The Game
Ash woke up in the middle of the night. He had fallen asleep early after a long day at school and his part-time job. The café where he worked was busier than usual because it was the weekend.
He got up, went to the bathroom, and then looked for his mom. At this time of night, she would be asleep. She always got up early every morning to prepare catering for her clients.
Their life was simple after Ash's father died shortly before he was born. His mom worked hard to support him and made sure he got an education. She managed to send him to school until he reached his second year of high school.
He was named Ashborn by his mother because she held his father's ashes when she gave birth to him.
"I knew it, Mom will definitely sleep on the couch again," he murmured. His mother was asleep on the couch, with one arm stretched out to the floor and her mobile phone lying nearby. She often played relaxing games to help herself unwind.
Ash looked at his mother's tired face, then pulled the blanket from her legs and covered her up to her shoulders. He felt a pang of sadness seeing her this way, but also immense gratitude for her sacrifices.
He picked up her cell phone to place it on the table.
Ting.
Suddenly, a notification sound and a pop-up appeared on his mother's cell phone. He glanced at the pop-up message:
[EternalFate player successfully snatched the Mystic Pendant from FoodAddict player]
Food Addict was his mother's catering business name.
'Hmm...' Ash stared at the pop-up for a moment, then unlocked the screen. It seemed his mom had forgotten to close her favorite game.
'The graphics of this game are pretty good,' he thought.
Ash started to explore how the game worked. It was a game about finding objects, but unlike other object-finding games, this one had other players who could take, steal, and even snatch objects from other players. The game allowed players to become stronger or level up based on the objects they found.
He clicked on her mom's inventory.
[Inventory:
* Phoenix Feathers: 6
* Diamonds: 49
* Jade: 12
* Healing Potion: 9
* Willow Branches: 89
* Pinnacle Relic: 1]
'Healing Potion? Why would healing potions be in an object quest game? Is this game also an MMORPG or RPG?' he wondered.
Curious, he clicked on the Quest option from the System Bar.
[Game Quests]
* Search for Magic Gloves in the Castle of Eldwein.
* Search for Wraith Curse in Elmire's Forest.
* Search for the Magic Key in Dragon's Valley.
'Hmm.'
Ash opened the map and quickly found all the places mentioned in the Quest bar.
He directed his mother's avatar towards Dragon's Valley first, curious about how dragons appeared in this game.
He searched for the Magic Key and obtained it with ease.
[You have obtained a Magic Key from Dragon's Valley.]
[35 points added to your stats points.]
[Total points: 345.]
Ash was about to put the Magic Key in his mother's inventory when suddenly a dragon emerged from one of the caves in the valley and attacked him with Dragon Breath.
[You are dead!]
The notification made him furious.
"Arrkgh..." he muttered softly, careful not to wake his mother. She only shifted slightly and remained asleep.
[Your Magic Key is now mixed with Dragon Breath and the Pinaccle Relic.]
[A hidden feature is now activated.]
Ash furrowed his brows in confusion. 'What is this hidden feature?'
[You will be transported into the game.]
[Countdown begins.]
'Huh? What does that mean?' Ash was astonished.
[Three.]
[Two.]
[One.]
Paatttt…
Dazzling light suddenly filled the entire room, making Ash closed his eyes reflexively.
After a while, the light faded. When Ash opened his eyes, he was surprised to find he was no longer sitting on the carpet in front of his sleeping mother.
Instead, he found himself sitting on a cold, stone floor in a castle.
***
Ash stood up and looked around him. The room he found himself in was quite spacious, with medieval decorations adorning the castle walls.
Various weapons such as swords, spears, bows and arrows, maces, and others were scattered haphazardly near the castle walls. The castle had a damp, musty smell.
Not far from where he stood, there were several practice dummies. Some of the dummies were already damaged, as if they had been hit by sharp objects.
He looked up at the ceiling, noticing the high distance between the floor and the ceiling. Large wooden beams stretched from one side of the wall to the other.
He was unsure of where he was or how he had gotten there. The room was eerily silent, and no one else was around.
'Did I just fall asleep?' he wondered. He stood up and wandered inside the room, his footsteps echoing off the stone floor.
Ting.
The notification beep sounded again after he had taken five steps. Ash looked at his hand and realized his mother's cell phone was no longer there.
'Huh? Where did that notification sound come from?' he thought, frowning.
Suddenly, a screen appeared in front of him.
[Player: Ashborn Locke]
[Player Number: #23875]
[Level: #1]
[Stats:
⇒ Strength: 5
⇒ Endurance: 5
⇒ Agility: 5
⇒ Intelligence: 5
⇒ Magic: 5]
[Extra Point: 0]
[Profession:
⇒ Finder: 0
⇒ Hunter: 0
⇒ Robber: 0
⇒ Theft: 0]
[You can choose the Profession according to your preference.]
[Are you going to choose a Profession now?]
[Y/N]
'What is this?' Ash was even more astonished after reading the screen.
Ting.
There was another notification sound from nowhere. Another screen appeared in front of Ash.
[Game: Finding Objects]
[All players must find and obtain the objects on the Quest list.]
[All players must find and obtain objects for their needs according to the selected skills.]
[There are no rules governing how each player obtains their assigned objects, but it is recommended to use all the available skills.]
[There are no rules governing how long it takes each player to get objects.]
[Each player will level up if they have obtained every object in the quest.]
[Each player will level up if they get a Special Object and/or Rare Object, with the number of levels added depending on the type of Special and/or Rare Object obtained.]
[Good Luck!]