The wheels of the beat-up Honda Civic screeched as they tore down the winding hills of Mission Viejo, California. My phone buzzed with another delivery request, its screen lighting up in my lap. A neighborhood of sprawling suburban homes with manicured lawns and expensive SUVs passed by in a blur.
"C'mon, c'mon," I muttered, squinting at the GPS. I didn't have time to waste. Rent was due in two days, and I needed to scrape together $600 to avoid eviction. My parents would probably let me move back home, but that wasn't an option I wanted to entertain-not with the lecture I knew would come with it.At 20 years old, I hadn't exactly been a model of stability. I hadn't held down a job for more than a few months at a time, not because I couldn't do the work, but because I didn't want to. Every job I tried felt boring, unchallenging, and ultimately not worth sacrificing my evenings of gaming and anime marathons.Gaming was my true passion, the one thing that made sense in my life. Ever since middle school, I'd been glued to my console or PC, grinding levels in RPGs, strategizing with my best friends Mike and Matt, and escaping into fantastical worlds where I wasn't just another aimless young adult.The three of us had been inseparable growing up in southern California. We shared the same interests-anime, video games, and comics-and spent countless nights arguing over our favorite anime or teaming up in whatever co-op game had captured our attention.But lately, things had changed. Mike and Matt were both in college now, juggling classes, part-time jobs, and girlfriends. Girlfriends. I snorted at the thought. They never let me hear the end of it, teasing me about my perpetual singleness. I laughed it off, joking, "No one could handle me, anyway," but deep down, it stung.The truth was, I was awkward. Painfully so. Outside of Mike and Matt, I didn't really have anyone else. Conversations with strangers made my palms sweat, and I couldn't flirt to save my life. Girls were just... complicated.When my friends started pulling away, spending less time online, it left a hollow feeling I didn't like to think about. I tried college for a semester, mostly to appease my parents, but I hated it. Sitting through lectures and writing papers felt pointless when all I wanted was to relax, game, and maybe build the ultimate PC rig.That was my real goal: to save up enough money to buy the best parts on the market. I already had my eyes on an Nvidia RTX 4070 Super and a Core i9-14900K processor. My parents had even surprised me with a curved 32-inch monitor for my birthday last month, a rare moment of them supporting my gaming dreams instead of nagging me to "grow up." With the new rig, my games would look incredible-ultra-realistic, smooth as butter, like stepping into another world.But for now, I needed cash. Uber Eats was good enough. The flexible hours let me dodge my parents' constant hovering, and the tips weren't bad, especially in neighborhoods like the one I was driving through now. Wealthy families who wouldn't blink at tossing an extra ten or twenty bucks for fast service.My phone buzzed again, snapping me out of my thoughts. I glanced down to check the GPS, grumbling at how far away the next house was.I leaned over, trying to catch the name of the next street on the GPS, but the phone slid off my lap and disappeared beneath my feet."Damn it!" I muttered, reaching down with one hand to grab it.As I straightened back up, the headlights illuminated a scruffy dog darting across the road."Shit!"Instinctively, I jerked the wheel. The car skidded, tires screeching against the asphalt, and slammed into a light pole. Everything slowed to a crawl.The force of the impact launched me forward.I should've worn my seatbelt, the thought came too late as I hurtled through the windshield, shards of glass sparkling like deadly confetti in the glow of the streetlights. The world spun, the ground rushing up to meet me. I hit the pavement twenty feet from the wreck, my body crumpling like a rag doll. Pain radiated through me in waves, hot and searing, then cold and numbing. I tried to breathe, but my chest felt like it was full of broken glass."Am I... am I dying?"My vision blurred, the streetlights above me fading into a dull haze."No, no, please. I haven't even done anything with my life. I'll stop gaming, I'll go back to college. I'll make something of myself. Just... give me another chance."The darkness swallowed me whole....I opened my eyes to blinding white light. It wasn't the warm glow of the afterlife I'd always imagined, nor the fiery pits of hell I'd half-joked about with friends. This was something else entirely.The ground beneath me didn't feel like ground at all-it was soft yet firm, with no texture, no temperature. I stood up slowly, my body moving as though nothing had happened. I glanced down at myself. My torn clothes were gone, replaced by a simple white tunic and tan trousers, like you would see a new character build in a fantasy RPG."What the hell..."The endless void stretched out in every direction. There were no walls, no horizon-just infinite whiteness."Over here, buddy!"The voice startled me. I spun around to see a man standing casually a few feet away, wearing board shorts, flip-flops, and a loud Hawaiian shirt. A pineapple-shaped drink was clutched in one hand, complete with a tiny umbrella. He looked to be in his mid 20's with dirty blonde hair and a goatee. He had a perpetual smirk on his face, and eyes that glowed faintly with a mischievous light."Welcome to the in-between!" he announced, lifting his drink in a toast.I blinked again. "I'm sorry... what?""The in-between," he repeated, as if that explained everything. "The cosmic waiting room. Limbo. Purgatory. Whatever floats your boat. And I'm Jeff, your friendly neighborhood guide for the game!"Am I dead? Wait what game!?"Jeff took a long sip, ice cubes clinking, ignoring the last question he said "Technically, your body back on Earth is looking real rough right now. But! The universe has this fun little program called 'The System,' and lucky you, you've been drafted!""Drafted for what? What system?" I asked, getting more frustrated."To play the game, of course!" Jeff gestured broadly to the endless void. "You've been selected for a once-in-an-afterlife opportunity to join a brand-new world, complete with monsters, magic, and-" He leaned closer, grinning. "- did I mention magic." Waving his hand about the void Jeff said "The System. It's the biggest, most elaborate game in existence, cooked up by the Cosmic Gods themselves. They needed something to pass the time, and mortals like you?" He gestured vaguely at me. "You're the pieces on their board.""Wait," I interrupted. "You're saying this whole... thing is just a game?""Oh, it's real enough," Jeff replied with a shrug. "But yeah, it's a game. For them, at least. They call it the System. It's been running for, what now... three and half million years? We're on Iteration 3,271. Each one lasts about a thousand years, give or take, before the gods get bored and flip the table.""Flip the table?""Reset," Jeff clarified. "New rules, new theme, new world. Keeps it fresh. Right now, the theme is the Crimson Epoch. Blood, betrayal, revenge-real edgy stuff. Gods are in a mood lately. You should've seen Iteration 2,152... everyone was birds. The whole time. Not practical, but entertaining as hell."I blinked, trying to process that. "So... what exactly is the System?""Ah, now you're asking the right questions," Jeff said, grinning. He leaned forward, "The System is a framework. A stage for mortals like you to live, fight, and die on. Everything-and I mean everything-is part of it. You've got the Mortal Plane, where all the action happens. Big world, full of mountains, oceans, creepy forests, and ruins from some past iterations. The gods... they like to recycle."He pointed upward. "Then there's the Veil. Think of it as a one-way mirror. You can't see the gods, but they can see you. They'll poke through every now and then-dreams, omens, maybe send an avatar if they're feeling spicy. Keeps things interesting.""Are you one of these gods hanging out in the veil, watching me play?"Jeff snorted. "Oh I am, but a minor god of no importance though. I'm more like the janitor who knows all the good gossip. Only the Cosmic Gods play, we minor ones are more like the support crew, assistance, IT and what not...Anyway, back to the System. It's built on a few key mechanics. Conflict, for starters. Mortals group up-kingdoms, cults, whatever suits the theme. Sometimes the conflicts are tied to a god's personality or randomly generated by the System. Right now, we've got warlords, schemers, zealots, your standard biggots... oh, and a knitting cult. Don't ask.""Knitting cult?""Yeah, I said don't ask!... Hopefully you don't run into them." Jeff said shuddering, waving me off. "Then you've got quests. The System spits these out to keep you busy. Some are straightforward-slay the dragon, save the princess. Others? Moral dilemmas. Sacrifice your best friend to save the village? Real gut-punchers. The gods eat that stuff up."He tapped the table for emphasis. "And then there's divine favor. Do something a god likes, and you get a blessing. Maybe your crops grow faster. Maybe you get a sword that can cut through anything. But screw up, and... well, let's just say curses can be creative. The gods have set limitations on each other too so that one god cant smite another's favorite little hero. The System tries to keep the game balanced. If a god pushes to much influence in the world the System will react to attempt to offset the influence.""Also to clarify, the universe is infinite and that means there is an infinite amount of gods, Cosmic and minor. This is not the only game the System has running." Jeff waved his hand and suddenly we are at one of the comic book stores my friends and I would go to to play in a Magic the Gathering Tournament. Complete with the tables and chairs laid out to accommodate the couple dozen players. "Picture it this way, imagine your at a comic book store,""Easy enough" I muttered as I looked about the roomJeff continued ignoring my response "and they have all those tables in the back for tournaments and friendly game nights. You, my scrawny little friend, are a piece on one of those tables, and there aren't just a couple dozen but an infinite amount." Suddenly the room expanded in all directions with the tables and chairs expanding into the infinite void. "The first iteration the System did was a disaster, too many hands in the pot by the end of it, if you know what I mean. A handful of gods created the System to help pass the time but as you know how it goes, one god noticed and wanted to play, the others said yes, and then the newcomer told his friends and so on and so on. You think playing a game od D&D with seven people is frustrating, imagine doing that with dozens of cosmic gods. There was bickering, yelling, crying, and even a few fights. It took millennium for the gods to cool down."My head began to swim with the implications of everything Jeff was saying. Gods, D&D, magic...Was this really happening? Or am I bleeding out on the curb right now as my mind makes up this weird scenario as I die? Jeff snapped his fingers in front of me, noticing that I had begun to space out from the overload of information."Sorry kid, sometimes I get a little carried away. Its best not to think about it all and just focus on that you get a second chance at life...I mentioned you get to use magic and all that cool stuff right?I nodded dumbly."Great" he said, slapping me on the back. "That's the spirit! On to the good stuff now. Remember this, the System doesn't hand out participation trophies. You'll have to fight tooth and nail to survive."A giant glowing wheel suddenly appeared out of nowhere, spinning lazily. It was divided into dozens of sections, each labeled with words that ranged from Enhanced Reflexes to Poison Resistance to... Reduced Bowel Movements?"What's this?" I asked."Your boon," Jeff explained. "Everyone gets one. Spin the wheel and see what cosmic lottery prize you've won!"I reached out, my fingers brushing against the wheel's surface. It felt warm and alive, humming faintly with energy. Taking a deep breath, I gave it a hard spin. The wheel whirled to life, the colors blending into a kaleidoscopic blur.My heart pounded as the wheel began to slow, the arrow ticking loudly as it passed each slice. I leaned forward, silently praying for something good.The arrow on the wheel clicked past Fire Resistance, and Increased Mana Reserve, finally slowing to a stop on Cursed Luck.I blinked, leaning forward to read the text. The words pulsed ominously on the glowing slice of the wheel. "Cursed Luck? That doesn't sound... good."Jeff burst out laughing, slapping his thigh. "Oh, it's not! In fact, it's probably one of the most infamous boons on the list. You've really hit the jackpot, kid."My heart sank. "Wait, what does it do?"Jeff wiped a tear from his eye, still chuckling. "Alright, alright, let me break it down for you. Cursed Luck means that bad things are going to happen to you. Constantly. Your sword might break in the middle of a fight, a roof might collapse when you're hiding under it, or, I don't know, a dragon might randomly fly overhead and decide you look like lunch.""WHAT?" I shouted, panic rising."BUT!" Jeff held up a finger, his grin widening. "Here's the twist. Every time your cursed luck screws you over, it creates an equal or greater opportunity for you to come out on top-if you're clever enough to take advantage of it. The system will always give you a chance to succeed. The bigger the cursed luck the higher the reward."My jaw dropped. "That sounds... ridiculous."Jeff shrugged, still smirking. "Oh, it is. Unfortunately, most people who get this boon don't last very long. But the ones that do get OP by mid game. It's hard to see the silver lining when you're running from a pack of angry ogres or your campfire explodes because a goblin decided to hide dynamite in the woodpile.""Wait, what!" I exclaimed, my heart pounding from the stress."Yeah," Jeff admitted, his tone turning slightly apologetic. "But hey, on the bright side, you'll go out with a bang. And I mean that literally. People who have this boon tend to have some of the most memorable exits. Like I said though, you do usually get some pretty nice loot. Makes for great entertainment for the higher-ups."My hands clenched into fists as my chest burns from the stress of it all. "Does this go on basically until I die? Am I just being tortured for these Cosmic assholes entertainment? What's the point in participating then"Jeff chuckled darkly. "I was getting to that kid. Short and sweet of it is if you survive long enough, you will eventually get to the point where you can ascend and become a god. A minor minor one, but a god none the less. Doesn't happen often but it can." As he said it his voice lost much of its bravado, then suddenly his eyes glistened again and the mischievous smile returned.I swallowed hard, my mouth dry. "This is insane. I didn't ask for this.""No one does," Jeff said simply, stepping back. "But hey, you wanted another chance, right? Now you've got one. Make it count."Jeff raised his drink in a mock toast, taking a big sip. Before I could respond, a glowing blue screen materialized in front of me.SYSTEM INITIALIZATIONName: Obie WilliamsStatus: Healthy
Class: Undefined
Level: 1
Boon: Cursed Luck
Stats:Strength: 4
Dexterity: 8
Constitution: 5
Charisma: 3
Intelligence: 7
Wisdom: 6
Mana: 20Health: 50Skills:Dash
Focus
Spells:Minor HealTorch"What the hell is this?" I asked, my fingers twitching as I instinctively reached out to touch the glowing text."Glad you asked," Jeff said, stepping closer with a smirk. "That's your character sheet. It tells you everything you need to know about, well, you. Stats, skills, spells-the whole shebang."He took on a mock-stern expression, raising one hand as though swearing an oath. "As your guide, it is my solemn duty to ensure all candidates receive a basic understanding of the world they're about to dive into." Then, like flipping a switch, his arm slouched over my shoulder, and he waved his drink around lazily. "Alright, listen up, kid.""Kelst, the world you're headed to, is a melting pot of creatures and cultures. You've got your standard Humans, mystical Elves, hearty Dwarves, fierce Beastians, and Demon-Folk, who... let's just say aren't as scary as the name implies. Mostly. And there is a sprinkling of other races thrown about. Then there's you: a Visitor. That's what they call folks like you who pop in from other worlds."Jeff's grin turned mischievous. "Now, the locals? They have mixed feelings about Visitors. Some think your divine messengers sent to save their world. Others think you're walking, talking blasphemy. Either way, you'll figure it out soon enough."I gave him a skeptical look. "Great. Anything else I should know before I'm thrown to the wolves?""Oh, tons," Jeff said, his grin widening. "Let's start with skills. They're your bread-and-butter survival tools in Kelst. Think of them as actions or buffs you can activate by focusing on them in your mind. When you use a skill, it's like your body knows exactly what to do-like muscle memory on steroids. For example, if you had a skill called Power Strike, your body would automatically execute a perfect, bone-crushing attack without you having to think about the mechanics."I tilted my head. "So it's like the game does the hard part for me?""Exactly. But here's the catch," Jeff continued. "Skills have cooldowns. Use one, and you'll need to wait a bit before you can use it again. The more powerful the skill, the longer the cooldown. Some skills also have side effects. Buffs might drain your stamina, physical skills could cause temporary strain, and some magical skills might eat up more mana than you'd like. Oh, and if you push yourself too hard, you'll risk burning out.""How do I know what skills I even have?" I asked.Jeff gestured to the glowing HUD interface. "Your HUD's got a handy skill description panel. Just focus on a skill's name in your mind, and you'll pull up its details-cooldowns, effects, and even tips on how to use it effectively. But here's the kicker: just because a skill sounds good doesn't mean it's the best choice in every situation. Experiment and adapt."Jeff snapped my fingers, and a worn leather satchel appeared in my other hand. He tossed it to I, who fumbled with the weight. "That's your inventory bag. Magical, of course, because regular packs are for chumps!"I inspected the bag, which seemed deceptively small. "This is it? It doesn't look like it could hold much."Jeff chuckled. "Ah, appearances can be deceiving, my friend. This baby can store anything that fits within a 5x5-foot square-so long as it's not alive, that is. To put something in, just drop it in the bag. To pull something out, you'll need to focus on the item in your mind or use your HUD to select it. Once you do, reach into the bag, and voilà, it'll be in your hand."I blinked. "That sounds... really convenient.""It is. But-and this is a big but-your inventory bag can be stolen. So don't go parading it around like a shiny new toy. If someone realizes you have one, you're painting a giant target on your back. Kelstians might act like they've seen it all, but an inventory bag is always tempting to thieves and bandits.""Now, onto leveling up and classes," Jeff continued. "Every time you gain a level, you'll earn three attribute points. You can assign those points to any stat you want-Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom, Constitution, or Charisma. It's up to you how you build your character, but-and I can't stress this enough-you should think about your play style before just throwing points around like candy."I crossed my arms. "What do you mean by play style?""Well," Jeff said, ticking off on my fingers, "if you want to be a brawler who punches problems into submission, you'll need Strength for damage and Constitution for durability. If you're aiming to be a mage, you'll want Intelligence to boost your mana reserves and Wisdom to power up your spells. If you're looking for something more finesse-based, like an archer or rogue, focus on Dexterity for speed and accuracy.""And when do I get a class?" I asked.Jeff's grin widened. "You can choose a class when you hit level five. Each class comes with unique abilities, stat bonuses, and, in some cases, specific requirements. I won't spoil the surprise, but just know that your early stat choices will determine what's available to you. Plan accordingly.""Ah, magic," Jeff said wistfully, my tone turning theatrical. "The true art of bending reality to your will... or blowing yourself up because you didn't read the fine print." He pointed to the glowing blue bar on I's HUD. "That's your mana bar. It's your lifeline when it comes to spells. Casting magic costs mana, so if you run out, you're just a squishy target waiting to get squished.""How do I get more mana?" I asked."Pump points into Intelligence," Jeff replied. "It'll expand your mana reserves, but-and tmy is important-it won't make you smarter. Intelligence is purely a resource stat. If you want your spells to hit harder or have more potent effects, you'll need Wisdom. That stat determines your magical punch."Jeff waved my hand, and two glowing books appeared in midair, spinning slowly. "Now, let's talk grimoires. These bad boys are the key to learning new spells. When you find one, you don't need to sit and read it cover to cover. You just... absorb its knowledge. Think of it as downloading a file directly into your brain. But-and here's the fun part-if your Wisdom isn't high enough, you won't be able to unlock the grimoire's secrets." I reached for one of the glowing books. "What happens to a grimoire after you absorb it?" "It turns into a blank book," Jeff said, snapping my fingers as the glowing books vanished. "But here's where it gets interesting: if you've got a good memory, you can rewrite the spell into the book and sell it to a merchant. Just be careful, because the black market's full of scammers who rewrite grimoires incorrectly on purpose. A faulty spell could fry your mana pool, your hands, or worse." Jeff gave I a playful slap on the back. "That's the gist, kid. Skills, stats, spells, and a magical bag to haul all your loot. Sounds easy enough, right?"I frowned, my mind racing to process everything. "Easy? This is insane. "Jeff grinned, his eyes glinting with mischief. "Welcome to Kelst, my friend. It's sink or swim, and you'd better learn to dog-paddle fast." With a slap on my back the void shattered below me. I was sanding high above the atmosphere of a planet. At first I thought it was earth, but the continents were shaped differently. Then suddenly I bean to fall...fast. Jeff shouted as I began to plummet toward the ground said "Good luck Obie! I'll be rooting for you...Don't worry the fall wont kill you."