in shape like this, he pondered as he poked at his own chest.
A realization struck him.
"No way." He sat up straight.
"There's no way." He hunched forward as he went through it in his mind. "The last thing I remember was working at BurgerFries, and my chest tightened, and I…" Micheal paused. "I collapsed. Was it my heart?…" No way. He was only 27!
"Unless…" Micheal sighed. "That does check out, I have worked there for the last 10 years…" Suddenly every burger he ever ate made his stomach churn. Combined with the lack of physical activity and the stress of having to make ends meet, Micheal could see it now. There was no use in running from the facts.
"So if I'm dead then what?" Micheal looked around. "Where's civilization?"
Standing by the tree was a figure he had not seen there before. A beautiful woman, with green waist length hair and in white flowing robes stood there. Her hair, fingers, and ears were adorned with gold jewelry of the finest make, and something about her inspired awe and reverence in him.
"She must be a goddess." Micheal thought as he stayed seated, staring at her.
"Welcome to Gothica." She spoke, a rich and pure voice, music to his ears. "I am Akadia, the goddess of growth." She placed her hand on her chest, and the serene smile on her face, the look in her compassionate green eyes was so beautiful it brought tears to his eyes.
"I'm Micheal." He said, his voice cracking. "Are you a goddess, am I, in another world? He paused expectantly.
The goddess nodded her head, ripples of green traveling down her shoulders and back, her gold jewelry catching the light of day.
"You have been chosen as my champion, to serve me in the battle for this world." She smiled radiantly, bathing him with warmth.
"Battle?" Micheal had seen plenty of anime and video games and knew exactly where this was going. Hope surged in his chest.
"Let me guess-" He held up a finger. The goddess gently tilted her head in confusion, smiling and waiting for him to go on. "I have to battle a demon lord or a dragon or some evil being and save the world." Micheal was smiling now too. This was perfect! Born in another world, with a goddess to greet him, he was going to be a hero! He was going to gain immeasurable strength! Did this world have elves? Dragons? Demons? Magic? Cute girls? What abilities would he get?
The goddess laughed, a musical sound that gently brought him back from his thoughts. "Well, it's more complicated than that, but you do have to defeat an enemy. The champion of another god that also seeks to win this world."
Win this world? "What does that mean? To win this world?" Micheal asked.
The goddess sighed gently, and the very breeze seemed to follow with it, and Micheal fell silent.
"If you defeat the other champion, you get one wish. Any wish that I can grant with my divine power." She clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. Micheal saw visions of beautiful women, large coffers of gold and jewels, magnificent armies lined up in a row, towering castles, a portal to another world, and much more. "To win this world means that I become goddess of this world."
Any one wish. That was pretty damn good. Micheal though of one thing, well, one person in particular that her visions had not showed him. Cynthia. His heart sunk as he went through the memories. Their time together as best friends in middle and high school, and how they had slowly drifted apart after graduation. Him staying in their home town, working at BurgerFries, and her moving into the city to start college. She would visit him, and seemed to really want to be around him. But he knew that she was too good for him, and would go on to get a good job, and that he would only hold her back. If only things had been different. If only he didn't get stuck, watching his classmates grow and pass him by in life. She was the one person who stuck by his side, but even he could feel her slipping away, year after year.
Micheal swallowed and looked up at the goddess. "So, do I get any powers or abilities? How am I supposed to find this guy? Is there a town or something around here?"
The goddess smiled. He was catching on quickly, just as she had hoped. When choosing a champion, picking someone who had been exposed to the concept of being transported to another world or who was used to breaking the rules in their own world was usually the simplest option.
"Of course" she said. "I would not send my champion unprepared. Behold the power of my divine blessings! You can say-"
"Status." Micheal beat her to it.
[Micheal: lvl 1 Champion of Akadia]
[Vitality: 100/100
[Mana: 100/100
[Strength: 20
[Agility: 20
[Intelligence: 20
[Wisdom: 20
[Charisma: 20
[Blessings of the goddess
[Bounty of Plenty: Instead of leveling up normally, whenever you use an attribute or skill it increases by 1%.
[Harvest Protection: Skills and attributes you gain will not get lost with injury and not decay over time.
[Quest: Defeat the other gods champion
[Equivalent: Subdue 50% of Gothica
[Reward: One wish
[Failure: You will belong to the other gods champion and they will treat you as they see fit
"What the hell" Micheal mumbled. Why did all his abilities seem so… Lame!