Objective cleared.

  Feat accomplished: Daredevil.

  – You alone defied all odds, escaping the collapse in a daring flight.

  Reward: 3 Free stat points.

  So they never made it from the elevators...

  I had no love to spare for the HR rats who left me to fend for myself, but they didn't deserve what they got. They just wanted to save themselves.

  My vision was painted by blue letters even when I looked away from the screen.

  Calculating status...

  Name: Jackson Weller

  Level: 1

  Class: N/A

  Stats:

  Strength: 6

  Agility: 12

  Vitality: 10

  Endurance: 7

  Intelligence: 3

  Wisdom: 6

  Free stat points: 3

  Stamina: 70/70

  Mana: 30/30 (Regen 60/h)

  Skills:

  -

  Profession: N/A

  "Eh?" I blurted out and stared at my low intelligence score. "What the hell is this supposed to mean?"

  Sure, I wasn't the brightest, not when compared to brainiacs like Brad. But a three? Come on. Surely I deserved better than that. I got straight A's in school, for crying out loud.

  At least my hellish cardio sessions had paid off.

  I looked around with bitter confusion and realized that my cubicle had disappeared. No more than a few seconds had passed since my status materialized out of thin air. The change had been quick and soundless. It left me standing alone in the vast nothingness from before. Alone, half-naked, and wet with sweat. I took a sniff and recoiled. I could have really used that shower.

  The block of text reasserted itself in my line of sight.

  "Tsk." I swatted my hand at the screen. It rippled and embedded itself in the top corner of my vision like a web browsing tab. I raised my eyebrows and clicked it again. Lo and behold, my status reappeared.

  "That's handy..." I muttered and clicked on Class.

  The system promptly notified me that it would be unlocked at a later level, though it didn't specify which. I tried the same thing with Profession and was told that I needed to meet certain craft requirements—whatever that meant.

  Only by clicking on the stats did the screen change. I clicked on my highest score, agility, the boon I'd gained from years of martial arts back home. It seemed my worry of growing rusty and unpracticed had been for nothing.

  Allocate free stat point/s to agility, Y/N?

  With a shrug of my shoulders, I pressed Yes.

  Agility +1

  Free stat points: 2

  A jolt of power surged through me, making my skin tingle and my hair stand on end. My joints crackled, and my muscles softened. I clenched my hand into a fist. "Holy crap." I smiled. "I could get used to this!"

  I whirled back to eye the remaining stat points. If this was the impact of one, what would happen if I used them all?

  I swallowed the sudden urge.

  There was no telling what agility actually did for me. Better to hold off and see what might come in handy. I barely had time to resist the urge before the status disappeared.

  Initiating warp.

  The most distant white walls folded inward. The change rippled toward me and flashed past. It made my mind reel as I struggled to comprehend what was happening. My eyes told me I was flying, but my feet remained firmly planted on the ground. My senses didn't lie. I was certain. I wasn't moving. The world was.

  Colors flashed. My mind screamed. Nothing made sense. This wasn't something a human should experience. A terrible headache forced my eyes shut. The world spun, like I'd been trapped on a carousel for hours and was finally allowed to step off.

  When the spinning finally settled, I found myself standing on solid ground. Soft green blades of grass nestled between my toes. Birds chirped and leaves rattled. A forest.

  I turned in place, taking in my surroundings. White birch trees stretched far into the sky. I'd never seen anything like it. Trees weren't supposed to be this tall. Flowers lined the treeline and encased me in a perfect circle.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  The lush clearing was barely large enough to pitch a tent, if anyone had been lucky enough to hold onto one when everything went to hell. I knew I hadn't.

  My mind finally caught up. A rush of bile assaulted my throat. I squatted to the ground and pressed my hands over my mouth.

  I'd just been in the city, a concrete jungle with no vegetation as far as the eye could see—save for the parks. But the system paid no heed to that. It moved me like I was nothing.

  And I'd never felt so small.

  "Hello? Anyone there?" A voice echoed through the tight knit of trees.

  I jumped to my feet. People! The last thing I wanted was to be alone. There were just too many things that needed processing. Another set of ears would go a long way in helping.

  "Over here!" I shouted and ambled my way through the thick vegetation. Twigs and branches scratched at my bare skin. I gritted my teeth and kept pushing.

  "Where are you?!"

  The voice wasn't far, separated from me only by a layer of green bush. "Here! Wait," I said and took two steps back before throwing myself through the bush. Sharp thorns ripped into my pants and skin alike—just my luck. A scent of bitter sap and freshly broken branches washed over me.

  I tumbled through the bush and fell to my knees on the other side. Trickles of blood left red trails on my skin.

  "Are you okay?" she asked and reached a hand down in support.

  I accepted it and let her help me back to my feet before brushing my body free of bush debris. "Yeah, thanks."

  Black lines streaked her face. She'd been crying through her overdone make-up. Her hair was yellow—not blonde—she must have colored it at home. If she hadn't, she deserved a refund. She was older than me by at least ten years.

  Her eyes slithered down to my bare body and made me oddly self aware. I wasn't ashamed of my body, but I wasn't used to feeling so naked, especially not in an unfamiliar place.

  "Ehm," I began and stopped myself from saying 'eyes up here'. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

  Her eyes snapped back to mine, and her cheeks reddened. "None at all. I was on the way home from work when I first saw the system text." She sniffled. "I'd just gotten off the bus."

  I scratched my head. "This isn't making sense."

  She nodded vehemently in agreement.

  "Were you in Chicago too?"

  Again, she nodded.

  If we'd both been whisked away from Chicago, then there could be others. Brad could be close.

  I rummaged through my pocket for my phone, but couldn't find it. I must have dropped it when I ran.

  "Do you have your phone?" I asked.

  "Yes. It's not working. No service," she said and dug through her purse. She found the phone and showed me. It still worked as well as any phone would without internet connection.

  A ding echoed in my head and made me instinctively call up the system window.

  Transport complete.

  Initiating tutorial...

  Greetings, Survivors.

  In the coming days you will be acclimated to your new way of life. This process is designed to improve long-term survival rates.

  Completion is mandatory.

  Casualties are expected.

  Objective acquired: Find a supply package.

  Reward: Basic weapon

  I skimmed the message.

  Mandatory.

  Expected casualties.

  And the reward for the objective was a basic weapon. Not food. Not shelter or answers. A weapon.

  I snorted. "Figures."

  That told me all I needed to know about this so-called tutorial. We would learn to kill, or we would be killed.

  I glanced at the woman beside me. She stared wide-eyed into thin air. She was no doubt seeing the message too.

  Her lips quivered as she read.

  "We better get going," I said, yanking her out of her stupor. She snapped her eyes to mine, tears already welling up. I swallowed. "Yours is saying that we need to find a supply package as well, right? If there are more people around, it's probably best if we get moving before everything is found."

  She nodded and muttered, "This can't be happening... This can't be happening..."

  "Stay close," I said and scanned the treeline. "There's no telling what's out there."

  Again, she agreed. This time the system reacted.

  Party formed.

  Leader: Jackson Weller

  Level: 1

  Member: Aubrey McAvoy

  Level: 1

  "Aubrey, huh?" I smiled at her. "That's a nice name. Same as a friend of mine, actually." From the village. She used to beat the snot out of me.

  Aubrey brushed a strand of hair from her face and looked away. "And you're Jackson?"

  "I am. But call me Jax. My mom's the only one who calls me Jackson, and only when she's pissed."

  She chuckled at that, and I felt a little bit of pride well up that I managed to calm her. We couldn't face the unknown if we were jumpy.

  She fell in line behind me as we walked through the forest. I stayed away from prickly bushes and thick flora. I'd had enough of cuts, and destroying my pants would leave me in my boxers. I didn't like the thought of that one bit.

  "Eek!" she squealed and stumbled back a step.

  I heard the rustle in the bushes before I had time to turn. A blur pounced out, tackling Aubrey to the ground, and her squeal turned into a feral scream.

  Warm blood sprayed onto my chest.

  My body moved before I could think. I stepped in and kicked.

  My shin flared as bone struck bone. The thing flew off her and slammed into a white-barked tree with a sickening crunch.

  Her expression was frantic, frenzied even. Her eyes wide and always jumping from one place to another. I reached a hand down to help her up, but she didn't register.

  A rustle in the grass made me turn back to face the thing. I sighed and muttered, "Fuck."

  It wasn't dead.

  Iridescent green eyes sparkled in the sunlight. Large, and glossy. A long tongue hung out of the broad mouth, extending and shortening in sync with its breath. The grass at its feet sizzled when blood dripped from the deep wound on its head.

  If my eyes weren't playing tricks, it was a frog. Only, it was the size of a toddler, had sharp teeth, and stood on its hind legs with its hands clenched into fists.

  It didn't look dangerous, but my instincts told me otherwise.

  I glanced at Aubrey. The wound on her chest wasn't very deep, a scratch at most, but it sizzled unnaturally, and she was in shock. She wouldn't be of any help like this.

  I stepped in between her and the beast and raised my fists in a battle-ready stance, guarding my chin and keeping light on my toes.

  "Ker-eek!" It screamed and burst into a mad charge, arms flailing wildly like windmills.

  I sidestepped the charge and delivered another solid kick into the frog's ribs. This time I felt them crack. The frog's eyes bulged out in the moment before it rocketed away and slammed into the same tree.

  It stumbled back to its feet, barely able to stand, and spat a sizzling glob of blood onto the grass.

  I swallowed my fear. It was hurting. My turn to be on the offensive. I dashed forward, looking for something—anything that would make things easier.

  Just two steps away from the monster, there was a stone. I bent down mid-run to grab it. The frog lurched forward, still concussed from the impact, and bit the air between us with a resounding chomp.

  I grasped the rock firmly in my hand and threw myself into the frog with a tackle. It weighed next to nothing compared to me, and it wasn't very strong, but it was slimy and weirdly flexible. Even as I crushed it beneath my weight, it kept struggling and writhing to get away, punching, scratching, and biting to get me off.

  I smacked it on the head with the rock and used my knees to pin its arms to the ground. It glared, eyes tightened into slits, as it shot its tongue at me. I jerked my head sideways to avoid it. A sharp sting burned on my cheek. My skin sizzled.

  "Shit!" I winced and slammed the rock into the frog's face. Blood spattered onto me, but it didn't sizzle. Only the grass did.

  The tongue shortened, and my heart jumped. I couldn't let it recover.

  I hit it again and again until the sting on my cheek subsided. With each strike, the surrounding shrubbery took on a deeper shade of red.

  At some point, a bell chimed in my head. I didn't stop to see what that was about.

  "Jax," Aubrey whimpered after a while. "I think it's dead."

  I flinched and stopped. My chest heaved. My hands trembled, not from fear, but from the thrill of combat. The remainder of the frog's face was a mess of blood and flesh.

  I wiped the sweat from my brow with my forearm and turned to face her.

  "You alright?" I asked.

  She nodded and stared at the frog with distant eyes.

  "It bit me..." she mumbled and pointed at the wound on her chest. Just a little bit higher, and it would have gotten her jugular. We'd been lucky.

  "It did," I nodded. "But we won."

  At that moment, the familiar ding of the system chimed.

  You have defeated [???]

  Level up.