"That was one hell of a run, boys." John exclaimed at the same time the ending stats scrolled, happy as can be to once again enjoy a simple gaming sesh with his best buds.
"Yup, it sure was. I still can't believe the No Mercy campaign on expert realism took that many hours to complete."
"Right, but it would've taken far longer if we weren't total degens."
"Hahaha, that's so true. But don't act like we didn't have John here to carry us to the finish line. If it hadn't been for the moly he saved just for the tank, we would've been absolutely screwed."
The group of guys chattered on for a couple of minutes longer when the eldest of the party had to call it quits. "Alright, as much fun as this all is, the wife is calling, so I better go before I get my ass reamed out and get put on the couch."
"Well, it was good playing with you again, Zack, especially after I'd been away on deployment for so long."
"It was a blast, wasn't it?"
"For sure... We'll have to do this again." Another of John's longtime friends chimed in.
...
"Okay, I'm getting off. I'll see you guys around."
"Later, man."
As Zack took his leave, John was about to ask if those still here wanted to go for another run on a different campaign, but it didn't seem like that was going to happen.
"Yeah, that's it for me too. I have to work at the shop in the morning anyways." Marc announced seconds following Zack's departure.
"It is kinda late, huh? I'll catch y'all next time." My other buddy Phil said before he dipped out as well.
"Whelp, I guess that's it for me too then." John mused aloud, sitting there in the Discord call all by himself.
I was hoping to stay up all night with my bros after having come back from serving out my stint in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but such is the life of an adult with responsibilities, I suppose... God; I long for the days when I was a kid and could stay up to the wee hours of the morning with all four of us planted in front of the TV with a Halo 3 split screen running on the Xbox 360.
...
John sat there settled in his chair just reminiscing about the past, and no matter how much older he had gotten, he knew he would never be able to replicate that experience again and recapture those feelings he once had for gaming, definitely not in this day and age.
Haa, at least I was there to experience it all, unlike many of the younger dudes today, who only know loot boxes, repackaged cut content, skins, and worst of all, the constant stream of unfinished, buggy, subpar releases.
Although he was saddened that he would never get to experience those feelings to the same level again, he was glad he had the opportunity.
Time to catch some zzzs.
With his close friends having gone offline and off to bed, John decided to join them instead of staying up all on his own and taking on hordes of infected alone.
However, that would never come to pass because he would instead get swallowed up by a black inky blob of space, that would then go on to blink out of existence seconds later along with our protagonist.
And unbeknownst to John, the solid group of bros he left behind unwillingly, would come to regret leaving their friend, who was more family than some of their own, alone that very night, so much so that they would go on to search for their friend tirelessly for years to come. Sadly, their efforts were ultimately to no avail because John was no longer in their world and had instead been transported to a blank white space, who knows where.
…
"Urgh, what the hell was that?"
Whatever the fuck just happened to John disoriented him badly, so it took some time for him to regain his bearings, and once he regained some semblance of normalcy, he opened his eyes and was greeted by a pure white scape with not a thing in sight.
He wasn't one to vocalise every little thought that came to mind, but the circumstances definitely called for it. "Uhh, where the fuck is this?"
Most placed in such an environment would start freaking out right out of the gate, but our boy was built a little different. And that was even more so after having seen a bit of combat over in the Middle East; hence, he started looking around inquisitively instead of doing the former. Sadly, he didn't get to investigate for long because as he was scanning the bare surroundings, a red and black holographic window popped up out of thin air.
"What the hell!" He exclaimed.
Spooked by the sudden appearance of the strange screen, he took a few steps back and observed it for several seconds before approaching and reading what was displayed.
[ System Integration Complete! ]
[ Status has been unlocked! ]
[ Store has been unlocked! ]
[ Select a world to travel to from the list of options below. ]
Ahh, so I'm in one of those isekai scenarios, huh... Hmm, well this is interesting. I wasn't exactly looking forward to civi life and losing all my friends to adulthood and the lives they would no doubt cultivate with whomever, so I guess this isn't too bad of an alternative. Let's see what I'm working with here.
John was pretty nonchalant about the whole nonsensical scenario he found himself in, but that wouldn't remain the case for long.
[ Worlds ]
1. Left 4 Dead
Objectives: Kill 100,000 zombies or survive one year.
Rewards: | The Gold Is Real! |, 1,000,000 Gold Coins, 1 Mutagen Point
2. Resident Evil
Objectives: Purge 10,000,000 undead and carve out a safe haven for humanity to come back from the brink of extinction.
Rewards: | Complete T-Virus Enhancement |, 1,000 Years of Lifespan, 3x Gold Coin Multiplier, Group Travel, 5 Mutagen Points
3. Dead Space
Objectives: Save humanity, exterminate all Brethren Moons, and put an end to the necromorph threat… Completely.
Rewards: Free World Travel, | God Killer |, Immortality, 10x Gold Coin Multiplier, 100 Mutagen Points, System Upgrade
What kind of fucked-up choices are these, man? I mean, it's, shit, this is bad, I'm gonna die, and oh hell no, levels of difficulty. If it was going to be all undead worlds, why couldn't I have gotten something like Highschool of the Dead for Christ's sake... Haa, this is just fucked, man.
John didn't even bother with the rewards since the conditions alone to obtain them were simply death sentences. "Hey, system, do I get any other options here or is this just it?"
"..."
"Cool, I get no explanations for anything either; that's just fucking dandy." John exclaimed angrily as he was quickly beginning to realise the tough life... Or more like the undead life he had ahead of himself if he didn't choose wisely.
A few more expletives followed that… Actually a ton more than that, but we're just going to gloss over that segment. After letting off some steam, he eventually refocused and got down to business.
Out of the worlds displayed, I can either choose Left 4 Dead, which would have the easiest threats out of the three. However, its caveat would be that I can succumb to the green flu at practically any time since it is airborne, so unless I'm an asymptomatic carrier, like the 8 survivors, my fate would practically be sealed in this one. Unless of course I was given the perfect setup when I traveled to Left 4 Dead, but seeing how things have been going so far, I wouldn't bet any chips on that.
As for Resident Evil, the odds of me making it there with all the fucked up and monstrous mutations the T-Virus is able to produce is pretty much nil. It's not like I'm not in shape and haven't been in a fight or two over the years, but I know what I'm capable of and what will easily outmatch me, especially if I get thrown into an undead infested world with nothing but the clothes on my back. Yeah, I'd rather deal with the special infected of Left 4 Dead than the monsters that exist in Resident Evil.
On the other hand, Dead Space is the worst of them all because of the dangers of space and the sudden transformations humans can undergo when a marker comes online. And that's not even bringing up the Brethren Moons and hallucinations and control they can exert with their hive mind.
A shudder went down John's spine at the thought of those mutated beasts from the hive in Raccoon City.
If I choose Dead Space, I would basically have to go up against God knows how many billions of undead, perhaps even trillions, and find a way to kill off multiple planet-sized undead that have exterminated multiple highly advanced alien species over eons. I'm sure this undertaking would be the equivalent of going up against the Flood from Halo as no more than a UNSC marine... Or maybe even worse.
Yeah, all these choices are looking hella grim. I mean, I have knowledge about many of the events that take place in them and all kinds of invaluable information regarding their universes, but I don't have the ability to ensure I can make proper use of them... Hmm, maybe I can find a solution in my new status, and if not there, perhaps the store will have something that'll help me decide on what world would be my best option.
John was pretty much at an impasse, so he attempted to open up this supposed status he now possessed. Thankfully for him, its use was very intuitive and user-friendly, surprisingly.
Ohh, so all I had to do was think about opening it and it would appear... Well, this is mighty convenient.
〚 Status 〛
Name: John Andrew Warden
Age: 24
Lifespan: 100
Height: 5 Feet 10 Inches
Body Weight: 211 lbs
Race: Human
Condition: Healthy
〚 Attributes 〛
[ Agility ]
Walk Speed: 1.56464 Meters Per Sec/ 3.5 Miles Per Hr
Run Speed: 3.26339 Meters Per Sec/ 7.3 Miles Per Hr
Sprint Speed: 7.8232 Meters Per Sec/ 17.5 Miles Per Hr
[ Charisma ]
Character: 5 (Average)
Communication Skills: 5 (Average)
Looks: 6.5 (Masculine Handsome)
Voice: 7 (Deep, Steady)
[ Endurance ]
Defenses: Average
Cold Tolerance: Average
Heat Tolerance: Average
Healing Rate: Above Average
Health: 130 (Above Average)
Stamina: 8 (Very Good)
Stamina Regeneration: 7 (Good)
[ Intelligence ]
IQ: 120
Internal Perception: 9 (Excellent)
Learning Ability: 7 (Good)
Memory: 8 (Very Good)
Reasoning: 7 (Good)
[ Luck ]
Average
[ Perception ]
Eyesight: 6 (Fine)
Hearing: 5 (Average)
Reaction Speed: 0.19 Sec
Sense of Smell: 5 (Average)
Touch: 5 Average
[ Strength ]
Bench Press: 425 lbs
Carry: 156 lbs
Curl: 161 lbs
Deadlift: 490 lbs
Dip: 287 lbs
Kick: 1,427 lbf
Overhead Press: 228
Pull Up: 259 lbs
Squat: 452 lbs
Strike: 599 lbf
Swing: 6,231 lbf
〔 Skills 〕
Arms: Novice
Demolition: Advanced
Driving: Intermediate
Engineering: Novice
First Aid: Novice
Fitness: Advanced
Hand to Hand Combat: Novice
Mechanics: Intermediate
Shooting: Intermediate
Not bad for a young buck just out of the military... I think.
After checking all there was to see with his current stats, John went ahead and tried the same method with the store, and low and behold, it appeared right before his very eyes but with an endless amount of stuff awaiting purchase.
[ Store ]
Gold Coins: 0
( Search Bar: _______________ )
10 Rounds of any type - 1 Gold Coin
100 Rounds of any type - 8 Gold Coins
Ammo Supply Box: 1,000 Rounds - 50 Gold Coins
...
AK-47 - 47 Gold Coins
M249 SAW - 150 Gold Coins
RPG-7 - 350 Gold Coins
Mystery Box - 1,000 Gold Coins
...
5.56 STANAG 30 Round Magazine - 10 Gold Coins
5.56 STANAG 60 Round Quad Stack Magazine - 35 Gold Coins
AK-47 30 Round Magazine - 10 Gold Coins
AK-47 40 Round Magazine - 15 Gold Coins
AK-47 75 Round Drum Magazine - 40 Gold Coins
...
Bottle of Spring Water - 1 Gold Coin
MRE - 1 Gold Coin
1 Pound of Ground Meat any type - 3 Gold Coins
Portable Stove - 15 Gold Coins
Sleeping Bag - 10 Gold Coins
Tent - 17 Gold Coins
...
0.25 Mile Per Hour Walk Speed Improvement - 1,000 Gold Coins
0.5 Mile Per Hour Run Speed Improvement - 1,000 Gold Coins
1 Mile Per Hour Sprint Speed Improvement - 1,000 Gold Coins
Overall Speed Improvement - 2,500 Gold Coins
Strength Improvement: 1 Pound, 1 Metric - 10 Gold Coins
Overall Strength Improvement: 10 Pounds - 500 Gold Coins
Force Improvement: 1 lbf, 1 Metric - 3 Gold Coins
Overall Force Improvement: 100 Pounds - 850 Gold Coins
...
New Skill: Random - 500 Gold Coins
New Skill: Selectable - 1,000 Gold Coins
Skill Boost: Novice - 1,000 Gold Coins
Skill Boost: Intermediate - 2,000 Gold Coins
...
Random Perk - 1,000 Gold Coins
| Animal Friend | - 1,780 Gold Coins
| Deadshot Daiquiri | - 1,500 Gold Coins
| Iron Gut | - 1,000 Gold Coins
| Item Box | - 100,000 Gold Coins
| Juggernog | - 2,500 Gold Coins
| Light Step | - 2,250 Gold Coins
| Mule Kick | - 4,000 Gold Coins
| Pack Mule | - 1,250 Gold Coins
| Scrounger | - 1,425 Gold Coins
...
Whoa, there's an absolute boatload of stuff here to purchase...
Anyone would've been astounded by the seemingly infinite selection on display, and John was no different, at least until he had the bright idea to go look for items that could help him make it to the end in the worlds he had available.
Green Flu Vaccine - 100
Green Flu Resistance - 500
Green Flu Immunity - 1,000
T-Viru-
...
Oh, and there even appears to be a method of resisting the green flu from Left 4 Dead and stuff for the others too... Sweet, I guess this won't be an absolute suicide mission after all.
He was relieved, but only somewhat, because there was still a major issue that needed resolving.
Now, the only question remaining is, how do I buy these when I have zero funds... Maybe I'll get a freebie courtesy of the system... Yeah, it's worth a shot.
[ Ding! Insufficient Funds ]
[ Gather more by killing zombies, infected, and other undead. ]
*Sigh*
That's a bummer, but it was worth a shot.
Well, at least the system provided some info this time around... However, it doesn't change the fact that I'm fucking broke and can't afford a damn thing from the shop that would help keep me from dying in the initial entry and turning into a zombie or some other kind of infected... It is what it is; I suppose. I guess I'll just have to gather some funds damn quick when I figure out what world I want to go to. Though at the moment I'm leaning pretty heavily on Left 4 Dead right now because one, it's fresh in my mind, and two, it's probably the safest of the bunch.
That said, I don't know everything there is to know about Left 4 Dead but I remember enough of the details regarding its story and the important bits about the green flu, such as it being a pathogen that can infect through essentially every mean, including the air. On top of that, it's constantly evolving and mutating. Meaning, I'll be fucked if I don't have some way of fending it off or resisting it, and this goes for the others too and their ways of infection.
John was well aware that whatever choice he made here was going to decide his fate so he thought long and hard on the matter and after weighing all the pros and cons of the three worlds and their missions he eventually ended up liking his odds with Left 4 Dead the best, mainly because it would be the easiest to deal with... Or should we say easier when compared to the level of difficulty one would have to face in the other worlds, which included but were not limited to undead so powerful they could annihilate entire armies on their very own and undead so large you would need a Death Star or some other kind of planetary annihilating weapon to put them down.
You would've thought I would've had some easier choices to pick from, seeing how I'm basically an ant compared to the enemies I'll face in these worlds, but I guess the system just wants to screw me... Welp, there's no use crying about it because that ain't gonna do shit for me, so might as well bite the bullet and see what sort of fucked place I get sent to in Left 4 Dead. I can only hope it's one of the campaigns, so I'll at least know the area to some extent.
There wasn't anything he could do to change the situation he found himself in; thus, he resigned himself to fate and would try his damndest to make the best of the shitty set of circumstances he was placed in. He stood there for a while as he stewed, and when he had mentally prepared his mind and amped himself to such a degree that he was raring to go, our protagonist John selected the world Left 4 Dead.
And the instant he did he got swallowed up by that same pitch black blob of space that brought him here to this characterless environment and presumably sent off to the world of the dead where humanity was currently fighting for survival from the literal raging hordes of infected that were laying waste to practically everything in their path.