1 Strange New World (Part 1)

Wu Kai blinked as he massaged his temples. A searing pain ran through his mind as the blurriness in his vision passed. 'Where am I?' He groaned as he looked around the stone circle. Bright blue skies appeared in his sight with a few clouds. Since he couldn't see anything else, he could only assume the stone circle was on top of a hill or something. His confusion suddenly turned to panic as he spotted several others glaring at their surroundings!

'Isn't that a goblin?' His heart pounded in his chest as he stared at the short creature with deep green skin as its beady eyes studied its surroundings.

A woman with blue skin and blonde hair suddenly stepped into the circle. Wu Kai's gaze went to her pointed ears, then her brown robes while she cleared her throat. When everyone turned their attention to her, she nodded while slightly smiling.

"My name is Tael. I'll be your relocation officer today." She paused as Wu Kai looked around to see if anyone else understood what was happening. "I'm afraid this may come as a shock. But this is a different world than the one you are used to. Natives, like myself, refer to people like you as Pioneers."

"You all came from Earth and used to be humans. Some of you still are. However, most pioneers when they arrive in this world, discover their race has changed." Tael sighed when she noticed the growing confusion. She spoke slowly, trying to get her point across without confusing them any further.

"All of you have been transported here against your will. You don't know where or why, but luckily, I'm here to help." She handed the pile of small booklets she held to the goblin Wu Kai had been staring at. "Please, take one and pass them around."

"What you're about to receive is a booklet that will explain your current situation. It was written by other pioneers, like yourselves. It's a helpful guide for newcomers. I'll give you a few minutes to read through it, and then I'll answer any questions you have."

Wu Kai frowned as he reached out to take the booklets from a dwarf to his right. His skin tone had changed to a tanned brown, and his hand-eye coordination was off. 'Is it just me, or are my arms longer?' He couldn't help but flex his fingers a few times as he took a booklet and passed them to a human-looking girl with cat ears and a tail.

Wu Kai could not help but harbor doubts about everything that had just been said by the blue-skinned woman. After all, it was far more likely he had fallen asleep on the couch and was experiencing an extremely vivid dream. 'The last thing I remember, I was playing Warforged Online.' He hummed as he remembered he was in the middle of crafting a new weapon in the game. 'That's probably why this dream is so messed up. I need to take a break for a few days when I wake up.'

Wu Kai casually glanced at the introductory page. It confirmed everything the woman had said, but something stood out to him. 'So, it's a game-like world.' He chuckled. 'That proves I'm dreaming and spending too much time on games. Let's see here, think about my stats, and they'll appear in my vision. Only I'll be able to see them. That's so... unoriginal.'

-Name: Eol

-Title: None

-Race: Empyrean Elf

-Class: None

-Body: 15

-Mind: 25

-Will: 10

Traits:

-Empyrean Will:

Empyrean Elves excel at Infusion type skills. Learn and create Infusion type skills 50% faster, and Infusion skills effectiveness increased by 50%.

'Empyrean Elf?' Wu Kai frowned. 'What the heck is that?'

He had vague memories of the word empyrean. 'Doesn't that mean something to do with the sky or heaven? So what? I've become a sky elf? Heaven elf? That doesn't sound right. Maybe something is getting lost in translation? Celestial elf, maybe?'

'And what's up with these stats? Where's my health bar and all that stuff? These are nothing like what I've seen in games.' He turned his attention back to the booklet. However, a deep frown crossed his face as he read more details.

'No respawns. Revives do exist if someone has a related skill. There's no health bar since this is supposed to be real life.' Wu Kai felt a headache coming on as he studied the information. 'The Body stat reflects the physical toughness of my skin. My strength, and speed. Basically, it covers strengthening every aspect of someone's body, and defends against physical type attacks.'

'The Mind stat is the same. Except it covers thinking and processing speed, reflexes, and protection against mental type skills. There's probably more to it than that.' He grumbled as he moved on.

'The Will stat is how much energy my body can hold to fuel Will type skills and acts as a defense against the same type of attacks. That seems... vague.' Wu Kai sighed as he considered the implications of just the stat names. 'Well, I guess there's no harm in going along with this for now. I'll wake up eventually.'

"Ok, everyone seems ready," Tael said with a bright smile. "So, do you have any questions?"

"Yeah," A troll said as he stood up. "I don't get this. Is this supposed to be one of those reincarnated things? Or transported to another world situation?"

"An excellent question," Tael said. "The organizations who have been researching this since the days of the first pioneers aren't sure. Some people have memories of being close to death, but others were doing perfectly normal things."

"You said people are researching this? Does that mean they're trying to find a way home?" The troll asked with excitement lacing his voice.

"Yes, there have always been groups looking into that possibility."

Wu Kai frowned as he continued listening to the questions and answers session. A salty breeze swept over him as he attempted to piece together the rules of his dream. 'This is going to be one of those things where the dream will end when I find a way home. Who knows how long that will take? I heard something about the time in dreams being faster than in real life. Even if it doesn't feel like it. Maybe it would be quicker to die?'

"Now, I'm sure a number of you will be thinking this is a dream that will end when you die. However, I'm sure you'll come to recognize this as being real once you live here for a while. There have been many attempts to prove this world isn't real, but it is. Those who have looked into it have said there's too much information for this world to be fake. Such as flavors you've never experienced, faces you've never seen, and other things your mind will process."

Tael chuckled as she looked around. "Even now, you must be smelling the salt air from the sea, even if you've never experienced it before. Also, you'll find each of you has a new name. Even if you try to say your old one, it'll come out as your new one. For example, what's your name?"

Wu Kai frowned as Tael pointed to him. "Eol."

His eyes went wide as a shiver ran through his body. 'What the heck? I tried to say, Wu Kai!'

"As you can see from his reaction, he attempted to say something else. Although he pronounced his new name 'Yol', it's likely spelled as Eol. Correct?"

Wu Kai, no Eol, nodded to her question. 'It's important that I get used to this name, or it could cause problems. It'll be a major pain to think of myself as Eol, though.'

"Ok, so now that our session is over. shall we get on with the orientation?" Tael gently gestured for everyone to stand up and follow her.

Eol wobbled a bit as he got to his feet. 'Damn, I'm definitely taller than before.' He felt awkward in his new body, but another surprise came as the wind blew some of his hair across his eyes. 'White?'

Eol reached over his left shoulder and pulled some of his hair to get a better look. It was long and as white as snow! His gaze wandered down to spot the beige cotton shirt and trousers he was wearing. That was when he noticed his hair hung down to his waist!

He couldn't help but gulp when he remembered his new race. His hands shot up to the sides of his head, where he felt pointed ears longer than his original ones. 'Wait, does that mean Tael is a type of elf too?'

A loud wail suddenly sounded from the goblin he had seen before. From the way it spoke, it turned out it was, in fact, a she. Her hands ran over her hooked nose and pointed ears as tears formed in her eyes. Eol's eyes went wide in surprise at her reaction. It really seemed that his dream was going all out to sell him the idea of this world being real.

"I... I don't want to become a goblin." She sniffed as her beady, coal-black eyes looked around at everyone else. "What about my body? I hate how small I am!"

However, nobody offered her any words of comfort. They were all examining their bodies and dealing with the trauma of what they found, except those who were happy with their changes. They were the ones who looked to be a variation of elves or humans.

"Hey, my gut's gone!" A man laughed as he ran a hand over his flat belly.

Eol cocked an eyebrow as he did the same. He'd always been slim, but now he could feel toned muscles beneath his shirt. 'So it's not just my height and race that's changed.' He sighed as Tael patiently waited for everyone to become accustomed to their new bodies.

"I'm truly sorry for those of you who are unhappy with your changes. If there was anything I could do about it, I would." Tael gave them an apologetic look as she bowed slightly. "I hate to say this, but we need to get moving. It's almost the afternoon, and we have your orientation before starting the job-seeking process and interviews."

Eol cocked an eyebrow at Tael's statement. 'Job seeking? Of course, I doubt they'd let you do nothing if they want to make this seem real. That'll mean getting a job, but...' His thoughts wandered off as he considered what possible jobs could be available.

However, as Tael led their group out of the circle and Eol took his first steps on the dirt path, his eyes widened! Long grass waved in the salty breeze as the sun's warmth rained down on his skin. At the foot of the hill was a small port town that looked like it was straight out of the golden age of piracy in the Caribbean!

Eol's eyes wandered to the few ships in the port that looked like schooners and sloops! 'I was expecting something from the medieval period considering the fantasy elements, not this!' He felt breathless just looking at the scenery from a time long gone.

BOOM!

Eol winced at the loud sound before glancing further out to sea along with the others. There, riding the waves, was a galleon. Boom! Another cannon fired as a third belched flames at a creature that looked like a whale, except it was red with white stripes!

The whale-like creature roared as it opened its maw. Its red skin brightly glowed before it breathed a wave of flames of its own at the ship!

"Oh hell!" Eol yelped as he waited for the flames to strike the ship.

However, that moment never came as a translucent blue sphere around the galleon! The fire struck the barrier before washing over its surface, leaving the ship untouched. Eol's eyes glimmered at the sight, not for the strange creature or because of the ship. But for what he could potentially learn to craft in this world!

'Maybe I should enjoy this dream for as long as I can?'