The Hero’s Ascension

“Gimme your lunch money, you… uhh. Really weird-looking kid.”

After the words, a fist found its way into my gut, knocking all the air from my lungs. This was the third fucking time this week. The punk-ass bullies had given me the same shakedown three goddamn times. This was what my life had become.

I was tired of it - waking up every day just to deal with this bullshit. I wanted it all to just disappear.

A second fist found its purchase square in the center of my gut, just to remind me where I was.

Shaking off the pain, I wheezed, “Can you assholes… possibly fuck off, please?” I followed it up with a shit-eating grin.

Not a chance, and I knew it. I closed my eyes and braced for the inevitable fist to find its connection, praying I’d just disappear forever.

The seconds ticked away as my anxiety spiked. Maybe this time he’d mess me up badly enough that they’d get expelled.

It never did, however. The silence stretched for what felt like forever.

A soft breeze took its place, an unfamiliar sensation for where I was. Cracking my eyes open slowly, I was met with the vivid greens and bright blues of being outside. This wasn’t like anything I had seen before, though.

“What the hell is happening?!” I raised my vision further, taking in more of what surrounded me. “Did I die? This has to be heaven, right… or Hell, maybe?! What the fuck!”

“You did not die and go to heaven…”

“What… Hello? Who was that?!”

A bright, square panel blinked into existence in front of me. I watched as what looked like a computer boot-up screen played out.

“Ahhh, FUCK! I’m dead! What the shit, dudes? I was only eighteen!” I continued to cry about my situation. “I never even had the chance to kiss a girl or get a job yet!”

[ SYSTEM INITIATION ]

[ 3… ]

[ 2… ]

[ 1… ]

[ Mana Integration ]

[ 25%, 42%, 79% ]

[ DING! COMPLETE! ]

[ Welcome to Gaia, a world of Sword and Magic ]

[ Clint Voyer LVL: 1 EXP: 0/1000 ]

[ RACE: Human/Outworlder ]

[ CLASS: None ]

[ JOB: None ]

“What do you mean, ‘sword and magic’…” I pointed a hand toward a nearby tree. “Magic like this? FIREBALL!”

The very moment the words left my mouth, a red aura grew around my hand, forming a flaming ball that rotated in place as it built in size. It released itself once it reached the size of a basketball.

The flame rushed forward, landing square on the tree's surface. It blew bark away and left a large scorch mark in its place.

“Holy sh—”

[ Fire proficiency +1% ]

[ Proficiency reduces overall mana usage ]

“Please don’t destroy this forest; you literally just got here, dude…” a voice from within my head spoke. “Not very ‘we come in peace,’ is it?”

“Okay, okay… first off, what the hell is going on? And secondly… where the actual hell are you? I can’t see you at all!”

The panel in front of me changed, and on it was a face. Not a human face, a literal emoji face.

“It’s me… I’m talking. I’m your personal system for this world's integration.” The face said, moving its lips like a terrible AI video. “You have been teleported to this world… though it seems something went astray.”

I paused for a moment to mentally take in everything. My mind raced in circles with no noticeable turn-off point. I couldn’t find any logical explanation for this.

“So yes… I did die. Great. What now…,” I said, looking around the area, trying to find some sign of other people. “Where do I go… what do I do?”

A small map pulled up into my vision. Blue dots riddled the area.

“You aren’t far from the capital city of Gaia. Maybe if you take a break from trying to burn the forest down… you could walk there.” The weird, uncanny head said. “The folks are nice and will be your best bet to not get a cold tonight.”

“Can you set up a guide on the system panel?” I asked, looking over the mini-map. “Like in a video game? Wait, do you know what a video game is?”

Without answering me, a faint golden aura appeared in my vision, a line in front of me leading forward.

“Fuck yeah… this is perfect.”

Leaning over, I tied my shoes, noticing the left one was already untied. Once I was done, I took off in a sprint toward the town.

Thoughts raced to be at the front of my mind: Why am I here? More so, how? I found no answers as I ran, passing trees and running over a large stone bridge.

It wasn’t long before lights could be seen in the sky. Stopping at a nearby fence to catch my breath, I looked down at the city. The view pulled the air from my lungs.

“What a… Oh my god!” I looked further. “Everything is so bright… are those pools of water just floating through?” I let out another gasp as I spotted the most mind-blowing thing yet. “Is that a goddamn castle in the sky?!”

In front of me, the city moved at an unreal pace. People crossed bridges made of shimmering blue light. Floating platforms drifted between towers, carrying passengers from one district to another. Streams of glowing water wound through the air like rivers torn free from gravity, weaving between rooftops before disappearing into massive crystal reservoirs.

The entire city sparkled.

Crystal lamps bathed the streets in soft gold light despite the sun still hanging overhead. Strange creatures circled the floating castle above while airships drifted lazily between its towers. Everywhere I looked, something impossible was happening.

My brain had quit trying to explain things somewhere between launching fire from my hands and seeing the floating castle.

I continued toward the city, noticing the cool, crisp air. The streets below were packed with people, yet nobody seemed angry.

I moved toward the city, the air cool and crisp against my skin. Below me, the streets were a packed river of movement and color, yet something felt off. No one shouted. No one looked pissed off or in any particular hurry.

Back home, everyone had that worn-out, clock-watching look, as if they were just counting the seconds until they could get the hell out of wherever they were stuck. Here, there was nothing like that. Just people. Living. It was the quietest, and by far the most unsettling, thing I had witnessed since arriving. Startling me and blocking my view the panel blinked back into existence.

[ Welcome to Grand City ]

The floating head appeared as well, still unsettling the second time.

“That is Grand City, your one-stop shop for supplies, food, magic tools—”

“Answers, maybe?” I interrupted. “You haven’t explained shit since I got here. You’ve just been unhelpful as fuck.”

“Interrupt me again, and I will mute you.”

As I began to argue back, a soft voice came from behind.

“Hello? Who’s there?”