It was hot, too hot for him to think. The sun was blistering; shining far too brightly for him to see. The white cap barely blocked the bright yellow light in his vision. The sand on the mound sat still in the windless stadium.
A single shadow blotted out the sun in his vision. Dressed head to toe in white and green, a tan catcher's mitt on his left hand. The ball slapped into the mitt rhythmically for a few moments as the pitcher began his ritual. Then silence fell all of a sudden. The pitcher wound back and then released like a coiled spring. The ball came flying towards him.
This hit would be the most important of his career. He knew there were scouts in this stadium. This was his ticket. Out of college. Into the MLB.
With a single swing of the bat, a single dink, this could be the beginning of a real career; the birth of a star. A fastball, something that had been prepared for, a simple strong swing and every drop of sweat would have been worth it.
Swish
There was no follow-up noise. No pinging off the bat. No thumping into a catcher's mitt. No cheers or gasps from the crowd. No bated breath from the rest of the team being exhaled.
Just silence.
As his grip loosed and the bat slowly slipped from his gloved hands, with a deep squeak as the nylon released the metal, the sand in the air kicked up in a slight breeze. The light of the sun made it impossible to see more than a foot in front of him. The bat hit the sand dune below with a crunch.
Then came the ping.
Suddenly he could see again, but it was all blue
Then came the text and the voice
Registering Player....
... Registered: Zachary (Zach) Montgomery
Calculating Initial Stats....
....
~~~~~~
....
Name: Zach Montgomery
Level: 1
Class: Unassigned
The wall of text and voice reading it was overwhelming – even to the point of all of the stats that appeared before his health just looking like a bunch of squiggles. The dry heat of the desert that had formed around him was confusing. Heavy breaths came tumbling out of his mouth; chest rising and falling with a harsh rhythm. His throat became sore and scratched with each passing breath. The only liquid present was the quickly evaporating sweat, trickling down a shining nose never to land on the scorching sand.
Welcome to The System
...
You have a new quest
...
Tutorial Quest
Kill a mummy (0/1)
Rewards: 1 Skill Point
This is a mandatory quest
...
Accepting
...
Spawning enemy
...
With that the text box and its narrator silenced, one final schoom, as it closed. But its last message was no mere threat; no, it was a warning: the sand not too far from where Zach knelt began to shift and churn. Bones crept forth from the ground, loose flesh clinging to the skeletal fingers with tattered bandages strewn across them. The arm slammed down, pushing the head and body out of the rippling sand waves. With a growl the jaw snapped into place; it hung slack from where a mouth should be. Mustard eyes stared at the exhausted man; an animalistic hunger washed over the shambling creature as it stumbled out of the ground.
Zach's chest came back into rhythm. His pounding heart settled down as he composed himself. With a sigh, he finally spoke. "I don't know if I missed that swing and I'm so delusional that I'm in some skyrim dream. But might as well play along until I wake up."
He clutched the bat next to him, using it to pull his body out of the grains. The wood of the bat held the weight as he stretched up to the horizon. The shambling figure began to charge at the now standing prey. There was a loud scrunch as gloves wrapped tightly round the grip of the bat.
CRACK
The sound rang out as Zach smashed the bat into the bandaged ghoul's jaw. Momentum carried the body of the creature forward, and the already slack jaw, now dethatched from the body, went soaring into the sky. Then came a thud as the body hit the ground. It flailed and hissed trying to get back up before a shadow engulfed the head.
With a crushing blow, the bat destroyed the head of the mummy; splat.
Skill tree discovered: Beginners Combat
Requirement(s): Defeat an enemy
Skill tree discovered: Beginners Club Combat
Requirement(s): Defeat an enemy with a club-based weapon
Quest Complete
Reward: 1 Skill Point
New Quest: Assign your first skill point
Open your skill tree by thinking "Skill Tree" and choose one to open. Then assign a skill point.
Reward: 1 Skill Point
....
Though he had adapted quite quickly to this situation the stats and text box were still an overwhelming amount of information. Zach was tired already from his game; his mind overworked from the pressure. Stamina was low, the heavy breathing from before returned. The heat from the sun never went away. Dry winds kept sweeping through. Yet he kept going.
With the simple thought of "Skill Tree" a new window opened, upon which was a list:
Beginners Combat (0/5)
Beginners Club Combat (0/5)
He took a moment to ponder. "I got the club thing because I used my bat. But the other one is probably good if I don't have my bat. But why wouldn't I have my bat? Argh. Screw this. Even my studies were easier than this." His finger struck out and hit Beginners Combat.
The screen updated: Beginners Combat (1/5)
You have assigned a skill point to Beginners Combat: You have obtained one Physical Stat Point.
Would you like to assign it now?
Yes | No
"Oh my god, this is a crazy amount of stuff!" Zach yelled in frustration, but it was that outburst that made him realize that he'd accepted the situation far, far too quickly. But immediately justified it to himself again. "If I have gone crazy might as well go along with it." As he clicked yes.
Physical Stat Point gained please assign:
Strength: 8
Vitality: 4
Durability: 5
Agility: 7
Endurance: 8
"Most of these feel like the same thing! God damn, whatever this is it's lowkey annoying. But I guess strength would let me whack the ball further whenever I go home." With that he put one in strength.
Strength increased: 8 -> 9
....
Quest Complete: Assign your first Skill Point
Reward: 1 Skill Point
This ends the tutorial quests
Connecting you to the main hub...
...
The exhaustion that had been building finally hit all at once upon reading the end of the message. Eyelids that were far too heavy to keep open finally slammed shut, and Zach's body once more crumpled into the sand.
Name: Zach Montgomery
Level: 1
Class: Unassigned
Health: 20/20
Stamina: 1/40
Strength: 9
Vitality: 4
Durability: 5
Agility: 7
Endurance: 8
Intelligence: 4
Wisdom: 3
Focus: 7
Will: 9
Spirit: 0
Magic: 0
Luck: 1
Perception: 4
Sight: 8
Mind: 3
Charisma: 5