The Beginning

Fun Fact: Did you know that a fatal injury is classified as any injury that results in death within 30 days? John had learned this fun fact many years ago, however it did not seem so fun when he was sitting in a hospital bed 29 days after getting stabbed in an alley for $27.

His hospital room was just like any other. Fake, simple decorations like usual. The beeping machine that indicated his heartbeat was going steadily and he slowly tuned it out. The monotonous beeping reminded him of his life, steady and unchanging.

This death seemed fitting to John, a boring death for a boring life. He had thought he would die in an alley at the time he got stabbed, and at least that would be a good story to tell his ancestors when he saw them. But no, some kind person had to walk by and call an ambulance. Now he'll die in a hospital bed, laying down, boringly.

Even his name was boring, John Smith. It's like god was making fun of him.

He had such a boring life it made him want to cry looking back on it. He had never done anything outrageous, never tried hard, never had a girlfriend, never took risks, never did anything. He was in the background. Always on the side of someone else's story. He was like a side character to his own life. His most interesting story was his death, but even that was boring now.

*Sigh*

He closed his eyes, resigned. He drifted off to sleep knowing that when he wakes up, he would no longer be in the land of the living.

…

At certain moments in your life, you can feel something shift within you. Something that has changed forever after it. Maybe for you it was a family members death or extreme pain. Some people have more of these moments than others, but on that fateful day every single living being on earth felt a deep shift within them.

…

He woke up, but didn't open his eyes. He just laid there, not moving. He was scared of what would be there in the afterlife. He finally opened his eyes and… huh? The ceiling looked exactly the same as it was in the hospital room. He had felt himself let go, so why was he still here?

"Where am I?" He wondered if he had gone to heaven or hell, or if they even existed.

[Welcome to The Rapture]

What.

The semi-translucent screen in front of him seemed to tear straight through his mind. This was something from video games, it was something that shouldn't be seen in real life. Yet here it was. He simply could not comprehend it.

[Your world has been brought to The Rapture by high level players. Be sure to thank them!]

As if anyone would thank them for what was about to happen to their world.

[The Rapture was created by the gods to allow lesser beings to command their own fate, and allow the the peoples of all worlds to join together. Every creature in The Rapture has been generously gifted two things: the System and a Trait]

[The system allows you to grow past your previous limits, and possibly enter the realm of the gods one day! While a trait is an ability granted by the gods that is specific to you. This can be something mundane or something amazing, the important part is how you use it]

This is insane. This can't be real.

How could anyone comprehend that something impossible was actually happening?

[You can open your system by saying or thinking "system." Try it now!]

Another panel appeared in front of him

[Tutorial Mission 1: Open your system!

Mission: Open your system

Reward: Beginner pack

Failure: Nothing]

He was too baffled to do anything else.

"System."

[John Smith]

[Class: Skeleton

Level: 1

Exp: 0/20

Health: 100

Mana: 100

Constitution: 10

Vitality: 10

Strength: 10

Agility: 10

Intelligence: 10

Wisdom: 10

Trait: Skeleton

Skeleton gives the skills: Boney, Bone Growth, Spectral Feeling]

[Missions (1 completed)]

[Friends/Groups]

It seemed like a basic status screen, except the trait.

Hmm something seems strange there, but he's not a skeleton? He was confused. He looked down on himself and got even more confused.

He was a skeleton.

But that's not possible, he still felt everything he touched, which means he couldn't be a skeleton. He touched himself to be sure, and realized that he was, in fact, a skeleton.

What.

This was the second time in a matter of minutes that his mind had been tore in two. How could he be a skeleton? This wasn't possible.

But it must have been, because he was a skeleton.

He sat there for a while and looked at himself as he slowly came to terms with it. It took him a surprisingly small amount of time to come to terms with it.

He looked back at his trait and wondered aloud, "What do these skills mean?"

[Skeletal Constitution: You are made of bones]

[Bone Growth: Because your constitution is bones, as you recover your health you will grow back your bones]

[Spectral Feeling: Any other processes that would require something from your old body, is now done through spectral feeling. Thinking, sending, balancing, etc.]

He still couldn't quite wrap his head around this, so he simply noted this.

[Now that you have done that, you are ready to begin your tutorial zone! Your world has been divided into equal parts, and it's difficulty decided in by the amount of people in those parts. Easy mobs will show up during the tutorial so it won't be too dangerous. Level up and beat the dungeon in your area and you will be done with the tutorial and the rapture can truly begin!]

[Good luck to you all, and may the gods have mercy on your souls!]