1 Entering the System

Drowning hurt more than he expected it to. Not that he'd ever seriously considered it, but the movies made it look serene, peaceful. There was no mention of the panic coursing through his body that made his senses hyper aware and yet unable to tell which way was up; frantically struggling to survive yet never breaking the surface. The movies didn't show the vice tightening around his head and chest as fire burned his lungs from the inside. Black spots danced in front of his eyes, so he closed them only to realise they were already shut. The black faded to red briefly before darkness completely overtook him and for that last heartbeat he found himself simply floating, still and quiet, and as his consciousness faded away it was with the thought that this... serenity... was what the movies depicted.

Waking up was harder than dying. Nicholas could only roll to his side and vomit briny water until the salt felt like acid on his abused throat. His body ached in muscles he didn't know existed and the pain was felt to his very bones. Light behind his eyelids made him whimper and squeeze his eyes shut; the tears that leaked from the corners just more salt water dripping down his face.

Eventually the vomiting eased and Nicholas was able to roll onto his back, breathing as heavily as his tattered lungs would allow. It was only once his breathing slowly quietened that he became aware of a presence.

Someone was watching him.

Someone... not human...

The light behind his eyelids considerately dimmed, and he was able to slowly creak his eyes open and look around. Barely had he time to take in the fact he appeared to be nowhere— a white space that stretched indefinitely and yet appeared small— before words appeared in the air before him. It reminded him of a video game dialogue box and the familiarity made it slightly easier to accept the words random appearance.

"The System?"

<Your final actions have rendered you eligible for The Hero's Journey System. Complete each stage to progress to the next.

Upon completion of the final stage you will be rewarded with the option to return to your original world.

Do you accept: Yes/No>

Nicholas frowned. A tug at the furthest corner of his mind suggested that this whole situation was both illogical and unfeasible, yet he still found himself accepting the situation without any question except for one;

"Did the girl live?"

There was no change to the floating dialogue box in the air before him.

"The girl that I tried to save? Did she live?"

In response, whether to his words or the time he had taken without replying to the dialogue box's question, the typing in the air slowly dissolved until only the final question was left.

He wasn't a fool. He'd read enough transmigration web-novels to know that he really had no choice— it was either accept or finish dying, and while he'd previously given his own life no thought, with time to reflect he wasn't sure drowning in a blaze of glory was the way he wanted to go. He was barely eighteen after all. If he died now, his life would amount to nothing more than another Schoolies statistic used by parents to keep their children home, instead of celebrating the end of their school life. He'd fought tooth and nail with his parents to be allowed to come on this trip, dying would just prove their fears right.

Shame sunk heavy in his core.

Had it really taken till now to think of his parents? They would be devastated by his death.

He'd known about his adoption his whole life (it was hard to keep it a secret with two white parents and an Asian child); had known how desperately they wanted a child; had known about their decision to find a child that wanted parents as desperately as they wanted a baby. They'd tried to keep it from him, protecting him, but he also knew just how much his adoption had cost them. His father was stuck in a warehouse job that was slowly sucking him dry simply to meet the mortgage repayments— a debt they owed due to refinancing to afford Nichola's adoption. When he'd found out, eavesdropping on their conversation late one night, twelve-year-old Nicholas had vowed to repay them for the opportunities they had given him. No more acting out in class with the rest of his peers; overnight he buckled down and took his education seriously. His grades climbed high enough he was able to attend a selective high school and even there he continued to excel— thriving in an environment that constantly asked "what would you like to learn now?" While his parents praised his conscientiousness and effort, Nicholas simply smiled and kept his head in his books. He had plans after all. Plans to graduate early, get a degree, start a career, take care of his parents so that Dad could quit his job and take Ma somewhere nice for a holiday.

The graduating early had already happened, and he was currently two years into his Bachelor of Chiropractic. In three years, he would graduate and at the age of twenty-one begin working as a fully qualified Chiropractor. Next step was his own practice and paying off his family home. Only when he knew his parents were secure, would he make plans for himself.

Even 'schoolies' hadn't been entirely his idea.

When he graduated high school at sixteen, his parents had worried about him growing up too quickly and missing out on teenage experiences they considered essential. Like Schoolies. Unlike his graduating peers, Nicholas was not interested in spending a fortune just to get drunk on the Gold Coast (being underage wasn't going to stop some of his peers), so a compromise had been reached; after he turned eighteen he would take a fortnight to travel and relax, experiencing the coming-of-age event that his parents seemed to find so important. What his parents hadn't foreseen was that Nicholas, at eighteen, still wasn't interested in a Gold Coast Schoolies and instead had made plans to travel Asia for the fortnight. On his own.

Eventually Nicholas had won the argument about not needing adult company for his holiday, which was how he found himself at Tanah Lot, in Bali, during the final days of his trip. Thailand and Vietnam had been thrilling for the young man. Despite his hometown claiming to be multicultural, he'd always been the odd one out during school photos and whenever he went to the airport the assumption was made that he spoke Chinese.

Even though he'd been adopted from South Korea, travelling through other Asian countries had given Nicholas a sense of belonging. For once, he was assumed to be a local, rather than a tourist and it was an entirely new experience to be around people who also spoke a language other than English fluently.

Bali hadn't been as big a thrill. Sure, the island was gorgeous and the locals friendly, but it felt like every time he turned around, a loud-mouth tourist was making him regret his nationality. By the behaviour of the Aussies in the beach side bars, it wouldn't be strange to think that Australians drank as a national sport. Avoiding his fellow tourists, Nicholas had joined in a game of soccer on the beach, making friends with local youth around his age who were more than happy to show him the 'real' Bali. Which was how he ended up at Tanah Lot… drowning.

Tanah Lot was one of seven sea temple along the south-western coast of the island. After Nicholas had been fascinated with the architecture of a small Hindu temple, his new friends made it a point to visit each sea temple and show Nicholas the beauty of a meld of Balinese and Hindu mythologies. Of all the temples, Tanah Lot was the most crowded with tourists and it was for this reason that his friends had left it till the end to visit, in the hopes that the crowds would have started to die down.

Not only had the crowds swelled in anticipation of seeing the temple at sunset, the seas had swelled as well; the tides rising to cover the rocky walkway between temple and mainland. As the sun started to dip below the horizon, painting the temple in brilliant pinks, oranges and the occasional vibrant yellow flash, a shrill scream pierced the general murmur of the crowd. Nicholas was close enough to see the splash as a dark head sank below the waves encroaching on the slippery rocks. Two small hands grasped helpless about the waterline before disappearing. Without thought, Nicholas dove into the sea…

Looking back, while he didn't regret the instinct that made him jump in to save a drowning child, he regretted dying before his plans were realised. Regretted leaving his parents on their own… childless once more.

"Yes."

<5 seconds>

"Wait!" Sudden panic flooded Nicholas' body. "What happens if I fail a level?"

<4 seconds>

The stories all said that if you died in System World before completing your task, you died in reality as well.

<3 seconds>

"I get help, right?"

<2 seconds>

"System? I get help, right?"

<1 second>

"System?"

Next chapter