Welcome to your new life

Life is like a river, some may choose to swim against the current while others are more than happy to let it carry them away towards wherever it might lead them.

But in the end, all rivers will converge at the same place, all beings are destined to have the same end regardless of how they may choose to partake in their own voyage.

So why is it that despite knowing this, humans still choose to resist? To defy what is absolute and delay what is inevitable? To try and make changes and leave a legacy when they're no more than a speck of dust in the universe?

To find the answer to this question, it is to find your purpose in life.

For life is a struggle, a carefully crafted occurrence wich can only carry any worth and meaning because it is so brief.

But that may not always be the truth, some lives may have a greater purpose then to just come to an inevitable end.

And this is a story of one of them.

...

'What is going on?'

That is a question that I would have already asked a ton of times by now if I was still capable of speaking.

And that's because calling the situation I'm currently in bizarre, would be an enormous understatement.

My name is Luiz Henrique, a normal university student returning home on an evening from my part time job, before suddenly being pulled by a bunch of thugs to an secluded alleyway and beaten to almost death.

And in what was the most unexpected turn of events, I was able to recognize one of the thugs as one of my former classmates in high school, a delinquent that I had the displeasure of getting involved with and forming a grudge.

Seeing that I wasn't going to escape, I tried to fight back, but despite learning self defense for such situations, I soon came to realize that I had no chance of winning when I was so hopelessly outnumbered. Which predictably ended with me on the ground and being kicked until my aggressors had their share of tormenting me and left.

Following that, I remember dragging my battered body home, but just as I tried to open the door, my conciousness grew thin and I don't know what happened after.

'On second thought, I should probably have gone to a hospital instead of returning home. But at the time, all I could think of was how tired I was and how much I wished to sleep in my bed.'

That's when I found myself in the middle of a bunch of tiny lights that were all moving together towards something, forming something like a tunnel wich stretched for what it seemed infinity.

All beyond it seemed to be an empty void made of darkness, which contrasted with how busy and illuminated it was among the tiny lights.

I could feel a force pulling me towards the same direction that all others were moving, which forced me to follow along despite not knowing what awaited me beyond.

But it seemed that not all little lights behaved the same, as they followed along at different speeds which I could attribute to how much they resisted to the force that was dragging all of us along.

But the most curious were the very rare few that were on the edges and instead of following a long they just overcame the force and started moving into the endless void beyond.

'What happened to them? Did they just dissipate and 'die' by doing this? Or are they still floating aimlessly in the abyss without anything to guide them.

I have already been following along for an indeterminate amount of time, so much I can't remember how long, months? Years? Decades? Centuries?

But all I knew is that It didn't look to be even close to the end, if there even was one.

'Is this some sort of punishment? To have to follow along endlessly while having all the time in the world to contemplate all your shitty life choices?'

Honestly, at this point I was already getting sick of it, there was just something about this situation that was bothering me to no end.

Being unable to communicate, not having a body, the monotony, the force pushing me towards the unknown.

So much so, that I have already contemplated numerous times to just plunge myself into the darkness, if only so that I can get it over with quickly and end this existence before my conciousness becomes more distorted from the growing boredom.

So, in a moment of madness, or perhaps I've been experiencing madness all along and this is my first lucid decision since coming here, I finally gained courage and decided to ditch this place and wander off on my own.

Which proved to be easier than I thought since the closer to the edge I went, the weaker the force trying to stop me became.

And as I came face-to-face with the darkness, all I could feel was fear and second thoughts started to pop up as I came to face what was possibly an irreversible decision.

But knowing that if I didn't take this chance, my common sense wouldn't allow me to make this decision later. I finally went ahead and completely freed myself of the force that was binding me.

...

As I moved, I used the light of the tunnel as a reference and went the opposite direction.

In time I came to realize that I wouldn't dissipate no matter how far I went, which came at quite a big disappointment. But with no other options, I continued moving forwards in hopes to find 'something' other than pitch black darkness.

As I went further, the light that I was using as a reference became dimmer and dimmer until it was nothing more than a miniscule kindling in the distance.

And before I realized it, the light was completely gone from all sides and all I could do was continue moving in the same direction (I think) while praying that this existence would come to an end somehow.

...

'At first, the freedom of not having something dragging me along was quite refreshing, but I recently realized that the monotony here is even worse than in the tunnel. Oh well, it's not like I could go back without a reference even if I wanted to.'

...

'How fast am I traveling actually? Without any reference it's hard to tell, but regardless I'm probably going to have to keep on going for a long time.

...

'How did the people back there react to my death? My parents must have been heartbroken, maybe some of my friends showed up to my funeral, but mostly I hope that the bastard that is responsible for it is living a miserable life right now.'

...

'End this! Please, anybody? I just want for this to end already!'

...

'Please end this...'

...

'Are there any eldrich abominations that feed on souls nearby? Because there is a very tasty soul up for grabs, take it before you lose it!'

...

'Please...'

...

After an indeterminate amount of time since the start of my pilgrimage, as I continued moving without any idea of what to expect, I suddenly felt something.

'..!' For the first time since I got here, I was finally able to feel something despite still being unable to see anything other than darkness and this time I was sure that it wasn't my unstable conciousness playing tricks on me since I've never felt it even close to being so vivid before.

'This feeling... It's very uncomfortable, it's like I'm being watched. I can feel someone or something effortlessly analysing me from the surface to the core.'

But regardless of the circumstances, I was feeling both elated in finding something after searching for so long and at the same time afraid that the chance might slip by me.

But before I could think or do anything else, I suddenly felt as something had grasped me and after that, my conciousness slipped me just like it did before I arrived at this place.

...

"Aaaargh!" As I once again regain my conciousness, I'm suddenly startled by the unexpected sensation which I haven't felt for what seemed to be centuries and involuntarily let out a shout as I'm jolted awake.

"Haaah...Haah..." Taking deep breaths, I try to access the situation and make sense of the current events the best I can as I notice that the place I'm currently in right now is no longer that lifeless void.

But much more important than my surroundings, what immediately caught my attention was my current state, since unlike before I could feel the very nostalgic sensation of having an actual physical body. Which alone was enough to significantly improve my mood.

"Urgh..!" Though unfortunately, my body was far from being in the ideal state that I was hopping for, my head felt like it was being hit by a hammer and my whole body felt numb and unresponsive when I tried to move it.

'Is this one of those cases where your muscles atrophy when you spend too long without using them or in a coma? But although many of my memories faded while wandering the darkness, my body feels a bit strange in regards to its proportions. Has my body changed so much while I was outside of it?'

Since I couldn't move anything other than my eyes around, I decided to postpone the assessment of my body until I regained mobility and instead shifted my focus to the ambient I was currently as I tried my best to piece together what was going on.

The place that I was currently on was quite dark, with the only source of illumination that I could see being a few torches that barely illuminated half the room I was currently in.

The room itself has a very peculiar architecture that was completely unfamiliar to me, but it seemed to be quite ancient. This place had a circular shape and was quite big (bigger than my previous house), with me standing on the edge of the circle and an entrance being at the opposite side of me.

So keeping all of that in mind, I tried my hardest to rationalize a response to my many questions that would be satisfactory. But after much deliberation, I could only come to a single conclusion.

'This is Bullshit!'

No matter how I tried, making sense of having experienced hundreds of years wandering without a body, to then wake up in some strange ruin that I've never seen before was just impossible.

But it seemed that I was running out of time for my personal introspection, as I continued trying to move my body to have a better look around, I felt the sudden uncomfortable gaze that I once experienced in the void.

*Ding!*

"..!" A very strange sound got my attention, I have to admit that it had managed to startled me when combined with the unknown gaze, but thanks to my body's poor state I wasn't really capable express this surprise by jolting or anything of the sort.

[You have received a new message! Do you wish to read it?]

[Yes] [No]

Then, what it seemed to be a game-like holographic screen appeared right in front of my eyes, prompting me to stop paying attention to the gaze and instead focus on what was written.

Realizing that this message was probably the explanation that I so desperately needed, I immediately decided to see what's in it, ignoring all the questions that something fantastical like this happening presented.

'An explanation at a time like this would be nice and it's not like I can do anything else with my body on the current state.'

So I tried to select 'Yes' but I soon remembered that my arms were completely unresponsive, which left me quite depressed as the answers I needed were right in front of me but I was incapable of grasping it.

But it seemed as my worries were unfounded since the panel somehow detected my intention and opened the message for me to read.

[Welcome to your new life, traveler from another world.]

And his expectations weren't betrayed, reading the introduction alone, had already provided enough information for him to draw several conclusions about his current situation.

'Whoever the sender is, it's clearly aware of my situation, my arrival was somewhat expected or perhaps even planned by this mysterious entity and if this information can be trusted, the place I'm in right now is supposedly another world.'

Taking a deep breath, he decides to only try to wrap his head around this after he read everything since trying to do so with incomplete information would be fruitless.

[First and foremost, I would like to congratulate you for your successful arrival into this world, it isn't a easy or safe trip. So you can be proud of having come this far.]

'The nerve of this bastard! Reading this, one would think that I had decided to come here on my own volition, but I don't remember agreeing to anything before being thrown here.'

[You must have at lot of unanswered questions, but right now I'm only willing to answer a few of them, so pay attention to what I'm about to inform you.]

[You have been chosen, along with many others from your previous world to be brought into this new world and take part in a unique experience. Your objective? Survive! Just like everyone else. Survive long enough and you may be qualified to start desiring to grow and thrive in this new environment. It is up to you to decide how you will use this second chance.]

[The ones brought into this world have been separated into two groups: Dungeon Masters and Heroes, some may already be familiar with this terms but basically Dungeon Masters have to protect their lairs which are called dungeons from invaders which may seek to destroy it, successfully dispatching of intruders will grant them rewards that can be used to strengthen the defence of their dungeon. Heroes on the other hand are the polar opposite and will be granted rewards for clearing the dungeons, so both groups are natural enemies.]

[So I welcome you: Newly born Dungeon Master to your new role and life. Your objective from now on is to take care of your dungeon as if your life depends on it, because it really does. Kill the intruders, become stronger so that in the end you may stand unmatched.]

[But take note that Heroes are not the only ones you will have to worry about, the original inhabitants of this world may also pose a threat to you. So be weary.]

[For the sake of a more fair competition, the Dungeon Masters were given 10 days to prepare before the heroes are unleashed, that is due to the much steeper learning curve that the role involves. So use this time well to prepare and acquaint yourself with the new environment. It is also important to note that all Dungeon Masters have been prohibited from leaving the dungeon to avoid conflicts before the competition truly begins as part of the 'Beginner Protection Period'.]

[That will be all I'm willing to give you, the rest you will have to figure out for yourself.]

[Good luck]

[Beginner Protection Period ends in: 10:00:00:00]

"..."

Honestly, he wanted to curse at the one who arranged this, he wanted to panic and scream about how twisted and unfair it all was. But after centuries wandering in pitch black darkness, he became much more more tolerant to all the nonsense that life could throw at him.

So instead of wasting time in such pointless behavior, he decided to use the composure he acquired from his previous experiences to calmly piece together all the information he was given.

Luiz had played many video games back on earth, so the terms 'Hero' and 'Dungeon Master' were quite familiar to him, so using this knowledge he was capable of easily understand the situation he was currently in.

'So basically, in a game the heroes would be the players and the dungeon masters would be the bosses while the dungeons would be the the levels/stages that had to be cleared to progress.'

But the thing that concerns him the most is the mention of existing forces on this world also being potential threats. He wasn't too worried about the heroes since the message clearly showed that the one who arranged this is very concerned about fairness, so it's safe to assume that the heroes will be weak at the start and will grow stronger over time. But the local forces wouldn't be limited by such constraints and they could easily crush a beginner dungeon if one is unlucky.

On the other hand, while he was reading the warning, he couldn't help but notice that the locals were referred to as a threat while the heroes were designated as enemies, so there might be a possibility of a cooperation being achieved.

And another detail that is very important to pickup on, is that the existence of a 'beginner protection period' shows that beyond the heroes and local residents, the Dungeon Masters will also be under threat by other Dungeon Masters, in other words:

'Everyone is a enemy and there's nobody you can trust other than yourself.'

But at least he has 10 days of guaranteed safety in order to prepare himself for what's to come, he intends to make the best of this time in order to improve his survival chances.

Afterall, he has already experienced death and he absolutely refuses to return to that dark place ever again if he can help it.

But unfortunately, although it has improved over the time he's been pondering over this new information, his body is still very unresponsive so he'll have to wait for his current situation to improve before he can move towards trying to figure out how to do this.

...

After a few minutes spent trying to recall all the knowledge from his previous life that might be useful here and preparing his mentality to better cope with everything that may happen in the future. My body that was very slowly recovering had a very sudden change.

It was like a fresh breeze that came and carried all the problems away, relieving all the pain and numbness that remained. It would be more accurate to say that my body that was completely empty before was suddenly filled with energy.

But that change didn't come from nowhere, I could feel this power being transfered through a connection I had with something. I could instinctively feel its presence nearby radiating an enormous amount of power.

[Connection with the Dungeon Core successfully established, transferring control of the dungeon to the Master.]

[Transfer complete, now the Master will be able to manage the dungeon through the system. To access the system, use the command 'Open Dungeon Management panel'.]

A status window appeared in front of him, but after reading it he decided to check this a bit later as he was too distracted with finally being able to move his body.

A wave of nostalgia washed over him as he couldn't wait to get up from the seated position I have been in so far and move around.

But as I slowly arose up trying my best not to lose my balance witch was quite poor due to a lack of practice. I started to notice those differences in my body witch I had postponed rationalizing before.

'My field of view is much higher now, is this how it feels to finally surpass the fabled 6 ft tall hallmark?'

On earth, I was considered to be on the smaller side, but now I'm suddenly somewhere close to 2 meters tall. It's hard to know the exact metrics without something to compare myself to.

But as I stared down at my body, my thoughts suddenly came to an halt.

A dark skin, but not the chocolate dark brown color which one would be used to but instead a more charcoal pure black skin. A very lean and lanky physique that seemed to hold no fat and very little muscle and a straight white hair that flowed down my shoulders and reached all the way down to my waist.

This was most definitely not my body.