Author's Note: I've removed some of the Prologue for those that do not wish to read about Jay before he goes into the game-world. It could be said that the relevant parts of the Prologue for the first volume is the part I now included in the first part of Chapter 1.

Amended Prologue

Doing as he was told, Jason relaxed. Moments later, he felt the sharp stinging sensation that always accompanied the insertion of a cable into the data-jack at the back of his neck. A surge of energy flooded his mind. Everything went black for a moment. Then he stood inside a white room, looking at a reflection of himself, holding an ephemeral Data-screen. When he moved, the reflection moved. It wasn't like a mirror, however, it was more like a doll that looked and moved exactly as him.

“What do you want to be called in God's Dream?” A feminine voice chimed from somewhere.

Thinking for a while, not really having a good idea of what to call himself he went with something easy, something his old squad had called him in the army: “Jay.”

“Very well, Jay. Welcome to God's Dream,” the voice said. “You are specifically Jay#47561. This name and number is only your specific indicator of your person.”

“Fine,” Jason said, looking down on the data-screen.

Choose your race: Human Elven Beastial Dwarven

“Computer,” Jason said. “What are the differences between races?”

“The Human race has no sub-race. It is adaptive and can become almost anything. This race also has the most Stat Points to distribute before entering the game, at 72.”

“The Elven race has five sub-races: Wood Elf, Moon Elf, Dark Elf, Pixie and Shay. The Elven sub-races have an inclination toward the hunter-, thief- and ranger-specific professions. They have elevated Dexterity, Intelligence and Perception as their core Stat Points. You can change 40 Stat Points on your own at creation.”

“The Bestial races have four sub-races: Cat-people, Dog-people, Rodent-people and Lizard-people. These four races have little in common and are geared toward different Professions. The Cat-people are dominant in Dexterity, Perception and Vitality. The Dog-people are dominant in Strength, Endurance and Willpower. The Rodent-people are dominant in Dexterity, Endurance and Vitality. The Lizard-people are dominant in Strength, Wisdom and Vitality. You can change 40 Stat Points on your own at creation.”

“The Dwarven races have three sub-races: Dwarf, Gnome and Halfling. Dwarves are good with their hands, and all have an additional Skill at the beginning of the game called 'Handicraft' which helps in the manual creation of things. The Dwarf has its primary Stat Points in Strength, Dexterity and Endurance. The Gnome has its primary Stat Points in Dexterity, Wisdom and Intelligence. The Halfling has its primary Stat Points in Dexterity, Perception and Endurance. You can change 40 Stat Points on your own at creation.”

The AI listed off all that information at a hurried pace. Jason thought his head was going to explode. “If the human race has 72 Stat Points to distribute at the beginning of the game, what's the benefit to choose any other race?”

“Humans have a total of 80 Stat Points at their beginning, but all other races have more than 120 starting Stat Points; 80 of those Stat Points are fixed at creation, however. You can either choose a prepared and slightly stronger starting character or build your own from scratch, even though it's weaker.”

“I see,” Jason said, clicking the button for Human.

Okay, Jason thought, looking down on the Data Screen in his hand. It said:

Enter Your Basic Stats

Strength	STR	0	+	-
Dexterity	DEX	0	+	-
Endurance	END	0	+	-
Vitality	VIT	0	+	-
Perception	PER	0	+	-
Wisdom	WIS	0	+	-
Intelligence	INT	0	+	-
Willpower	WIL	0	+	-

Stats Remaining: 0

This was where he hoped his idea from earlier would pay for itself. He reduced all stats except Intelligence and Wisdom. He had always wished he were both smart and wise, but in his life he had always felt lacking in the mental department; this was a chance to change that. Looking at all the stats he could see what they did and how they influenced his character.

The four physical stats Strength, Endurance, Dexterity and Vitality changed different physical attributes and could be clearly seen in his reflection. The four mental stats Perception, Intelligence, Wisdom and Willpower did not change his appearance, but he could still somehow feel their influence inside his mind.

After having reduced all stats except Intelligence and Wisdom to 1, he now had 54 stats to distribute where he wanted. He quickly put all of them in Intelligence, and the most marvelous thing happened. He felt a clarity of thought he had never felt before. Looking at his reflected body he saw that the reduced Strength, Endurance, Vitality and Dexterity had changed his body into looking skeletal and gaunt, yet a spark of something seemed to be alive in his eyes.

He could actually see the difference his Stats made on his physical appearance. It was as Zein had said. Now he only had to think about what the smartest way to build his starting character would be. And he already had the idea of having high Intelligence and Wisdom, because it would greatly increase the way he could plan how to improve inside the game.

He removed some points from Intelligence and put them into Wisdom to see if that gave him the ability he thought it would: to make it possible to see more alternatives about how to choose what he should do. And it did. He could visualize more options about how to go about creating his character.

He fiddled around some more, taking away points from his Intelligence and putting them into other stats that he thought he needed to raise. He raised his wisdom some more, thinking it best to have the ability to think of more options than to have a clearer picture of what was. The difference between Intelligence and Wisdom was small, yet significant. He could feel how Intelligence gave him the understanding of what was, while Wisdom gave him the ability to use what he understood to come to new conclusions.

After some time—he did not know how long—he felt finished. Though now that he looked at his Data Screen he felt troubled. He knew he had understood clearly what he needed in each stat when he had a much higher Intelligence, but now that he had lowered his Intelligence he didn't really understand it any more. But he somehow knew that he should trust his former, smarter self.

“Hey, Computer? I'm done.” Jason said.

“Do you wish to change your outer appearance?” the light female voice asked from everywhere.

“Yes, how do I do that? Or rather, could you just make me look like I did when I entered this room, but younger. I want to look like I did before, when I actually cared about things.”

“There you are,” the computer said.

Before Jason stood an image of himself, or rather the man he had been before he entered the battlefield. He looked like when he was still at the Company's War Academy, at the top of his physical condition and a bright future ahead of him as a squad leader.

Looking at his old self, the reflection's golden brown crew-cut hair, strong muscled arms and lanky build, made him feel old. The ordinary, but calm face, with piercing light blue eyes, looked like how he still saw himself when he thought about his youth. It felt refreshing to see a reflection of himself that didn't look worn and weary, and without his usual dully uncaring eyes.

“Thanks,” Jason said, not knowing why he thanked the computer, but knowing he had just felt nostalgic about something good for the first time in years. “Well, I'm done now then?”

“Yes, soon. Where do you wish to start your journey?” the female voice asked, and everything shifted.

Looking down, Jason saw what looked like it could be a very accurate map if it hadn't been covered by a misty black... something... disguising most of the places. The only things he could see with any clarity were the hundred or so dots that he assumed were cities. He could see their relative size and figured there were eight very large cities, some twenty smaller cities and the rest could only be called over-sized villages. “Can you tell me where the most players start?”

“Of course Jay,” the voice said. “The cities of Silfrey, Mornock and Falfarrion have all had close to one million players immigrate there. Closely after those are...”

“Enough,” Jason said, interrupting the Computer. He didn't care about the names of cities right now, he only wanted to know where not to start. “Tell me of a few places that have not had more than ten thousand starting players, but more than five thousand.”

“Okay. There is Rudaria, Garam's Gorge, Marin Shallows, Shayd Hollow and...”

Jason interrupted again, “Which of those are not close to the largest cities?”

“Garam's Gorge and Shayd Hollow are not close to any large city.”

“Tell me some general information about them.”

“Garam's Gorge is in the mountains. A small city, mostly reliant on its mining and foresting, it gives access to all the starting professions and some more specialized in mining and foresting.

“Shayd Hollow is in the desert, surrounded by it in fact, but situated at an oasis beneath a humongous rock that has been hollowed out as the city grew. It's specialized in trading and survival in harsh environments. It gives access to all the starting professions and some more specialized trading and exploration. Where do you wish to start?”

Jason was silent for some time. What was better? A mining town close to a forest or a desert city with lots of trade? After some thinking, he chose the first. “Send me to Garam's Gorge.” And as soon as he did a flash of light blinded him of everything in his surroundings.

Chapter 1

Failing Power

Floating in complete darkness, not even seeing his body, Jay felt weird. It felt as if he had been there both an eternity and for an instant. The paradoxical feeling made him frantically look for something to latch on to, something to make time into a reality again. Where was he? Who was he? He remember a conversation with a strangely clad man in a sterile room with nothing but a bed with strange equipment attached to it.

In the distance he saw a minuscule point of light that slowly expanded. He fixated on the point of light as it slowly grew; it expanded into something larger than himself, something that enveloped him in its gentle warmth. The darkness had disappeared and he felt like he was flying down a tubular something made from different colored light streaking by him at enormous speeds. Then everything stopped. He opened his eyes.

Looking around, he was standing in a large room with an arching stone ceiling stretching up far above him. The walls above were more window than wall, letting in glaring rays of sunlight between its decorated stone pillars; the beautiful patterns of climbing vines and flowers looked like they were real, yet frozen in stone.

He wanted to look at himself, but couldn't see any mirrors, so he stretched out his arms in front of him and looked at his hands, the strain almost made him topple. He felt weak. His arms felt strained as if he was holding some enormous weight, yet he wasn't. He could not hold up his arms any longer, letting them drop down at his sides again, panting at the effort. What was going on?

He looked around, seeing other people looking a bit lost, yet grinning. They were most likely also new players. He compared himself with them. They did not seem to have any trouble moving their bodies. Why did he? He had to go ask someone.

Taking a step, or trying to, Jay dragged his foot across the floor, losing balance and fell flat on his face.

Fall Damage -5HP You are Stunned

What the..? he thought, lying on the floor, trying to get up, but failing as his muscles screamed out in pain.

He heard a chuckle from somewhere. Someone else laughing slightly. And a voice proclaiming: "It seems like there is another person that put too few Stat Points in Strength. I can't believe people don't understand the implications of their Strength being too low." A cascade of laughter followed the pronouncement.

Jay lay silent, conserving his strength, not caring about what others thought or said. He had more important things to do: like... getting up from the floor.

Why did this happen? I could move just fine when I changed my character stats, he thought, feeling that he couldn't just stay down on the floor in the middle of the room. He looked around slowly, watching the crowds sparsely dotting the humongous room. If he could just get to a wall and prop himself up, he could observe others and see if he could find some answer to his lacking strength.

He soon gave up trying to stand again and began crawling toward the nearest wall. Slowly, but surely, he gained ground. After a few minutes he was at the wall, going up on his knees by sheer force of will. He turned, putting his back to the wall and slouched down, feeling exhausted.

You are no longer Stunned.

He ignored the message, thinking about the future. He knew he had to do something about this; if he couldn't even walk around with his low strength it would make everything he did more difficult by far. I have a feeling this is okay, but why did I not think of this? Or did I and I can't understand the reason why anymore because of my lowered Intelligence? This sucks.

Wanting to look at his status window to try and figure out what he should first do to remedy the situation, he said: “View Status.”

Hello, I am your guide to God's Dream. You are currently in the town of Garam's Gorge. If there is anything you need answered just ask me. A childish feminine voice said in his head.

“What? Who? Where?” He said, stuttering, not knowing what question he wanted an answer to first.

“A total noob.” “Wow, he doesn't even know how to use the system.” Jay heard voices close by mocking him.

I am your Guiding Spirit. We are connected by a mental link. A small cloud of fluffy whitish blue mist came together into a mix between a small, somehow childish, face and a cloud. Its mouth moved as it continued. I am here to help you understand the world of God's Dream. If you have a question I can answer I will.

Okay..? Jay thought. Can you hear my thoughts?

Yes, quite clearly, the cloud said, its mouth moving as if it had actually spoken, but only Jay seemed to be able to hear or see it.

Okay. Good. I don't need anything from you right now. How do I call you if I need you? Jay thought.

I am always here. You just need to think something that indicates asking me a question and I will answer. The cloud said.

Jay thought for a while about that and the implications of it hearing all his thoughts while understanding that the guide heard his thoughts about it. This felt troublesome. How about this? I'll call you Claudine. And every time I want you to appear I'll call you by that name. Do you understand?

Yes. Claudine said. Thank you for giving me a name. I wondered why I didn't have one.

You wondered? Jay thought. Do you mean you can have independent thoughts?

Claudine's face was still for a while, the cloudy outer edges of its face fussing and rippling. Yes? I think I can think. I don't know. Maybe? I know of many things, but that is only memory, not thought.

Woah, Jay thought back. That didn't make anything any clearer. Well, whatever, if I want your help I'll ask for you. Until then, stand by.

Claudine didn't say anything else, but didn't disappear completely either, a blueish white sliver of it could be seen at the top right corner of Jay's field of view.

Going back to what he was going to do earlier he looked down at the ephemeral Data Screen that had opened when he said 'View Status.' earlier:

Name	Jay
Race	Human
Profession	None
Title	Idiot Savant
Level	1
Experience (to Next Level) (% to Next Level)	0 (100) (100.00%)
Alignment	0 (Neutral)
Fame	0 (Unknown)
Charisma	0
Leadership	0
Health (Max) (%Regen/min)	150 (150) (1.06%Regen)
Mana (Max) (%Regen/min)	1350 (1350) (1,80%Regen)
Strength	1 (3%)
Dexterity	3 (0%)
Endurance	3 (1%)
Vitality	3 (0%)
Perception	10 (0%)
Wisdom	40 (0%)
Intelligence	15 (0%)
Willpower	5 (4%)
Available Stats:	0
Defense	3.018 (*100.6%)
Stamina (Max) (% Consumption)	62 (65) (99.95%)
Hydration (Max) (% Consumption)	449 (450) (99.97%)
Weapon Damage	(Base: 1) 1.054 (105,42%)
Attack Speed	1.015 (101.5%)
Spell Damage	(Base: 1) 1.5604 (156.04%)
Magical Casting Speed	1.512 (151.2%)
Critical Damage	(Base: 200%) 208%
Ranged Attack Damage	(Base: 0) 0 (104.955%)
Accuracy	1.017 (101.725%)
Movement Speed	1.035 (103,5%)
Flexibility	1.015 (101.5%)
Visual Acuity	10.75

I shouldn't have scrimped on Strength as much as I did. He had not thought ahead enough, having assumed that he would be able to at least walk around without a problem even if he had only one in Strength, but it seemed that the place where he made his character had not simulated gravity and only shown how the character would look. He should have asked the interface if he was experiencing his character exactly how it would behave in God's Dream during the creation. Why hadn't he thought of it? The only conclusion he could draw was that he had been smart enough to figure out that there would be a difference, but underestimated it.

If only he could have thought of this happening he would have been able to avoid it. Hind-sight was always easy though, and he could only hope that in this reality, where he could change his very person, he could become smart and wise enough to know how to never make any thoughtless blunders. Well, that was for the future at least. And now he had to figure out the game mechanics enough to function.

Skimming through his Status Window he saw a few things he hadn't seen when placing his stats at creation. For one, he had a title which said 'Idiot Savant'; the other things were more easily understood, such as Attack Damage and the like, it was like any other game, though how everything was calculated was still a mystery. Maybe he should ask Claudine? He refrained for now. It was not time for understanding, it was time for action. He had to do something to compensate for his low Strength.

Seeing a percentile with every Base Stat, Jay had a thought. Hey Claudine, the percentile behind the Base Stat, what does it indicate?

Yes? It tells how much experience you have in using that Stat. When it reaches 100%, you get a new point in that Stat. Claudine said.

Figured as much, but how do I get it to increase? Jay thought.

You have to do something that relates to its function. Claudine said.

And that means?

Hm, Claudine said, you have to exercise the Stat. Take Strength, for example, if you lift heavy objects and exert yourself you will gain experience in Strength.

Thanks, Jay thought. That solved one question. He had already gotten three percent in Strength. It must have come from his crawl to where he was now sitting. Second question. What does this Title thing do?

If you look at your Title you will see what it does, Claudine said.

How? With the command View Title? Jay thought. Another, smaller Data Screen opened up.

Titles:

Idiot Savant Because of your steadfast concentration and ability to block out all surrounding disturbances, you have gained an ability beyond the norm to concentrate on a specific thing. When focusing intently on learning something new the possibility of you learning a skill increases by 400%

Ah... no need to answer that Claudine.

Jay thought it best to start doing something about raising his Strength. Willing himself up to a standing position, he leaned against the wall. Just pushing himself from a sitting position to standing felt not just exhausting, but actually hurt a little bit. Sighing, he bent his knees slightly, and when he almost fell, pushed hard, sliding his back against the wall. It was ideal to start training using his own body as a weight.

After almost an hour of relentless, slow, exhausting training, Jay had gained one Strength and a couple of percent towards the next. He felt happy. Even if he had to exhaust himself and do physical training before even leaving the building, it would pay off in the long run; he knew it would. If he could train for another couple of days he would surely have more than enough Strength to not be burdened by his own body at least. To destroy his happy mood a Screen popped up.

You are Exhausted. Your Stamina has reached 0 Your Strength has decreased by 80% You lose 5 HP every minute while your Stamina is 0

Claudine, what does that mean? Jay asked. Hoping it wasn't what he thought it was. How do I get more Stamina?

There are many ways of regaining your Stamina. One of those is eating food; another is to learn a skill like...

Jay interrupted. Enough. Where can I get food?

You can buy food at any local restaurant or shop. You can also hunt for animals to cook, or gather vegetables and plants from the forest, Claudine said.

Jay sighed because of his blunder. More specifically, where is the closest place for me to get some food?

The Beginner's Guild gives all new Adventurers a welcome gift. I believe it contains some food and material anyone beginning might need, Claudine said.

And where is the Beginner's Guild? Jay asked, hoping it was close enough for him to reach. In twenty nine minutes he would die of starvation. It was almost so sad that he had to laugh at it. He could actually starve to death before a day had passed. How weak was his body?

You're in the Beginner's Guild. In the Greeting Hall to be exact, Claudine said, a wispy tendril shooting out from her amorphous shape to point. Over there. Do you see that counter beside the large open doors? That's where you can get your welcome gift.

Jay felt better now, it was close enough that he should have all the time in the world to get there. But somehow, he knew it wouldn't be as easy as he hoped. His body was trembling just from standing. His Strength had doubled, but being Exhausted had a negative effect on how he could use his Strength. He was now even weaker than before.

Reaching out a hand to the wall, he steadied himself, slid his foot forward slightly and began his slow shuffle toward the counter. It would be more than double the distance if he walked beside the wall, but he didn't believe he would be able to even reach the counter standing if he couldn't use something as a support.

As it would have it, Jay's prediction was correct. Even using the wall he fell down not only once, but four times before reaching the counter. He felt cold sweat and panic as he pushing himself up and leaned on the counter.

“Hello,” he said, voice trembling, sweat dripping from his face. “I heard you give beginners help here. Is that correct?”

The short, pudgy man with an ordinary face, clad in all brown home-spun clothes, looked bored behind the counter. “Yes. Just give me your Newcomer's Medal and I will exchange it for this bag,” the man held up a scruffy yellow bag the size of a man's head in one hand and reached out the other hand toward Jay.

Jay had no idea what this Newcomer's Medal was. Claudine, what's that medal he's talking about?

Claudine responded with a pointing tendril. That medal around your neck is what he is talking about. All new Adventurers have one. It's exchanged so that you can only get one bag. The city is paying for this from taxes and...

Jay interrupted. Thanks, Claudine.

Taking off his medal, giving it to the man, Jay received the yellow cloth bag. He took hold of it with both hands, already knowing he probably couldn't lift it otherwise. He was right. As the man let go of the bag, Jay's hands flew down toward the floor. And he followed right after. Damn this stupid body.

Down on all four, and with an audience, Jay crawled away from the counter to an empty place in the shadows. He leaned back against the wall again and took a breath. He had to know how much Health he had left. Not only had he lost Health from being exhausted, he had also received fall damage four times when going to the counter to get his welcome gift. View Health, he thought. A Screen opened.

Health (Max) (% Regenerated/min)

29 HP (150 HP) (1.06%)

He had twenty nine Health Points left. Almost six minutes left to live. "Phew..." He sighed.

Pushing his hand inside the scruffy yellow bag he picked out all the items and put them on the floor, holding on to the hard biscuits that was the only food he could find in the bag.

Taking a bite from the hard biscuit, he checked his Stamina. View Stamina.

Stamina (Max) (% Consumption)

2 (70) (99.95%)

Claudine, how do I check the specific amount of Stamina each hard biscuit gives?

You can buy the Skill Scroll 'Observe' from the Beginner's Guild Skill Shop. The shop is on the third floor of the Beginner's Guild Auxiliary Tower. If you go outside and down the street to your left you should find the tower. It's the tallest building in the Beginner's Guild Compound, Claudine prattled on. Jay had stopped listening intently after hearing about how he had to buy a Skill Scroll to be able to figure something he should easily be able to figure out by some thinking and measuring. And he only had fifty copper coins from his welcome gift bag, he didn't want to spend what little money he had on trying to understand biscuits.

Claudine continued. Stamina is spent when you move around. One stamina per minute is consumed when actively doing things. While you remain inactive the Stamina consumption goes down rapidly and you only spend around one Stamina per hour while resting. If you exert your mental capabilities you also burn Stamina, but this rate is relative to how hard you have to concentrate and I cannot give you an exact ratio. Does that explain what you wanted to know? She asked.

Yes, thank you, Claudine, Jay thought. After having eaten the entire biscuit he saw that he now had five Stamina, and it wasn't rising anymore. This meant from one biscuit he got five minutes of intensive training and it had taken close to one hour to get from one Strength to two. He had nineteen more biscuits; close to a hundred minutes of intensive training—if he spent his time like that—or a hundred hours of rest. He figured it was best to do nothing and think about how to overcome this horrible situation he had found himself in. Wasn't his Intelligence and Wisdom going to make him more mentally able? How had it come to this?

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