Anomaly

— — —

{Name} — Percy Anderson

{Alias} — Perseus

{Race} — Human

{Class} — TBD

{Inherent Skills} — TBD

{Loadout} — None

Status:

{HP: 10/10} {Mana: 0 PTS}

{Strength: 1} {Agility: 1}

{Vitality: 1} {Dexterity: 1}

{Stamina: 1} {Intelligence: 1}

— — —

Upon entering Path to Power for the umpteenth time, I checked my status. Seeing the screen still unchanged, I sighed and closed it. It has been 5 years since I first logged into Path to Power and my status has remained the same ever since that day.

The first section of the game, Havenbrook, was limited to only the city limits. Most players only spent several days here before advancing to the next town but I had been stuck here for five years. Why? Well, players can only advance in level by entering the dungeon tower. When I first arrived here and got my random character, I was very disappointed but I still held hope for the future. Since my class and inherent skills were stated as 'To be determined', I believed there was still a chance I could get them once I leveled up. But reality is often more disappointing than one's hopes. 

That day, I quickly made my way to the dungeon tower in the center of Havenbrook after mulling over my character creation but as soon as I tried to cross the entrance, an invisible barrier stopped me from entering.

[Error. Class not found. Access to Dungeon Tower: Havenbrook denied.]

 Every goddamn time. For the past 5 years, I've gotten the same fucking error. Over and over and over.

On login, I appeared in a tavern frequented by the locals of Havenbrook. There were no players here because everyone who was in Havenbrook was either creating their character, walking to the tower, or in the tower. 

Every day for 5 years, I do the same thing. I start by looking at my status to see if anything has changed. Then, I go to the dungeon to try and enter. Once that doesn't work, I spend the rest of the day searching around Havenbrook for anything that can help me, which usually ends up with a fruitless search and plenty of strange looks from the locals.

Today was no different. After walking into the invisible wall of the tower for the thousandth time and getting a few snickers from the other players entering the tower, I left the area to begin my search around the town. 

Currently, I was on my 112th round of my search of the entire town. I had cleared over half of the town this past few weeks and was onto the east side where several stores and businesses were located. I knew Havenbrook like the back of my hand, so every round of searching was faster than the other. 

At this point, after so long, I had mostly given up hope of ever finding anything that could help me. I have sent so many messages to PTP Industries about my predicament but all I get is radio silence. I have even gone to social media to try to get some answers or support but I'm just ignored and written off as someone who wants attention.

In Havenbrook, there were no connections to the real world like in towns after it since it was considered a tutorial by most so I couldn't get any proof of my circumstances. 

"Perseus! Back again? You're rounds are getting faster every time I see you."

A jovial and baritone voice sounded from across the street as I carefully scanned every inch of the town. I looked toward the familiar voice to see a haughty man with a thick brown beard behind a food stand.

"Griff," I said in a monotone greeting. "It's only natural I get faster. I've been doing this for five years now."

Once I was done looking around the area across the street, I moved to Griff's side to keep searching. 

"It's been five years?" The man asked in wonder with a hint of pity which I didn't fail to pick up. "Time sure does fly. I remember you going all around the town, asking everyone if they knew how to level up outside the tower, hehe."

Griff grabbed a fresh stick of barbequed meat that he sold at his stand and held it out to me. "Here, take some. It's on the house."

Despite my annoyance at his words, I took the kebab and thanked the man. "Thanks. Well? Know anything that can help me?"

Griff sadly shook his head. "Sorry, kid. I wish I could help you. I'm sure everyone here would love to help. But besides the tower, there isn't a way to increase your level."

I grunted at his words while taking big bites of the delicious meat. His words didn't change my mood much, as I expected him to say the same thing everyone else has told me for these five years.

Once I finished the kebab, I threw the stick in a trash bin next to Griff's stand. "Thanks again, Griff."

Before the now downtrodden man could say his goodbyes, I already left to continue with my search, however pointless it may seem. 

Griff, who watched me depart sighed. "What an anomaly."

…

As the sun set and the atmosphere turned to a deep orange, I was still searching along the outer perimeter of the east side of Havenbrook. Since the work day was mostly over and the town didn't have much of a nightlife, there weren't many people walking around and I was the only one on the streets.

There was a brisk wind tonight that lightly pushed my black hair around as well as my simple tunic clothing. Havenbrook was perpetually in the summer season, so the breeze was very comforting and eased my mind. 

Once I reached the very edge of the town, the sun had finally dipped below the horizon, leaving the virtual world in darkness save the lone moon in the sky which provided an ambient light that I could still make out my surroundings with. The town had lantern posts on the streets, but along the perimeter there were none, so light was less prevalent. 

I sighed deeply after today's search and gazed outside of the town where a large plain of grass waved gently in the wind. Around Havenbrook, there was a never-ending plain that stretched until the horizon as a simple backdrop for the town. Despite the grueling search that I conduct every day, I couldn't help but let my mind clear at the peaceful sight and relax. 

In Gaia, the cities were all underground, so sights like the one I was currently taking in were rare. The only reason I continued with this seemingly pointless endeavor was because I didn't have a choice. Gaia provided each citizen with an income that could sustain basic living conditions like shelter and food, but anything beyond that was up to the individual. 

Since I had barely graduated from the required schooling, I couldn't get into any higher levels of education, which was required for any jobs in the real world. This was because artificial intelligence did every basic job, which left people like me no option but to find something to do within Path to Power. This is why I persisted for 5 years and I don't care if I never find what I'm looking for. I'm sure as hell not content with trying to live an empty life in the real world, so this is my only option. I'll keep searching this godforsaken town until I can finally pass into that tower.

As I was emptily staring into the plains outside of Havenbrook, deep in thought, my eyes caught a glint of something in the distance. This immediately alerted me because of my extensive knowledge of this town collected over the five years I've been here. To my current understanding of this part of the game, there wasn't supposed to be anything past the boundaries of the town. 

I focused on the point in the distance where I caught the glint and after several seconds of not seeing anything, I just assumed my eyes were playing tricks on me, but then I caught it again at the same spot. I knew it wasn't the grass because I couldn't see anything similar anywhere else around me. This could only mean something was out there in the middle of the plains that shouldn't be there, at least to my knowledge.

This intrigued me immensely because this is exactly something I had been searching for all this time. Before I even realized it, the hopes I had lost long ago were ignited like they never left. But there was one problem. How could I get there? It was common knowledge that players were barred from leaving the village, even the locals couldn't leave. One of the first things I tried after my first round of searching Havenbrook was to leave the town but I was held back by an invisible barrier just like I was at the dungeon tower. 

But tonight, something told me I could do it. I don't know if it was my rekindled hopes or something else, but I had a feeling the restriction wouldn't apply if I stepped into the plains at this moment. I took my eyes off the glinting object in the distance and looked down at the stone street that abruptly ended and was replaced by short grass. 

I was only a few feet from the barrier. Taking a deep breath filled with building anticipation and hope, I stepped toward the invisible barrier.

"Please," I said under my breath. "I don't care what happens anymore. Just let me get past this fucking town."

As my foot neared the barrier to walk past it and into the plains, it stopped as if hitting a wall.

[Scanning player Perseus….]

Instead of the usual 'Player cannot enter' message that was the usual error message, a different message appeared in front of me. At this message, my eyes widened significantly and my heart began to increase in pace as I waited for it to finish scanning me.

[Player Perseus may pass]

My foot successfully passed through the barrier and landed on the soft grass of the plains outside Havenbrook. After I was able to pass through, I didn't move for several seconds, staring in awe at my foot that was planted outside the town's perimeter. 

Soon, a wide grin spread on my face and I sprinted toward the object that glinted in the distance at a vigorous pace. My heart was pounding in my chest like a drum and my mind was racing with possibilities. No one had ever left Havenbrook. Out of the billions of players that passed through this town, only I had left the confines of this tutorial.

"Finally!" I shouted into the breezy, silent night at the top of my lungs. "This has to be it!"