As consciousness slipped away from Alex in the alley, he found himself suddenly thrust into a different world. It was the familiar landscape of the I.Zombie game, but it felt more vivid and tangible than ever before. He was in it; he was his character. He looked down to see that he resembled himself in the real world.
'Is this a dream?' Alex pondered, confused. 'I was just eating a gourmet meal and felt a crazy rush. And now I'm here, but where am I? This looks like the starting town of I.Zombie.'
He looked at his surroundings, seeing the post-apocalyptic terrain, the sky a canvas of crimson and orange hues. This was his mind's representation of the game, a surreal merger of his reality and the virtual world.
In this dreamscape, Alex's starting character was armed only with a pickaxe as his main weapon and a shield in his offhand. The tools seemed primitive yet strangely familiar for the challenges ahead. He knew what was coming, what monsters he was about to face. He'd done this a bunch of times in the game, but now it felt real. It felt too real!
'This is so awesome! I'm literally in the game, as the main character. I remember that the starting area was super easy, and each kill honed my weapon and defence skill a bunch until it reached a threshold before level two.'
A mix of emotions was felt, but the strongest one was excitement. Alex was so excited he could pee his pants. He wanted to hack away at the monsters.
He'd dreamed of this world so many times, mostly as a means of escape from his real, boring life. He immediately embarked on his journey with quick steps, his surroundings morphing and shifting, echoing the fluid nature of his dream.
He knew where he was going. He was heading west, going into the nearby forest to hunt the wolves and boars that roamed the area. They were weak and easy to kill.
Alex's first encounter was with a Level 1 boar. As he advanced into the dense forest, the trees swayed gently, casting shifting shadows on the ground.
He spotted the bulky creature with menacing tusks and beady red eyes, glowering in the twilight of the forest. Alex tightened his grip on the pickaxe, its weight and texture surprisingly tangible in this dream-like state.
His other hand rested firmly on the shield, providing a sense of security and readiness.
"This is it, my first real fight in this world. It was so monotonous in the virtual game, but now this feels so real… Let's see what I'm made of!" Alex thought, adrenaline coursing through his veins.
The boar charged with a snort, kicking up leaves and dirt. Alex braced himself, raising his shield. The impact jolted him, pushing him back a bit, but he stood his ground, emboldened by his resilience.
"Okay, I got this!" he muttered, edging forward cautiously. He swung the pickaxe at the boar's flank. The connection wasn't perfect, but it was effective enough, making the boar reel back.
Alex quickly learned to read the boar's movements.
He felt as if he'd fought these boars thousands of times before; he knew the timing of their attacks. But it still felt different. It was hard to compare a digital boar to a real one. He used his shield to absorb the brute force of the charge and found openings to strike with his pickaxe. Each exchange was a lesson – understanding the balance between offence and defence, grasping the rhythm of combat, and adapting to the intensity of the fight.
"THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!!!" Alex felt his adrenaline rise to the maximum. He could hear his heart thumping, his excitement reaching heights he never believed possible.
A sense of accomplishment washed over him as he dealt the final blow to the boar. It wasn't just the triumph over the creature but the realization of his growing skill and adaptability in this new, challenging environment.
He stood over the boar, with one foot on its head. He raised his pickaxe and shield in the air, and screamed with all his heart, "YAAAAAA!"
Exhilarated by his victory, Alex felt a surge of confidence. He was ready to roll now; he could not be stopped.
He wanted to fight more; he craved that sweet, sweet experience. This is what drove him to games in the first place. The feeling of getting stronger, the feeling of levelling up, it was his vice that kept him from drowning in his own sorrow at such a young age.
He decided to move on to the next target, whatever it may be. There should be many Level 1 boars and some Level 2 wolves around him. He was not scared in the slightest; he knew he could easily take a Level 2 wolf in the game.
Turning right, he continued onwards and saw another Level 1 boar. This time, he charged headfirst, startling the boar with the unexpected strike. The strike hit the boar's rear, and the boar made a loud grunting sound. It turned around quickly to face the enemy that dared to attack it unprovoked.
The boar charged forward. Alex blocked the strike. He was getting better. He quickly swung his axe and hit the boar right between its tusks. The axe bore into its hide and broke its skull. The boar slumped in front of Alex, while Alex beamed with excitement.
"I wish this would last forever. I want this feeling to never end. This is all I ever wanted in life!"
Remembering that in the game, he could eat the meat using the skill "cannibalize," he inherently had the skill available, and when Alex thought about using it, his figure automatically crouched down and started munching on the innards of the boar.
Was Alex freaked out? A little, but he could feel the energy coursing through him, making him feel healthier and stronger.
After finishing his 'meal,' Alex continued onwards. This time, he saw a Level 2 wolf. He decided to take advantage of the wolf's ignorance of its surroundings and snuck behind the wolf. With a huge swing, he swung his pickaxe as hard as he could, piercing the wolf's right hind leg.
The wolf was in a world of pain and howled extremely loudly, loud enough to rupture Alex's eardrum. This was unexpected; he did not experience this in the game! Within seconds, two other wolves were surrounding him due to the wolf's howl.
"Oh, shit! In the midst of my excitement, I forgot that wolves can howl and attract nearby wolves of their pack! Shit, shit, I need to run!" As Alex started running, his ear dripping with blood, he ran as fast as he could.
He was shocked to see how fast he could actually run in the game. He was faster than the fastest Olympic runner on earth.
Looking back, he noticed that only the wolf he injured was still on his tail; the other two wolves lost interest. The term "aggro" was used in the game to give the player an idea of how much of a "threat" the enemy deems him to be.
Since the wolf he injured was angry, it was at full threat level, while the other two companions lost interest, deeming it not worth the effort. Seeing that there was only one wolf following him,
Alex decided to risk it.
"Risk it for the biscuit; always try to gain as much as possible, no pain, no gain," he thought.
As you can tell by now, Alex, being only 10 and a half years old, was a simpleton who loved these gaming quotes. He was no longer just playing a game; he was living it, learning with every step and every breath.
Alex did a sudden 180, slashing his pickaxe horizontally like a whirlwind attack, and impaled the wolf's jaw directly. It was a critical hit. Alex then attacked a few more times, ensuring he killed the wolf. Since Alex's ears were bursting with blood, he decided to cannibalize the wolf to regain his lost energy, and as he did, he heard the sweet, sweet sound of "Ding…"
He'd leveled up to Level 2.