Luke returned home after getting an earful from some agents in suits who had set up a blockade at the portal once they discovered a little girl had entered it by accident.
They told him he'd been reckless to enter the portal, but still praised the heroic attitude, and also warned to be more careful next time, then let him go home.
After dodging a wave of reporters and cameras, he made it home safe and sound. He felt a little sad for missing the chance to be on TV, though if he had been caught on camera, it was more likely he would've just been made fun on the internet because of his appearance.
His mother waited for him on the door. Perceptive as always, she noticed the dirt smudged on his cheeks, the wrinkles in his clothes, and the partially torn bag.
"Luuuukeeee, did you get into a fight today?"
"M-Mom?! Of course not!"
"Don't raise your voice at me, kid!" The fork stirring the hot pasta was suddenly pointed at the boy, now threatened by the sharp tips brushing against his throat. "Look at you, all messed up and scruffy! Do I look blind to you? Come on, tell me what happened!"
Luke rolled his eyes and surrendered to the authority of the lady of the house. They sat down on the couch while the food finished cooking, and the boy told her everything from beginning to end about how he ended up like that.
His mother didn't change her expression. Her brown eyes behind her glasses read his face just like they always had, trying to guess the truths and lies behind the speech.
When he finished, the woman only let out a long sigh, standing up to check the food before it burned.
"I already told you never to go into those things. Since you meant well, I'll let it slide, but don't ever do it again, got it? You could've died in there. Portals portals are not a playground, Luke.
"O-Okay, mom…" The son, in turn, lowered his head in shame.
He tried to remember a time his mother had warned him about those portals, but couldn't recall any for a very clear reason: she never had.
Bothered, Lucas went to his room to get cleaned up before dinner. He dropped his bag in the corner. Another one would be buyed tomorrow because of a hole opened by an arrow.
As he tried to make sense of this crazy day, a black card fell out of his pocket. It was the same one the witch-dressed woman had given him.
We're hiring helpers for item creation and Raiders!
"Items? Raiders? Did I accidentally walk into a video game or something? Though, now that I think about it, that message popped up in front of me about defeating a boss… this is so weird… Time to google it!"
He sat down in front of the computer and opened the browser, which, since it was Google, made him click several times and open a ton of identical tabs.
Anyway, he searched about portals.
Portals are wormholes that connect two different worlds.
They stay open until the boss of that world is killed, at which point a countdown begins until the dimensional rift closes.
He was satisfied with the answer. It explained why he ended up in a jungle. The place looked alien and left many questions unanswered
'So I went through a portal when I selected that option in the game…? No, that can't be it. I felt something weird when I entered the portal, but I didn't feel anything when I was transported.'
That immediately sparked a fear in the back of his mind: what happened to the copy of the game? He yanked open his drawers and emptied everything out, searching for Chronicles of the King, but couldn't find it anywhere.
"MOM!"
"WHAT IS IT, SON?"
"HAVE YOU SEEN ONE OF MY GAMES AROUND?"
"HAVEN'T SEEN IT, I ALWAYS LEAVE THE ONES YOU LOSE ON YOUR DESK!"
It wasn't on the desk. The game disappeared, and when I searched in the browser, the search gave an error.
The game never existed.
When he looked up the company, had the same result — no information whatsoever.
Luke scratched his head, trying to process how the hell things had ended up like this. Since he couldn't come up with an answer, he decided to research the other highlighted topics.
Raiders are people who belong to a guild, association, or public position, and their job is to enter portals to defeat Floor Bosses and extract materials found in the portal dimensions.
Most use special equipment manufactured by companies or groups and make use of supernatural abilities, like creating fire or super strength.
He jotted that down on a piece of paper, closed the tab, and typed "Scarlet Witch Bazaar" into the browser.
The first result led to a link that redirected to a website. The homepage displayed a variety of items for sale.
Among them were potions, swords, axes, weird pistols, and a handful of strange objects that Luke didn't recognize.
"Why do most of these things look like they came out of an RPG…?"
He spotted something familiar among the items. It was a rusted red armor set with a conical helmet.
"This armor… how weird. I feel like I'm in a game shop.
He clicked on the photo of the armor and scrolled through the comments. Most people said it was way too expensive for something so rusted.
He wondered if should buy it… No, he changed his mind. Even if the piece looked beautiful after restoration, it would still be way too expensive.
He couldn't afford to spend money on just anything, especially after getting dragged into this bizarre world.
Luke spent some more time investigating the site and reached the following conclusion: Scarlet Witch Bazaar was a company focused on selling items to Raiders, and with great sucess among common folks.
What did that mean? That he had a first-class job at his fingertips, or so he imagined, thinking maybe that raider just give him a clever marketing pitch to get him to invest a small fortune in their products.
He stepped away from the computer, a bit unsatisfied, and laid down on the bed staring at the ceiling.
His back and feet ached; he couldn't remember the last time he'd exercised. Soon, the soreness spread all over his body.
Even so, it was a nice feeling, something like coming out victorious from a fight, even if reality could easily crush your dreams. He sighed, his eyes drifting shut, until something jolted him upright.
Your intellect has increased.
Luke looked at the floating screen and didn't react. He tried to touch it, but his hand went straight through. Moments later, the screen disappeared.
"What…?"
He recalled the exact phrase: "Your intellect has increased." He got up, returned to the computer, and reread the same things. Nothing happened.
Since it wasn't going to show up like that, he went back to researching the same topics. An hour later, a new screen appeared.
Your intellect has increased.
Status screen unlocked. Say 'status.'
Luke's eyes widened at the message. This had to be a hallucination—maybe one of those goblin arrows was poisoned and the effect kicked right now.
"Status."
Class: ?????
Level: 0
You are probably the weakest and most out-of-shape human in existence. However, we can say you're a little smart.
"What the hell is this?! Are you kidding me? The weakest human?! I just got transported, no way I don't have a cheat or something!"
The administrator refuses to answer that question.
"Call him up now so we can talk. Just a straight convo."
The administrator continues to refuse.
"Oh, you little…!"
"LUKE, SHUT UP, BOY! I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!!!"
That voice make he shrank down, feeling like a needle had pierced one ear and come out the other. Yeah, he really was being way too loud and throwing a fit.
The system exists to define your current conditions. Stat increases will be notified when the player makes notable progress.
The higher the amount, the harder it will be to raise it again. For the sake of simplicity, the system has adapted to the user's consciousness to display interpretive values, knowing your lack of skill with numbers.
"Less awful…", he muttered, still deeply offended by the system. "So if I say an attribute, it explains it? I dunno, uhh… strength!"
Attribute Triggered: Strength
Your muscles are hidden beneath layers of fat. You can only bench press the wind because the bar is way too heavy.
— Come on, how long are you gonna keep roasting me? I know I'm fat, but no need to rub it in. Fine, show me my intellect.
Attribute Triggered: Intellect
You've started to adapt to the world, but you're still as clueless as a child. Watch out for the ice cream truck.
No matter how hard he tried, this system would always find a way to make fun of him. A sigh escaped his lips, absolute defeat.
Luke knew he wasn't the best. In fact, when it came to monsters, his chances of winning were zero. He'd only managed to kill one goblin and almost died fighting the rest.
He sighed again. The day had been full of adventure, enough to make his head spin. Only a good night's sleep could bring him peace.
"Tomorrow I'll have to get up again and work until late… Damn, and I didn't even get to play a single minute today…"
That regret came from too many late-night gaming sessions, which left him out of shape and incredibly weak.
The dark circles under his glasses were deep, only somewhat hidden by the thick lenses that refused to let anything through.
This system didn't do much except display progress. Compared to that red-haired woman's ability to conjure fire, it felt like a whole lot of nothing.
The Administrator has detected your sadness and offers a solution.
Would you like to accept a quest?
— A quest? It's not gonna kill me, right? If so, forget it, I'm out.
Basic Mission: Daily Training.
Increase your attributes through basic workouts and improve your physical performance.
Requirements:
0/40 push-ups;
0/40 sit-ups;
0/40 squats;
0/60 jumping jacks;
0/60 lunges;
0:00/3:00 plank;
0.0/5.0 km walk;
0.0/2.0 km run.
Luke felt pain, more pain than he ever thought possible. He didn't want to exercise under the hot sun, nearly dying from exhaustion.
— I'm not doing this…
A reward will be granted each time the mission is completed.
— I'm definitely doing this… tomorrow!
So, Luke pulled the sheet over himself and set an alarm for 6 a.m. Knowing full well he wouldn't get up at that time, he changed it to 5.
If the reward was something actually useful, like an immediate attribute boost or maybe a cool item, he could tolerate the idiotic system.
Still, he was excited for the next day, so much so that he laid out his clothes on the table and set his sneakers aside, ready to get dressed and head out the door.
The Administrator sees great potential in you. He is satisfied with your decision.
Somehow, this thing had some form of consciousness. Meaning, there was probably someone on the other end giving out missions and pulling the strings.
Luke expected this person to be decent. Otherwise, he would be screwed.
Just imagining the kind of things he might go through depending on this so-called administrator sent a chill down his spine.
He'd never taken any real action in life. Everything was about working and playing games. No ambitions, no interesting future, not even a reason to get a girlfriend.
If there had been any real reason, maybe he would've tried. But knowing his efforts would now be rewarded instantly gave him a taste of something new.
System updating . . .
Settings adjusted. Fixing bugs and errors. Initializing transmission.
Luke's first day of hellish training was about to begin