High Stakes Amnesia

I woke up with a splitting headache and no memory of the last however many hours, or days, god, how long had it been? I didn't remember going to sleep, I didn't even remember getting to my bed last night. My eyes were bleary but I tried to force the scene around me to come into focus. The pain throbbing in my head protested as light slipped into the widening slit between my eyelids. It hurt, it hurt a lot, but because deep down I knew I was in legitimate danger, I pushed them open and took a look around. 

"Who are you!?" the words jumped from my lips before I could pull them back as I stared at a frail figure in tattered clothing who appeared to be as terrified as I was. I reached out and as I did so, they reached toward me. I pulled my hand back and so did they. It took longer than I'd like to admit for realization to click in my mind as I investigated to my left and my right and peered behind myself. I was in some sort of reflective cylinder and I was looking at someone that was supposed to be me. They certainly didn't look like me, for their hair was jet black, the body somewhat tanned, far from the pale specter I had grown ashamedly used to seeing every night before bed. It was clear I was weak, but despite this, I seemed to have a tough sinewy muscular form beneath my skin. I knew I could do some damage, much more than my real form would be capable of if forced into a dangerous situation. 

I touched my face, and my body, it all felt like me, so maybe I was dreaming. I pressed my hand on the reflective surface that shimmered and sparked, threatening to cause some serious damage if I tried to push past it. I pulled back, the electric hum in the air causing the hairs on my arm to stand straight. Not sure how long I would be here, I tried to investigate further. I checked my pockets first, and quickly found a soft elastic band. I pulled it out and it seemed metallic but moved like a rubber band. I stretched it and fiddled with it in my fingers before looking at my wrist quizzically. After a moment of thought, I slipped it over my wrist and it rapidly shrunk to fit me, solidifying and no longer maintaining its elastic nature no matter how hard I tugged. 

"The hell is happening?", I said, my first words out loud in this body, and to my surprise, my voice was exactly the same as it was just yesterday, or whatever day. I pried at the wristband again before it lit up as my thumb graced the top of the band, towards the back of my hand. As the device sprang to life, a HUD appeared in my vision, like those I grew accustomed to in video games. This was wild and I knew I had to play around with it. After all, what else would I do if trapped in this tube?

I raised my hands and engaged with what I was seeing in front of me. I accessed my inventory, character sheet, map, quest tab, diplomatic relations, the list went on, it was really a lot to take in all at once. Starting with the map, I noticed that it was completely blacked out, only revealing where I was, as well as other dots placed throughout the darkness, each one a different shade of a different color. There had to be at least 100, but I wasn't going to take the time to count. I tried to determine how far away they were from me, but I had nothing to base distance on, and figured I would know when I knew. I shifted over to diplomatic relations and it was all question marks, nothing indicating who was who and what my standing was with them. The quest tab was more of the same; there really wasn't much of anything I could use. I made my way to the character sheet and it too had question marks, but it was allowing me to interact with the various sections, so I figured why not fill some info out? 

I was allocated a set number of stat points that I could use as I saw fit. I had 6 stats, each one set to 8 at default and a further 27 points to be assigned. I wasn't sure what the max stat was, or if they could be maxed, but knew if I wanted a balanced approach, I could set each skill to 12 and have some leftovers to boost a couple of my choices. If my previous gaming knowledge applied here, a 12 was okay, but I don't think I would ever be able to accel at anything. On the other hand, I could put all 27 stats in one area, and be subpar in everything, but a master of one skill. I was imagining shattering boulders with a punch, taking a hundred arrows and not flinching, casting brilliant spells, or talking my way out of every scenario. It was tempting, but would I make that gamble without knowing what I was supposed to do? 

I looked over the skills, they were all standard. Strength, Agility, Constitution, Intellect, Wisdom, Charisma, it was all pretty above board as far as that went. 

"Alright, let's do this, 27 points, where should they go?", I think it would be good to survive, I mean of course it would, so 4 points go there, bringing me to. 

"You have 12 Constitution. Allocate remaining stats now." a voice boomed in my mind stunning me for a moment before looking over my stats again. 

"That was… weird, but alright?" I said to myself, going over the points again. I didn't want to be a moron, so let's put another 4 in Intellect. While we're at it, I'd like to have the upper hand in conversation, so another 4 points in Charisma. Down to 15 points, sheesh, this isn't going very far. I decided to throw caution to the wind and dump 12 points into Agility, really embracing that murderous rogue I always loved playing. I knew from experience that Strength and Agility had their own unique playstyles that often didn't mesh too well, so I threw the last 3 into Wisdom, bringing me to 11 Wisdom. It wasn't a lot, but it would keep me out of trouble until I could build it up. And with that, I was done. 

Congratulations player, you have allocated all available stat points. Your stats are as follows. The voice returned to my head, commanding my attention.

Strength: 8

Agility: 20

Constitution: 12

Intellect: 12

Wisdom: 11

Charisma: 12

Congratulations, you have acquired "Adept Acrobat" This title provides an additional 10% movement speed and reduces fall damage by 20%. You are also quicker in combat and will find yourself taking the initiative and striking first. You have also gained the achievement: "Noodle Arms". This will prevent you from carrying the full weight of your inventory. You will become encumbered at 80% inventory. Encumbrance will limit your movement by 50%, take care to manage your inventory, or else be an easy target for those who seek to harm you.

"Oh", I muttered aloud, "Maybe this isn't just like other games. I hope I didn't make a mistake," I continued before being interrupted by the announcer, this time it came from outside of the sphere and not in my mind as it had before. I shuffled through my inventory as it spoke. 

Welcome, participants, to the ultimate test of human potential. You have been selected for a groundbreaking social experiment. You now find yourselves in a virtual world where your physical forms are unresponsive but your minds are fully engaged. Please select your classes as I explain the game to all of you.

Class? Well, I know what I typically build up to, but I don't see any indicators to select a class. I figured maybe it was a verbal command, so I spoke up, "Rogue", and nothing happened. I repeated myself, "Rogue!!", but still nothing happened and I wondered what I was doing wrong. I was starting to get pissed and reflexively smashed my fist against the wall, resulting in a zap that sent me back with force into the wall behind me, thus activating another zap with sent me forward with force into the ground. My head was ringing and I could only hear a few words before the ringing in my ears became too loud to concentrate.

[Here are the key details you need to survive and succeed:]

[Error]

[Please refrain from disturbing the introduction. Combat will be enabled when the announcement is complete]

[You have been stunned, no damage taken.]

And then I was deaf. At least it felt like I was deaf, as the voice had faded and left me with my own muddled thoughts.

"Oh god, that was such a bullshit response, how did I deserve that? Over-react much?" I couldn't hear my words, but it felt good going through the motions of complaining. The ringing was still going strong and my vision was a bit blurred. I tried to stand back to my feet but my equilibrium was all out of wack. I didn't know what to do, so I just sat there as my vision was restored, and the muffled voice of the announcer--still unintelligible--, droned on.

"Rogue?" I questioned, barely audible to myself. 

"Rogue!" It became a little clearer. 

"Okay, at least give me some daggers." I requested, not expecting a response after my previous attempts. Surprisingly a set of common daggers appeared in my inventory and I quickly equipped them to my character, to myself?

"Thank god, at least it's something," and that was it, I could hear again. My voice was relatively clear and followed by a final statement from the announcer.

[Good luck, participants. Your journey begins now.]