Stein peered at the flawless lady before him, trying to make sense of her words. "Ascended?" he repeated after her. What did that mean? Was he dead? Was this heaven, and she an angel?
"Yes, ascended," she nodded. "The Ascension is a process that starts from conception.
Adventurers like you acquire stagnant EXP and reach Level One on their sixteenth birthday."
Stein frowned. Was this what happened to some kids on their birthdays? Even still, what was she saying: EXP? Level One?
Those words belonged in a video game, not on the tongue of such a divine-looking being.
The woman's smile faded into a thoughtful frown.
"The system uses these terms because they are familiar to the minds of most adventurers," she said. "Even if you have never heard them before, they are easy to understand."
She continued, "Every world has a level limit. In your previous world, Earth, the limit was zero.
Anyone who surpassed Level Zero would ascend to the second world, Razaaham. There, the level limit is twenty-nine.
Surpass that, and you will ascend to the next world."
Stein swallowed. So he wasn't dead. He had just left earth. Apparently, he was going to a world called Razaaham, but where was he right now?
"Limbo." The woman waved a hand. "The space that exists between worlds."
Stein frowned. This woman could read his thoughts. What was she, a god?
The woman's lips curled into a tight smile as she softly glided higher into the air.
"I go by many names and titles: Hermit of the Old, Scholar Maiden, Pandora, Goddess of Information, Goddess of the Curious, but I prefer Solovay, Lover of Nerds, Seeker of the Lost, and yes, Goddess of Information."
Stein blinked. This lady was actually a divine being. He tried to compose himself and focus on the matter at hand.
Stein raised a finger. "So, why was I chosen? What am I supposed to do?"
Solovay waved a hand at him. "The process is random and far above your comprehension. As for what you are supposed to do, you'll have to figure that out for yourself.
Most Adventurers seek a stable, comfortable realm to continue their lives, some seek to return to their past world, Others seek power or acknowledgement.
Return back home? To his drunk father and solitary life? That was the last thing Stein would do.. This ascension thing worked like a video game.
He had always wanted to play video games, but he had been too busy studying and struggling to make ends meet that he never had the chance.
This was a second chance at life. He could start all over. Now, he could finally have as much fun as he wanted.
"If that's all, then it's time to send you off," Solovay extended a hand in his direction.
"Wait," Stein stepped forward, raising his hands. He still had a lot of questions. "Goodbye, adventurer."
Solovay was gone, and he was alone once again.
Beads of sweat began to form on Stein's forehead. It was as though there was a raging ball of fire hidden somewhere within the light. Why was it so hot?
The light around him began to dim, and shapes began taking form around him. The sky was blue and clear without a single cloud in sight.
Stein thought it looked like a normal day until he saw the sun. It was a colossus. He gaped at it in surprise while shielding his eyes. It was almost three times as large as the sun on Earth would look.
He cast his gaze down as they began to hurt. A dull dirt carpet stretched in every direction. Sand.
He was in a desert, which wasn't surprising. How could any plant survive with such an aggressive sun looming above?
Stein hadn't been here for a minute yet, and his shirt was already soaked in sweat.
He frowned at the dirty brown sack he now wore. It looked like it was made from long pieces of straw tied together with rope.
He wore similar trousers, held up by thick rope around his waist. His legs, however, were in brown boots.
Distant voices caught Stein's attention. He glanced behind him and saw a group of people.
One of them was wearing a sack similar to Stein's. He was sitting on the sand, surrounded by three figures who were almost covered from head to toe.
They wore multiple layers of loose clothing with scarves, hats, and turbans to minimize exposure to the sun and heat.
Stein hesitated before taking slow steps toward them. He had to at least know what they were talking about.
"I said menu, idiot, menu!" a girl shouted before slapping the head of the boy sitting on the sand.
"Now say 'materialize reward.'" A different voice spoke this time around. A boy's.
The boy in the brown sack slowly looked up. "Are you… are you trying to rob me?" he stammered.
The girl took a palm to her face
"No shit, Sherlock," one of her male companions replied before kicking the boy in the gut.
The sack boy doubled over into a fetal position, and the trio began kicking and punching him. One of them spared a glance at Stein. It was the girl.
"Wait for your turn, brownie," she grinned at him before kicking the other boy right in the nose. A second later blood was gushing out of it and getting everywhere.
Stein wiped his forehead and spun around. He really appeared to be in the middle of nowhere. He couldn't just run away. He could be walking right into danger and not know it. Besides, the gang ahead was clearly familiar with the desert and didn't seem worried about him escaping.
Come to think of it, Solovay did mention a system, and those bandits kept yelling "menu."
"Menu," Stein whispered.
The words were still leaving his mouth when glowing lines appeared in the air. A second later, a bunch of words hovered before him.
At the center and to the right of these sections were two notifications written in large red letters.
Stein was thinking of what to say to access the welcome message when the
Another notification popped up.
<200 Spiros>
Stein's eyes narrowed.
"Hey, brownie!"
Stein spun to see the three bandits approaching him. The wind flapped their layered clothing, revealing gleaming steel. A quick glance past them showed the other boy groaning, but still alive.
"Materialize reward."
Sparks of light gathered in Stein's hand. The bandits stopped cautiously until the light vanished, revealing a dull brown leather pouch.
Stein obviously couldn't take them on in a fight. There was no point getting beaten or killed over nothing.
He tossed the pouch to the girl bandit, who appeared to be the leader. She caught it without taking her eyes off him, then tossed it to a companion.
"Appraisal!" the other bandit held the pouch up to the sky. A single beam of light shot down from the heavens, striking the pouch.
"There's nothing wrong with it. Two hundred Spiros," he said in disbelief. "Is he mad?"
The girl stared intently at Stein, slowly walking up to him. For a moment he thought they would rough him up anyway.
Then she broke into a grin, slapping him on his shoulder."That was really smart of you. I wish other brownies were like this. It would make the whole thing easier, right guys?"
The other two nodded in agreement.
The girl grabbed his hand. "Hey, I tell you what," she dug into her pocket before placing some bronze coins in Stein's hand.
"You can keep ten, and you'll want to head out of the red zone to the city over there." She pointed to Stein's right.
"Welcome to Raazaham." she laughed, spinning around. "Let's go, boys!"