Learning The Basics

Wes awoke with a sense that he had been flung down a few hundred flights of stairs. His body was so sore that he didn't even care to acknowledge where he was or why he was lying on grass. It was a strange sensation to lose consciousness and then wake up to find your body in an entirely new location. With the feeling of the sun on his face, Wes finally rose to is feet. As he slowly felt the wave of nausea leave him, Wes started to notice things about his surroundings. Specifically, his body seemed to have gone under an intense transformation, which would explain the soreness. After his life took a depressing turn, Wes gave up any sense of personal hygiene or general body maintenance whatsoever. He had become the stereotypical image of an online gamer: long stringy hair, unkept beard and eight months of microwave dinners that had caused his physique to spiral until he was more fat than muscle. But now all of that had changed, his frame was that of a thin young man and his hair had become a shorter. Apart from that, the astigmatism that had plagued Wes since he was a child was no longer a problem. Despite the changes, Wes felt normal but couldn't understand just how or why his body had become this way.

'This has to be a dream….right'? Wes tried to rationalize his new circumstances to no avail.

If it was all a dream, then did that mean that his computer never started acting weird? Did he never hear that weird screaming? While Wes was just starting to believe the dream theory, he'd created for himself, his confidence wasn't meant to last. Just then a big blue screen popped up right in front of his face with accompanied by a 'DING!' sound.

[WELCOME NEW ADVENTURER!]

[IT WOULD APPEAR THAT YOU ARE THE LUCKY DUCK THAT COMPLETED THE SECRET ACHIEVMENT REQUIRED IN ORDER TO BECOME THE NEW HERO OF CHRONICLES OF RETRIBUTION!]

[THE OLD HERO HAS SADLY PERISHED AND NOW IT IS YOUR TIME TO HELM A NEW ERA IN A WORLD THAT IS YOURS TO SHAPE AS YOU WISH.]

[IN ORDER TO HAVE A SATISFYING PLAYING EXPERIENCE YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED THE -ATLAS- SYSTEM.]

Questions fluttered Wes as he tried to take in all the information being thrust his way. Secret achievement? Old hero? What did all this mean and why was he involved in it? Despite that, he read on.

[ATLAS IS A SYSTEM FOR HEROES WHO HAVE SPECIFICALLY CHOSEN THE ADVENTURER CLASS.]

[IN THIS WORLD, YOU WILL BE OFFERED MANY OPPURTUNITIES TO OBTAIN POWER, FORTUNE AND ETCH YOUR NAME INTO HISTORY AS A LEGENDARY HERO. BE WARNED HERO, THERE IS AN ANCIENT EVIL IN THIS WORLD THAT WILL STOP AT NOTHING TO ELIMINATE YOU. IT IS YOUR MISSION TO DEFEAT THIS MONTEROUS ENTITY. PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU WILL NEVER BE RETURNED TO YOUR OLD LIFE, THE ONLY MEANS OF LEAVING THIS WORLD IS DEATH.]

The last sentence was the one that really caught Wes's eye. If he could never return, did that mean he would never have to meet anyone who knew the reason for his shame? Even so, the thought of abandoning his old life saddened him although he'd already done so by himself eight months ago.

[ATLAS IS AN ADVENTURERS BEST FRIEND; WITH A REAL TIME MAP OF THE ENTIRE GAME'S LANDSCAPE AND A WIDE VARIETY OF OTHER FEATURES, YOU'LL RISE TO THE TOP IN NO TIME.]

[IN CHRONICLES OF RETRIBUTION, THERE ARE FOUR MAIN CHARACTER TRAITS THAT YOU CAN POSSESS TO MODIFY YOUR SKILLS, STATS AND SO ON. THEY ARE HUMAN, BEAST, HEAVENLY AND DEMONIC. AS YOU PROGRESS THROUGH THIS JOURNEY, YOU WILL BE GIVEN CHANCES TO EVOLVE YOURSELF. PLEASE SELECT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS TO EVOLVE INTO.]

[ >HUMAN]

[ >BEAST]

[ >HEAVENLY – NOT AVAILABLE]

[ >DEMONIC – NOT AVAILABLE]

Wes was dumbfounded, being a player for the better part of a year, he had never heard of a Heavenly or a Demonic character trait. It was a little disconcerting that the two were not available choices but as the saying went, beggars could not be choosers. In his past game Wes opted to be in the humanity class so it only made sense to choose the beast route this time.

[BEAST CHARACTER TRAIT / STARTER]

[CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR SELECTION AND ON TAKING THE FIRST STEP ON YOUR ROAD TO BECOMING THE NEW HERO. OPEN YOUR MAP ON THE ATLAS BY THINKING THE WORDS 'ATLAS' AND 'MAP'. FOLLOW THE MAP TO THE DESTINATION MARKED WITH A YELLOW TRIANGLE AND COMPLETE THE CHALLENGE TO COLLECT YOUR PRIZE. GOOD LUCK NEW ADVENTURER.]

Now having a goal in this new world...or more appropriately new life, he decided, Wes decided to follow the directions of the mystery text boxes. Wes opened his map using the method described by the text. A bright blue map appeared and sure enough, indicated as one mile to the east was a yellow triangle.

"Well, there's nothing left to do but get started". Wes said, talking to nobody in particular.

The walk to the marked location was uneventful as it was only a mile. Wes never realized how huge the world of COR actually was. According to the map the entire map spanned almost twenty thousand miles. Upon arriving at the location of the first challenge, Wes had no idea what to expect, but he felt excitement start to well up in his stomach. In a bright large field sat a purple box with black swirly designs running across it in an intricate pattern. Wes reached out to touch the box and when he did his surroundings began to change into a dark and cloudy abysmal looking space. Just then a new notification box popped up.

[DING!]

[WELCOME ADVENTURER, TO YOUR FIRST EVOLUTION CHALLENGE!]

[BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO EXPERINCES IN BATTLE, THIS CHALLENGE IS GOING TO BE RELITIVELY SIMPLE. HERE IN THIS SPACE YOU WILL FACE A BEAST. THIS BEAST WILL ATTACK YOU WITH FEROCITY, WORRY NOT THOUGH, AS DEATH IS NOT POSSIBLE IN THIS PROTECTED SPACE. THAT BEING SAID, PAIN IS ABSOLUTELY POSSIBLE, AND TO AVOID IT YOU WILL NEED TO FIGHT.]

Wes was overcome with relief now that he knew he wouldn't die from his first fight, but his nerves weren't completely calmed. He had no idea what kind of beast he would be facing, and in the pit of his stomach Wes knew he was about to experience a lot of pain.

[YOU WILL BE TASKED WITH COMPLETING 100 SUCCESSFUL MARTIAL ARTS MOVEMENTS ON THE BEAST, 100 MOVEMENTS 100 TIMES EACH. UPON COMPLETION, YOU WILL RECEIVE A BEAST TYPE PHYSICAL EVOLUTION. GOOD LUCK ADVENTURER.]

As quickly as the notification appeared it was gone again. Wes was left alone with his thoughts one moment and in the next, was face to face with an eight-foot-tall bull with humanoid features. The beast was clad in dark rusted armor and wielded a giant axe in one hand and an equally large shield in the other. The beast didn't let out a roar, nor did it act in an aggressive manor. For a moment Wes was sure the beast couldn't see him, but all hopes of that were crushed when the beast looked down at him and uttered one simple word.

"SUFFER'.