[ Analyzing... Analyzing... Viable candidate identified. Starting digitalization... Digitalization complete. Processing credentials... Processing complete. Starting incursion. ]
What? What was that voice? It was like a computer talking in Dolan's head, one of those bad AI voice-overs. And what did it mean? Digitalization? Incursion?
Dolan opened his eyes. He was... In a bubble? Yes, a transparent bubble, floating in the void. He could see stars around him, some very far away, others not so much.
For some reason, that didn't worry him. And neither did the fact that he died.
Oh, yeah. Dolan died. He remembered that just know. The woman named Xue Luo stabbed him, and he bled to death. That... Didn't seem very important at the moment. It felt like it should, but it wasn't.
[ Welcome, tester. Please assign a denomination. ]
There it was again. The voice. Dolan spun in the void, but there was no one but him there.
"Huh?"
[ Welcome, tester. Please assign a denomination. ]
The voice repeated. Dolan frowned.
"Err... You mean, like a name? My name?"
[ Welcome, tester. Please assign a denomination. ]
"Uhmm. My name is Dolan. Who are you? Actually, what are you?"
[ Denomination: Dolan. Do you wish to confirm? This action is irreversible. ]
Dolan thought. This time, the voice didn't urge him again. He was very confused. Where was he? And what was happening?
Maybe the voice would give him the answers if he just said yes. But did he want to be known as Dolan to... Whatever this was? His instincts told him he shouldn't. After all, Dolan was dead, wasn't he? He bled to death in his cell. Or at least he think he did.
So, Dolan was dead. But he was also alive. But he shouldn't be. So, by logic, he also shouldn't be Dolan. Not Dolan the coward. Not Dolan the storyteller.
He looked down. The ring finger of his left hand was still missing. So maybe he was actually Dolan?
No... No, Dolan was dead. He knew that for sure. Then who was he now?
"Hm, no. Err, don't confirm."
[ Understood. Please assign a denomination, tester. ]
Ah, this time the voice changed! Well, not really. It was still the same voice. But the phrase had changed. That was something... Right?
Denomination, denomination... A name. His name. What should his name be now that Dolan was dead?
He looked down at his hand again. Right. He was a storyteller. He sold rumors. He did. Then...
"Rumor. Can that be my name?"
[ Verifying... Accepted. Denomination: Rumor. Do you wish to confirm? This action is irreversible. ]
"Yes."
This time, Rumor didn't hesitate. He confirmed, and waited. Then, he waited some more. And some more.
"Hey, is someone there... Ahh!"
The galaxy zoomed by. Stars became lines, the void became... Everything. He was going fast. So unbelievably fast.
And then he stopped. Rumor turned. Huh. His bubble had changed colors. Now it was green.
[ Identified as tester's Rumor first connection to The Mind. Incursion count: 0. Selecting incursion... Incursion selected. ]
[ Incursion type... Closed. Incursion difficulty... Low. ]
[ Starting incursion. ]
[ Good luck, tester Rumor. ]
The bubble... Popped. And Rumor fell. Straight down, into darkness. Into nothingness. Into...
...
"Ouch!"
Rumor sat up, and immediately hit his head. The ceiling was low! Or, no, it was actually a shelf above his bed. His... Bed?
His eyes slowly adjusted to the sudden brightness. He was in some sort of house, and a very barren one on top of that. Apart from this - uncomfortable - bed and the rotten shelf above his head, there was barely anything. A table and a chair. A few trinkets. A rusted but robust metal door, and a just-as-decayed control panel next to it.
No windows. The wall - singular, because it was just one thing - was made of some kind of white sandstone, curving over his head to form a dome, full of cracks. It looked about as battered down as the rest of the house.
It was better than wherever he was before.
Space, Rumor thought. That had been... Terrifying. Mainly because he hadn't been spooked when he was there. It had seemed... Normal. But it wasn't. Not even close.
Here was better. At least he wasn't shot or stabbed. He checked. His head also wasn't swollen, and the cut on his forehead was gone. In fact, he felt better than he had ever felt before.
His finger was still missing, though. Guess whoever- Whatever fixed him couldn't fix that.
[ Welcome to your first incursion, tester Rumor. Please check your information to begin. ]
Right. The voice. It was still in his head, telling him what to do. And, considering everything that happened, obeying it seemed like the smart thing to do.
"Hmm... Information?"
He tentatively called, and, to his astonishment, something appeared. Something that shouldn't be possible. In front of him, a hologram of some kind floated, full of text. Rumor read it, confused at first, and then befuddled at last.
[ Name: Rumor ]
[ Titles: None ]
[ Prestige: Unknown ]
[ Health (HP): 100 ]
[ Mental Points (MP): 70 ]
[ Strength: 4 ]
[ Dexterity: 6 ]
[ Vitality: 5 ]
[ Temperance: 7 ]
[ Spirit: 5 ]
[ Appeal: 6 ]
[ Attack: Physical - 20 (Strength X 5), Mental - 25 (Spirit X 5) ]
[ Defense: 10 (Vitality X 2) ]
[ Free attribute points: 2 ]
[ Skills: None ]
[ Equipment: None ]
[ Active missions: None ]
[ Incursions: 1 ]
Rumor stared, slack-jawed, at the panel floating in front of his eyes. It even had a miniature version of him, with his messy black hair, the stubble on his chin, and dark eyes. It showed even his missing fingers and, he just now noticed, the weirdly baggy clothes he was wearing, all in light pastel tones. Certainly not the jeans and shirt he was donning before.
"Hey, uhmm... What is all this? I'm... Very lost. And scared. By the way, what should I call you?"
Rumor was rambling, and he knew it. But this wasn't like anything he ever experienced before. For fuck's sake, he had just died! And then flown amongst the stars, and now he was here. Wherever here was.
[ I am The Mind. ]
"Right... And what exactly is that?"
[ Your prestige is insufficient to access more information. ]
Rumor started. Then he looked at the line in his... Character page? His prestige was [ Unknown ], so that made sense. Kinda.
"Okay. Can you at least tell me where I am? I thought I was dead. No, I was sure I was. But then, I wasn't anymore. It's very confusing."
[ You were deemed a viable candidate. The Mind digitalized your body and healed your injuries. And you are in your first incursion. ]
"And... What's an incursion? You said that a lot."
[ During an incursion, you will enter a parallel world. You will be assigned a mission. Complete that mission, and you may leave. Fail, and you will be erased. Please remember that your digitalized body can experience 100% of the sensations your normal body can, including, but not limited to: pain and pleasure. Everything is perfectly replicated, including death. ]
"Death? I can die? Again?"
[ Yes. Death in a parallel world is final. You have already been offered a second chance. The Mind will not extend a third. ]
"Okay. Okay, okay, okay. Cool. Very cool."
Rumor was freaking out. He paced back and forth, taking deep breaths and trying to calm down. The Mind didn't need to tell him pain was a thing, since he already felt it when he smacked his head. And he wasn't planning on dying again to test if it was telling the truth.
So, what else was important? What else did he need to ask?
A shit load of things, that was what. But what was the most urgent right now, so he could understand his situation better?
"You said I am in a parallel world. Is that, like... Another Earth?"
[ Prestige insufficient. Re-analyzing the inquiry... Match with inquiries of other first incursion testers. Devising acceptable answer... ]
[ This is a world constructed by The Mind based on world-wide impactful constructs of modern culture, such as: movies, books, and games. ]
"You mean... I'm inside of a movie?"
[ That is an acceptable interpretation. ]
The voice said it so matter-of-factly that Rumor couldn't even find it in himself to contest.
"What world am I in?"
[ Please finish the introduction first. You may head out of the door to start your incursion at any moment, but it is recommended you ask all your questions beforehand. ]
Rumor did. He asked a ton of questions. But the most important were just a few.
"You said if I complete the mission, I can leave. Does that mean I can return to the real world?"
[ Correct. Upon successful completion of an incursion, you will be allowed to spend up to three months in the real world, after which you will have to return to your next incursion. ]
"And do I gain anything from this? Or am I just a... A... A toy?"
[ Prestige insufficient to access more information. ]
"Fuck sake... Okay, I got it. I have to complete the mission in this fantasy parallel world, and if do that, I don't die. And I probably gain prestige or whatever the fuck that is - which I know you are not gonna say - and then I can ask more questions. Then... I should get started. But before that, can you explain what those... Attributes I have are? Like, is 4 strength a lot or a little?"
[ Your digitalized body possess the same attributes as your real body. Would you like a comprehensive explanation regarding your attributes? ]
"Yes, please!"
[ Strength: This determines your prowess, your attack, and your ability to carry heavy objects and equipment. ]
[ Dexterity: This determines your movement speed and reactions, as well as your accuracy and evasion rates. ]
[ Vitality: This determines your endurance and stamina, as well as your defense and health points (HP). Every tester possess 50 base points of HP, and every point in vitality equals to 10 HP. ]
[ Temperance: This determines your mental resilience and resistance to any type of attack that is not physical in nature. ]
[ Spirit: This determines your mental power and attack. Every tester possess 20 base mental points (MP). Every point in spirit equals to 10 MP. ]
[ Appeal: This determines your interactions with storyline characters, how they will react to you, and at which rate you gain intimacy with them. Tip: some storyline characters may refuse to talk or even outright attack you if your appeal is too low. ]
Rumor quickly read through the wall of text, and blinked. It was a lot to unpack, but it wasn't actually that complex. Attack and defense were also pretty simple to understand, he just had to read it in his personal information page.
Rumor also asked the Mind about what would be considered a normal human's base attributes, and was told that 5 across the board was pretty much it, with the exception of temperance and appeal, which could vary wildly. So, overall, he wasn't doing too bad.
His strength was a little on the low end, but he had always been skinny, which was why he was so nimble, so he wasn't that bothered.
Having asked all he wanted, Rumor walked towards the door. He figured he would receive his mission after he left what was essentially a hub. But, as he touched the door panel - full of scribbles and symbols he somehow knew how to read, and which already gave him a clue as to which movie he was in - the Mind talked to him again.
[ Please assign your free attribute points before leaving, tester Rumor. You won't be able to do so after you start the incursion. ]
Right, the 2 free attribute points he had. Probably some kind of newbie package, he figured. He put one in strength, just so he could get to the baseline, and the other in dexterity. He had always been the kind to run instead of fight. In Rumor's mind, that wasn't cowardice, but survival instinct.
"Anything else I should know?"
[ You may choose a piece of starting gear. ]
Rumor raised an eyebrow. He was getting annoyed at The Mind really quickly.
"And you didn't say that before because..."
There was no answer. He just sighed.
"Alright. What are my options?"
[ You may choose one between: a weapon, defensive equipment, a miscellaneous item. Your choice will be an item from this parallel world. ]
Rumor pondered for a long while. In the end, considering how he got here in the first place - having been beaten up, shot, locked up, and then stabbed - he went with the weapon. Not the miscellaneous item because it seemed too random, even if it was special in some way, and not the defensive gear because he would prefer to be the one doing the hurting, not taking it.
[ Please check your personal storage. ]
"Personal stora... Ah!"
He just had to think about it and another screen appeared, this one showing a few squares. On the first was a very detailed image of a knife. He poked it, and the real thing materialized in his hands.
It was an obsidian-black curved blade, made of some kind of metalic league Rumor had never seen before. The hilt didn't fit his hand well, as if it was created for someone with less fingers than him. But it would do.
[ Standard Ottegan Army Blade ]
[ Rarity: 1-Star ]
[ Requirements: None ]
[ Attack: 6 ]
[ Attack speed: 7 ]
[ Durability: 15/15 ]
[ Description: This is the standard close-quarters weapon issued by the Ottegan Army in the Ottega System. There's nothing special about it, but it is reliable. ]
[ Observation: Can be brought out of this world. ]
A quick inquiry later, and Rumor learned that equipment could be divided into many categories according to their rarity. They went, lowest to highest, from 1-Star to 5-Stars.
There were others above that, but, again, his prestige was insufficient to known about them.
Satisfied, Rumor put his [ Standard Ottegan Army Blade ] - and wasn't that a mouthful - in his belt.
"Anything else, Mind?"
[ When you are ready, step through the door to start your first incursion, tester Rumor. ]
"No need to get testy now. I'm going."
Taking one last deep breath to prepare himself, Rumor opened the door.
Instantly, he was assaulted by the heat, smell, and noises. All kinds of aliens walked the streets of the little, dusty, and backwards desert town. Some distinctly human, others with six eyes, tentacles, four arms, as big as a two story building, or as small as a child.
Despite himself, Rumor felt excitement like never before.
[ In a galaxy, far, far away... ]
[ Incursion type: Closed ]
[ Incursion difficulty: Low ]
[ Incursion count: 1 ]
[ Welcome, tester Rumor... To the Star Wars universe! ]