Summoned by Mistake

Life sure was unpredictable.

One day you were a normal happy child, the star of your family. On the other, you were a failed son, a crippled forever stuck to a wheelchair. 

Ash sighed, closing his tired eyes, after reading for hours. Books were his only escape. Games were fun only until you met your first cheater.

Then… 

"Welcome, my poor little subjects."

A voice came out of nowhere. Cold, emotionless, dead.

"I am your God... and I am bored."

Ash opened his eyes. He wasn't in his room. 

An endless white void stretched around him. There were people everywhere, floating in the air like puppets. Some were screaming, but most just looked confused.

"Let's play a game." The voice said, loud, making every soul tremble from its force. "Since you mortals love those so much. It'll be fun. Well, for me, at least."

Ash looked around. Was he dreaming? Everyone else looked normal. Young, strong, healthy. He? He was still stuck to his wheelchair. The same cold metal under his fingers. The same dead legs.

"Oh, you are not dreaming. You and your bodies are real. I summoned all of you here to test my little game. Which means…" The voice paused. "If you die, you die." It laughed. 

Cold shivers went down the spines of everyone present, for some reason they all understood that it was real.

"Don't worry too much." It continued. "I'm a kind god. I'll give you a good starting point. It won't be fun if you die to a slime, right?"

"Looks like all of you are still a little confused, so let me explain while you gather your thoughts. The game is simple. Kill your way to godhood." 

"It's like every other game you played. You will start by creating your character. Oh, but there is a twist, your character is your true body. If you are ugly, you will keep being ugly. If you were a weakling, you will start as a weakling. Your life will influence your initial stats."

"But you will each get the same starting points to spend on weapons, skills, or your class. So yes, you're all a bit different, but the system picked people with similar profiles. Most of you are around the same age, same stats, same potential."

"After that? Game begins. Yada, yada, figure it out yourselves. Any questions?"

"What do we gain by playing this game? Or we are just puppets to entertain you?" Someone asked far away in the void.

"You sure are my puppets." The god said with disdain. "But I will grant any wish for the first one that reaches my Divine Realm. Including turning into a real god. All the others that also reach it later will also be granted wishes but no godhood. Sounds fair, right?"

"Can we not play?" Another one yelled.

"Sure. If you wish I can kill you right now."

"You said our characters will be our true bodies and we will have almost the same start. But what about me? It isn't a bit unfair?" Ash asked, his voice calm, taping his cold leg.

"Hm?" For the first time the godly voice seemed confused. "What's this? Why is there a cripple here?"

All eyes landed on Ash. He felt like a Hollywood star but for the wrong reason.

A laugh louder than ever before echoed in the void.

"Oh, I get it now! You have a twin, it got confused. I guess I have to calibrate the system better."

"Can you do something about it?"

"Nah, not worth it. You are just a little bug, you will die on first day probably, good luck"

Ash didn't say anything. He just stared straight into the void. His nails sinking on his legs.

Then another laugh, this time it came not far from him. The pair of blue eyes stared happily at him, Ash knew those eyes too well. It was Aiden. His perfect twin brother. Standing tall, strong, smiling like this was well deserved.

Bastard.

Laughs exploded everywhere after the first one.

"ENOUGH." The goodly voice yelled after letting a minute of ridicule happen. "LET IT START."

Everyone disappeared, just the white endless void stayed.

That was when a screen first appeared in front of him.

[GAME INITIALIZING…]

[ANALYZING PLAYER…]

[Your pathetic stats have been synchronized with your real-world body.]

[Attributes]

STR: 2

AGI: 1

VIT: 5

INT: 10

WIS: 11

DEX: 4

LCK: 1

HP: 54

MP: 140

Willpower: 32

[You have obtained 5000 Skill Points.]

[Initial Store Online. Please spend your points. You have 20 minutes to decide.]

Ash sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. What a headache. That God really didn't give them time to properly think. 

"Fine." He muttered, his voice low. "Do you want to play? I will play and I will show you how a bug can be annoying." He was tired of being casted aside by everyone and gods. 

His fingers moved over the glowing store menu, flipping through options like a man possessed.

"5,000 skill points… That's enough for a Legendary starter skill. But what's the point if I don't have the MP to use it?"

His eyes narrowed.

"Classes are really strong, they all give stat bonuses when leveling up and also give free skills and affinity to certain skills. But none can heal my legs initially."

He tapped his thigh, feeling the dead weight.

"Mage sounds fun. But can you imagine a goblin jumping on my back? The only way for me to defend myself would be to throw a fireball on my back, even hurting myself in the process. What a joke." Ashe talked to himself while analyzing the data. Talking outloud was a habit gained after years of being alone.

"Summoner would be ideal as I can't do shit for myself, but there is also a big problem… The initial beast is as weak as a goblin." What could two newbies do?

"Healer is always needed and I would in the future be able to heal my legs. But he is weak alone and who would accept a cripple in his party? Only if they want a clown."

His finger hovered over a Warrior class.

"A warrior or rogue type class is strong and can do well alone. But one with no legs? Try to dodge on a wheelchair. That would be pretty funny." 

Ash leaned back, the chair creaking under his weight. He stared at the timer ticking down.

15:58… 15:57…

The store menu scrolled endlessly in front of his eyes. Weapons, skills, classes, most were either useless or made for someone who could stand on two feet.

"Hm?" His finger paused over a word. "Mounts? Well, I could use them as legs." He opened the tab. A small flicker of hope lit up behind his tired eyes.

Mount - Common - 3000 SP

Mount - Rare - 5000 SP

"That's robbery. And only the rare one comes with a skill? But it doesn't say anything if it can learn others besides the ones it already have. I really have no chances here?" He shook his head, defeated. "So even here I'm screwed?"

He sighed and kept scrolling.

That's when his screen glitched.

Hidden beneath the others, a new tab appeared.

Mount - Cursed - ??? SP

Description: Power equivalent to the price paid. Evolves with the rider.

Ash blinked. "Cursed?"

He tapped the name, and a warning message pulsed red across the screen.

[Warning: Cursed Mounts require payment in blood]

He stared at it. Then, he laughed. A low, bitter laugh.

"Well, what else can it take from me?"

He didn't hesitate. He clicked Accept.

[You have requested a Cursed Mount]

[Something hears you and wishes to devour your legs as payment]

[Do you accept?]

Ash's breath caught in his throat.

Then he smiled.

"Bon appétit."