I found myself standing in an all-white room once my vision cleared. The room’s ceiling was shining similarly to a fluorescent light, making the room appear as bright as the middle of the day. This place seemed about as big as a classroom, though as far as desks and chairs went, there was only a single pair placed in the center of the room. Resting on top of the desk was a laptop computer. These three objects were the only things inside.
The computer was already booted up, and software that reminded me of Microsoft Excel was displayed across the entire screen. Nervous, I gingerly approached the desk and peered at the screen.
My name was written across the top of the screen above the labels “Level: 1” and “Skill Points: 2.” Even further below was a table filled with terms such as “Swords,” “Spears,” “Magic,” etc.
Stunned by the turn of events, I shook my head in confusion. Was someone playing a prank on me? What the hell was this? As perplexed as I felt, though, I wasn’t entirely clueless as to what was displayed before me.
I could see a status table with terms similar to what you’d expect from a video game—specifically, it was my status table. Comparisons aside, values such as STR, INT, HP, and MP were not written anywhere.
From what I could tell, the only things made available for viewing in this gamelike world (or wherever I was) were my level and skills. There were plenty of games out there like this, some even choosing to disguise all of the characters’ stat values by data masking.
So, what exactly does the stuff on this screen mean…? I pondered, my mind a disordered mess. Level: 1 and Skill Points: 2… Does that mean I can pick two skills now? Or are the points required to pick skills different for each one…?
Either way, I could set that stuff aside for now. Perhaps I shouldn’t have dismissed it so casually, but I decided to leave it be. My top priority right now was to find out what was happening.
“Hey!” I cried out. “Is someone out there? Could you please explain what this is and what these values mean?”
I wasn’t expecting a reply. I mean, who would? If the world was kind enough to offer an explanation to anyone who asked, then I’m sure I would’ve lived a much better life. At the very least, I might not have been so desperate to get out of my situation that I had tried to kill him.
Fortunately, the one reigning over this space appeared to be far kinder than the various people back in my world. A pop-up appeared on the screen with the words “Please ask any questions here” written inside, even being so considerate as to include a blank field.
✦ ✦ ✦
I’m afraid I’ll have to omit the computer’s response to my initial question. Not only was the answer lengthy, but there was also more than a fair share of useless explanations mixed in as well. Not one to be discouraged, I continued to ask question after question, probing further with each one. I started with simple ones such as “What is this place?” and “Who are you?” before switching to more detailed ones, like “Who is the person who created this computer?” I even asked about the specifics of parts inside, like the CPU.