Chapter 3: Failure as a gamer

I wasn't the only one confused by the God-like entity's words, I was certain of that, however, the reason I believed that was because I considered myself to be a normal human being. As such, one would be confused and afraid in such an absurd situation. Given what the God-like entity said earlier, there was a high chance for individuals who weren't aware of the Internet to be among those 10 million people. They were probably the most confused out of all of us.

If what that entity said was true, then maybe the few of us who were gamers had a special advantage in this race.

"So, half of you have no idea what I'm talking about… Anyway, I'm going to give you a little help with it! Status Menu!" he shouted and immediately a typical game character status screen appeared before me and everyone else.

It looked like some sort of holographic interface complete with buttons, icons, and all sorts of things written there.

Seeing something like that surprised me, but what was most surprising were my Level 1 stats:

[Name]: <Unknown>

[Species]: Human

[Level]: 1

[Strength]: 9

[Speed]: 8

[Dexterity]: 11

[Magic]: 10

[Luck]: 2

[Magic Excellence]: 1%

[Skills]: <None>

[Skill Points]: 1

[Stat Points]: 100

Luck 2? Well… that explains a LOT of things… I thought while thinking about all the previous unfortunate events that happened in my life, however, I begged to differ when it came to games. For some reason, I was rather lucky there, or maybe my understanding of 'lucky' was a bit flawed from the get go.

Taking my eyes off my status screen to look at the others next to me, I saw a couple of people throwing weird looks at it.

They aren't used with this sort of thing, are they? I asked myself and then looked at that one, single skill point.

"Is everyone comfortable?" asked the God-like being.

No one answered. We couldn't move our lips, but some of us probably tried to scream.

"Good! Good! Now, I'll grant you, your first skill! [Hero]!" he declared.

Immediately, a message popped up before my eyes with the details of my new skill.

[Hero]: This is a passive skill which grants the user the ability to gain 10 Stat Points and 1 Skill points for each level up, allowing the upgrade and physical advancement of the individual without needing to actually train for it.

10? But I have 100… I asked myself, but the entity above us would soon answer that small detail.

"Leveling is quite easy in this world! Basically, all you have to do is kill stuff either alone or in a party. Of course, like it happens back on Earth, constantly using a certain skill or diligently training it will allow you to sharpen it, in other words level it up. This is allowed ONLY for certain skills, though! In time, you will learn which is which. Oh, and the level thingies are available only for you all. The rest of the inhabitants of that world have it too, but they sort of can't see it. Well, I'm not going into details on that, you'll see what I'm talking about once you get down there! Now, moving on!" said the entity as it quickly explained something incredibly preposterous.

So, just like he said… it's basically like a game, a VRMMORPG of sorts… I thought as I took another glance at my status. The incredibly low stats brought a bit of fear to my heart. If it's like a game, then… I'm probably too weak to even do battle against other lvl 1 mobs…

"As you all probably noticed, you have 100 Stat points there instead of just 10. That's my second gift to you! You can use the points now, but be careful! If you don't do so before I count to ten, they will disappear! In order to use them, just think something along the lines: Add X points in Y stat. For example: Add 2 points in Speed!" he explained and when he said that, two of my points were automatically placed in the speed stat, now I had 10. "Good! Now place the rest! Ready? Set! Go!" he shouted.

I need to think this through and fast! Let me see… Let me see… Strength? No… Agility? No… I thought as I looked over my main stats.

"Time is ticking!" announced the entity.

I know! I wanted to scream. Add… erm… er…

My mind was stuck. As a gamer, I couldn't make such a rash decision. I didn't know what sort of gear I received at the beginning. If I got a mage staff, and I was filled up with strength, my damage would be at a minimum. Adding everything to Magic was a No go either. Mages were powerful in all RPG, but they were also granted the title of 'Sir Squished-a-lot!', and I didn't wish to become a slime or goblin's lunch.

"5!" announced the entity.

Damn! Add 98 points to… to…

"4!"

"3"

Add 98 stat points to Luck! I shouted in mind.

"2… 1!"

I heard a ding then and the following message: Max Luck stat achieved.

Great… I made the noobest mistake ever! 100 Luck? Seriously?! I groaned and screamed at my stupid mind. I should have just picked 50 strength and 48 Speed, or bring Luck to something like 10, which was the usual default and then add the rest in Magic or something like that.

15 Luck, 30 Magic, 10 Excellence, 30 Strength, 30 Speed, and 26 Dexterity. That actually sounds balanced… Why didn't I pick that? Why? Stupid brain! Why? I asked myself as I looked at my ridiculous stat window:

[Name]: <Unknown>

[Species]: Human

[Level]: 1

[Strength]: 9

[Speed]: 10

[Dexterity]: 11

[Magic]: 10

[Luck]: 100

[Magic Excellence]: 1%

[Skills]: <None>

[Skill Points]: 1

[Stat Points]: 0

I will die at the first mob… I can feel it. I thought to myself.

"Great!" shouted the entity.

Not great at all! I shouted back in my mind, but I immediately realized he wasn't talking to me.

"With all of you picking some rather balanced stats, let me tell you now about the beauty of your 1 single skill point! In your Skill window, you have a bunch of cheat-like skills! One of a kind too! Pick one and stick with it!" he told us.

Maybe I won't screw this one up? I asked myself as I opened the window and boy were there a lot of skills there.

Moving the window was easy, I just had to say in my mind: 'up' or 'down' and the window complied. As I scrolled, only one skill caught my attention: Dragon Tamer.

Just a while ago, I was happily playing a game with dragons, but I had to slay them, not tame them. It made me a bit curious though. The entity did say that these were unique, one-of-a-kind skills. Thus, believing I had nothing to lose, I opened the details for that specific skill.

Select the Dragon Tamer skill. Show me the details for this skill. I thought, and the window changed to details about the skill:

[Dragon Tamer]: This is a passive, buff type skill. When a Hero develops any sort of friendly or intimate relationship with someone of a Dragon origin, this skill will allow the creation of a special bond between the two of them. The bond is indestructible by any other skill unless the Hero wills it. The Hero gains 25% of the Dragon's Stats, and the Dragon will gain the ability to level up 2X faster when in the presence of the Hero.

Sounds interesting, but not something which I would pick for my first go. Let's see what else is there… I thought and when I closed the window and went back to the skill selection screen, I saw only [Dragon Tamer] being displayed there. I paled.

"Everyone chose a skill! This is perfect! By the way, don't nag about not wanting the skill. It's your fate that led you to the skill, so deal with it!" the selfish entity declared.

I just wanted to look at the details, not make it mine! I wanted to scream, but there was nothing I could do.

Things were getting serious. Not only did I waste my only skill point, but I also wasted all of my stat points. I was a goner! I was going to end up killed by a slime and resurrected as an Imp! I was certain about it.

"You got your first skill, you selected your stats, and with that said, I wish you all to have fun and may your deeds either save or doom planet Earth! By the way, I made it so that you can jump into a noob friendly area perfect for your selected stats and skill! So, do not worry about landing in the Dragon Kingdom or something like that. Oh, and stay away from Albeyater! Good bye, heroes from Earth! Hahaha!" laughed the entity as all around me people started to vanish in a bright white light.

Crud… I thought.

A moment later, I found myself standing on something dark and furry. I could move, and I could finally open my mouth to talk. I wasn't on Earth, but on the weird planet I saw earlier.

"Status." I said, and the menu appeared before me.

This actually happened… Ugh… I groaned and annoyed by my own stupidity, I punched the furry thing as hard as I could.

Wait… furry? I blinked surprised.

"Grrr!" I heard a growl, and its owner didn't sound very happy.

With a gulp, I turned around and saw this little doggy, not big, just about 6 m (19.6 ft) tall with four heads equipped with razor-sharp teeth.

100 Luck my foot! I grumbled in my mind.