It was an idyllic scene – a bright blue sky with a few fluffy white clouds, fresh green grass below my feet, scattered trees shading me.

  I realised I could see all this clearly, even though I couldn't feel my glasses resting on my face. I confirmed this with my hands. No glasses.

  At least there was one thing to celebrate.

  Not far away stood a young man, with a pair of long legs and a strong, but not overly muscular build. Brows furrowed, he scanned the trees, arms folded. His clothing consisted of a simple tunic and pants, but when he turned to look at me, his eyes were a startling electric blue under his dark hair. There was a faint scar across his right eyebrow, and a hint of something on his neck, a tattoo, but I couldn’t see it clearly from where I was.

  He looked aloof, assured, powerful, like a protagonist in a webcomic.

  Huh, nice cheekbones, I thought.

  I looked down at myself. I was wearing the simple undyed robe of an acolyte, and when I reached up to touch my hair, it was shoulder-length and blonde. At least my (well, my avatar’s) looks wouldn’t entirely lose out to his.

  “… Hi,” I said to my new acquaintance. “Han… Sung-hyuk was it? Is that your real name, or…?”

  He looked at me, but said nothing.

  I tried again. “Um… do you know where we are?”

  “In the game, I assume.” His voice was low and reluctant, and there was an accent, but I couldn't place it. Still, I could understand what he was saying, although I weirdly I couldn’t tell what language he was speaking in.

  “No idea why we're here?”

  “Obviously not.”

  Huh. He was just as terse as a typical webcomic protagonist too. At least I had determined that we were in the same situation. I began to look around, but there was nothing about the open forest, the grass, or the sky, that told me anything.

  A text box suddenly popped up before me.

  Does being physically transported into the game count as an issue? How do I lodge a ticket from inside the game? Let me complain to the management!

  “Lodge ticket.”

  Nothing happened.

  A small triangle blinked at the bottom of the screen. I automatically reached out for it, and although my hand simply passed through, the text changed.

  I looked over at the young man. His expression was cold, and he jabbed the thin air in front of him.

  I don't know, maybe because he seems kind of antisocial?

  At least I knew now that the text boxes were not visible to others. I kept reading.

  Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

  Open Inventory? How?

  "Inventory?" I said aloud. Intuitive enough. A new screen appeared, divided into little boxes, some of which were filled. A simple spear, a small round shield, a flask of water, and a loaf of bread sat there. A fifth box showed a glowing question mark. I reached for it, and three items appeared.

  I frowned at the options. The third option was only usable in a specific scenario, and if this game was continuing as the real-world mobile game had been designed, the scenarios were randomised. There was no guarantee it would be of use.

  The headscarf was more tempting. The Endurance boost was miniscule, but it was something.

  Still... I couldn't use Endurance if I were dead. I reached out for the pack of bandages, which had little flowers all over them. To my momentary surprise, the box was a solid object I could wrap my hand around. As I pulled it towards me, the other two options vanished, and the inventory screen returned. Pushing the adhesive bandages into an empty slot made them leave my hand.

  This was all so incredibly weird. I closed my eyes and raised my face to the sky, breathing deeply. Then I pulled the spear from its slot.

  So this was how much a spear weighed.

  It was heavier than I expected, a European style with a wooden handle and iron head. I hefted it, trying to get used to the weight and balance. Nearby, the young man was doing the same. I drew out the shield too, and even though I had increased my muscle mass, it was difficult to hold both spear and shield together. I put the items back in the inventory. The water and bread appeared to replenish HP. So far, so basic.

  "Skill Tree," I said, ignoring the glance that my silent companion shot me. I heard him repeat the words at a low mutter a moment later.

  Rather than a tree, it resembled a web. One node was lit up, with the word Acolyte below. Branching off were greyed out routes to other nodes, each with a number attached. I assumed they were skill costs of some kind.

  A new text box appeared over the Skill Tree.

  I hit the Y. Instantly, I felt a heat, like golden light, filling my body. I lifted off the ground, and I could see the golden glow leaving me and lighting the trees around me. My robes, now long, pure white and trimmed with gold, flapped gently around me.

  The spear was gone. Instead, I held an ornate crosier, shining white and gold.

  The young man had a single-handed sword, and a black cloak that seemed to curl with shadows. I barely registered anything else before another text box appeared.

  Before the countdown had even finished, I lifted the crossier upwards. Simultaneously, the young man swung his sword.

  A roaring column of golden light fell from the sky, striking him. He disappeared in the irresistible flood of light. I felt an enormous surge of pain as a shadow cut its way across the bright grass towards me, slicing my right arm from my body at the shoulder.

  It hurt. Dear god, it hurt.

  And then the game reversed the damage and we both lay on the soft grass, shaking and gasping in shock. It took a minute for me to dare to look at my arm. It was still attached.

  What… What did we just do? The two of us had ruthlessly swung our weapons at each other, trusting that the game really would reverse any harm. I could feel myself shaking.

  The screen began to fade. I looked up to see the young man, whose name I had not learnt, staring back at me with his piercing blue eyes, and then he was gone, replaced once more by the loading screen.

  The next scene to greet my eyes was of a round room. The walls were made of grey stone, and ten empty doorways surrounded me, each marked with a number from 1-10. Only Doorway 1 was lit up, while the others were dark and chained.

  I sat down on the flagstones. I just needed a moment.

  I thought about all the stories I'd read, all the games I'd played. The pseudo-Medieval European imagery I’d seen so far was irritatingly familiar. If I ever got out of here, I would have some complaints to make.

  I wished Poppy was with me. She loved fairytales and would probably know how all of them worked.

  I wished Calvin was here, to provide some down-to-earth explanation of why the hell this had happened.

  I wished Rohan was here, to make me laugh while he acted as chuunibyou as he liked.

  I wished Wai Meng was here, treating this whole thing as a big, crazy adventure.

  I wished Tommy was here with his soothing voice and practicality.

  I wished we were all together, because then we'd be safe. Nothing could harm us if we were all in one place.

  I slowly stood and walked to Door 1, heart hammering. I pushed it open.