The Tempered

It was a normal Friday. Class had just been let out for the weekend and I wasted no time making my way back to my dorm. Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and a few snacks, I sat down at my desk and loaded up my current addiction: Saga Heroes Online (SHO).

Saga Heroes Online was the world's current leading MMO. Set in a fantasy land of swords and magic, you could forge a character and set off on incredible adventures with your friends. There were thousands of possible races to choose from with completely customizable subclasses in order to allow diversity among the players.

The game itself had a level cap of 1000, but leveling your character was just half the battle. Levels awarded you stats and mana, but without high tier skills or equipment all of your baseline abilities would be wasted. For veteran players like me, leveling up an account to the max was a piece of cake… And that's why I was leveling up an account right now.

I was a power leveler. People paid me over paypal and, in exchange, I leveled up their accounts within a few days time. It was a rather harmless system, all things considered, and it was even quite lucrative if you had the know-how. It wasn't exactly looked upon as the most honorable of professions, but if you could find me any other job where I'd make 500 bones a week by playing video games, then I'd have gladly stopped.

In the world of power levelers, the faster you could get the job done the higher your skills were regarded… And the more clients you could level for in a short period of time. I had, personally, discovered several methods that let me grind accounts to the maximum in about 8 hours of total game time. I guess you could say that I was, quite literally, the greatest power leveler in all of Saga Heroes Online. It was something akin to my calling, you know.

Today, too, I was leveling an account for someone. The current client opted to stay anonymous, but that was no problem for me. So long as you paid, then you could claim to be 'Jabba the Hutt' and I wouldn't mind. This person, Calliope17 was the username, had a very unique character. It was a female demon with both the warrior and mage classes. She was essentially a magic swordsman, and the character had very high spec skills. When I first started leveling the account up I was surprised by the sheer number of abilities and the overall strength of the items. These things, while completely unrelated to my job, actually made leveling the account easier. With better skills and equipment I could grind off stronger mobs that awarded more experience. I had already gotten the account into the 900s. This job of mine really was nice~

It was about time for dinner so I decided to log off the game for now. I would continue leveling later. If I finished Calliope17's character tonight, I could get a headstart on the Kobold Priest character I needed to level tomorrow. Things were going well.

I grabbed my coat and walked out of my apartment. I was in a good mood so I pulled out my phone to text my friend Sal. While I was mid text, I suddenly felt myself falling. Before I even had time to panic, I hit the ground and everything went black. There was no pain. There was no screaming. There was nothing. I felt nothing. I was nothing.

Then there was a terrible light. A ripping sensation filled me and I found myself floating. I was floating over my own mangled body, lying at the bottom of an uncovered manhole that I had fallen into while texting… I think I died.

I waved my hands in front of my face. They were transparent, like I was a ghost. I looked down at my body once more and a terrible sadness filled me. I had died. Understanding filled me and I wanted to cry. There were so many things I hadn't done yet. I still hadn't ever even slept with a woman! There were so many video games I had yet to play! And, perhaps my greatest regret, was that I hadn't finished leveling up all the SHO accounts I promised, yet!

I don't know why the last fact hurt me the most. Perhaps it was because I took pride in my work, or perhaps I was just a fucked up person. It didn't really matter why I felt the way I did.

Then, something amazing happened.

I heard the voice of a God.

"I see you have lingering regrets. Do you want another chance at life?"

It wasn't really a voice. It was more like a thought that forced its way into my head. Perhaps it was the overwhelming grief storming within my mind, but I answered the strange voice immediately with an unthinking 'Yes'.

"Very well. Then I will give you a new life in a different world… A world you know quite well, actually. You will be given a new life in the world that your beloved game is based upon."

I was dumbfounded. My tears dried up and I seriously looked around me, trying to find the source of that voice. Was I being pranked by another spirit or was I really hearing the voice of a deity? Besides, why would any God give me such a gift?

"The answer to your question is quite simple," Replied the voice as if it could hear my thoughts.

"I think it's interesting! You are interesting. I want to watch what you'll do in this new world. You're like a toy, and I think you were put in the wrong toybox. That's all. Now stop questioning this disembodied voice echoing through your head and get ready. This will take quite a bit of my divine power, so I won't be able to help you out once you get on the other side… But I'll leave you a guide in case you have any questions you need answered. Oh, and my name is Nox."

Just as the voice finished speaking the entire world turned white. Instead of a ripping sensation, I felt a flood of warmth spread through me. Then, I fell into the deepest sleep of my life.