Chapter note: 1st person narrative.
***
As I found myself falling through the sky, I opened my eyes and found the world before me filled with things I would never see back in our world.
Skeleton remains of different beings that were big enough for me to see entirely, even hundreds of meters in the sky.
Birds and flying creatures of different kinds, flying in the air, would either be my companions or enemies in the future.
Terrains of all kinds, from giant craters, cracks within the earth, valleys that stretch miles away, and even some flying ones; that makes me want to explore them with my own two feet.
And most of all, the castle where those kings and royals live was a spectacular sight that I would never dream of seeing, in all the years that I would have lived back home.
Out of all of this, the one thing that truly caught my eye, was not them; but what was beside me.
People, whom I assume are the other 299 players, were falling in the sky too; yet they did not possess the human bodies they should have.
Instead, they were balls of energy, like falling stars that entered the world, as if our very entrance into this world were a gift the people would never expect.
Seeing them like this, I wonder; did I look like that too, from their own perspective?
Before this question of mine goes any further, I found myself and all those stars hitting an invisible wall, that erased their presence to me.
"Is that it?" I question, wondering if hitting that wall would transfer me to another place.
Before I could press any further, I too hit the walls, which made me close my eyes, along with my mind, making me fall asleep.
[ Ding! You have successfully entered the world of: Erensealm. ]
[ Mana stats increased by 20 points. ]
[ You have gained 100 System Points. ]
Hearing that system notification, I smiled; to think that entering a new world is a blessing in itself.
As my mind completely fell asleep, all 300 players were sent into this world, randomly, letting fate decide where we'll be.
***
The moment my mind returned, I found my entire body stiff and hard, as if my body was worn out; after spending hours carrying goods on the farms.
Thankfully, I was already used to this kind of thing; and managed to stand up within seconds.
As I opened my eyes, what greeted me was not the area I was in; instead a stone spear tip was hurling towards me.
I crossed my arms instinctively, but couldn't react to the spear; letting it get close to my face.
Thud!
[ Mana shield has been destroyed. ]
A system notification appeared, telling me my mana shield broke for tanking that spear.
"So, it's an automatic casting skill!"
I grabbed the spear that was deflected by the shield on the side of mine and gripped it tightly.
Death wasn't an unfamiliar thing for me; allowing me to react better than a normal person would.
Looking around for the attacker of this spear, I found I was in a barren land; where no trees grow; allowing me to see my attacker.
It was a lizard, a brown lizard that walked on two legs, with; looking closer at it, I saw its face pale and its scales weak.
As it was starving, its stomach and body were thin; nowhere near the looks of the proud hunter lizard man I know in the story I have read.
Seeing this, I darted towards it; holding the spear it had tried to kill me with.
Seeing I was running towards it, the lizard started running away too; looking forward I saw a pattern within the area.
Around me, there were curving lines, forming a circle; as if this place were once a body of water.
Since I was still chasing after the lizard, I put this thought aside and focused on what was happening before me.
Halfway to this circle we were in, I recalled how I didn't just have the Mana shield skill; but also a bullet version of it.
Realizing this, I closed one of my eyes, did the modified weaver position; as the area around me was uneven, not letting me stand still, and finally locked my right eye into the back of the lizard.
With the thought of the skill, blue Illuminating lights gathered before the tip of my right index finger; with a will to release it.
It shot out from my fingers, leaving a tiny bit of blue light on it; looking at what just left my finger, I spotted an inch-sized cylinder.
[ You have killed a level 16 lizardman! ]
A notification called; as the bullet struck the lizard's back, perfectly aligning with its heart.
[ You have leveled up! ]
[ All stats increased by 3 ]
[ You have gained 5 stat points. ]
[ You have gained 5 skill points. ]
[ You have gained 10 System Points. ]
Five status windows appeared; telling me what I will gain each level up.
Except for the System Points, I was sure the rest would be the same each time I leveled up.
I felt annoyed by having the system ring out multiple times within seconds, because of this; I thought:
I should have changed this; since it will be annoying.
Looking at the lizard's body a few meters ahead, I went closer to it; planning to loot it for anything useful.
A minute into checking what it had, I found most of it was useless; except for the tiny water pouch it had.
This was the most useful thing he or she had for me to take, although I found it disrespectful to do this; I continued doing it.
Since the system doesn't provide an inventory space function nor give any basic beginner items and supplies.
As if the system could read my mind; a panel appeared, just as I found five throwing daggers on the lizard.
[ You may now choose a beginner's weapon and class attire to use. ]
Maybe I was wrong about the system; maybe it was simply late or let the things cool down first before appearing before me.
After all, if this were to appear when my life was in danger; it would only burden me instead of helping me.
[ The moment you make your decision, the system will give you enough resources to survive in your current location. ]
Like that, the system showed me what kinds of weapons it had; from the warrior, mage, support, tank, and even the villager class items.
I looked back at the area I was in, still barren with no sign of green or actual living beings.
Unless you're a race that can live without water for days, or survive the heat for hours, you would probably die in this place.
Because of this I chose a shovel as my weapon, and a cloak as attire; finally, the system gave me supplies enough to last a month.
Both the attire and the shovel just appeared in the air; while the supplies were inside a sack bag — allowing me to keep them safe and clean.
With that, I took what I found useful from the lizard; the stone spear, water pouch, and finally the daggers.
Grabbed the shovel and put on the cloak with the hood to myself; to protect my skin from the sun and finally started moving once again.
I didn't look back to where I appeared from, but decided to move to where the lizard was running away from.
Normally, a race like this hunt with group, but this one was alone; as if it were abandoned by its tribe.
If so, the place I spawned in should be the area it had been banished to; and if the area beyond me was safe it would have run towards it; instead, it ran away from it.
This alone tells me the place I needed to avoid, and where to go to get out of this deep shit hell.
As I moved I read the things I got from the system; to see their effects.
[ Item: Shovel — a sturdy iron shovel, great for destroying the earth.
Durability: 10/10. Attack: +10. Agility: -2. ]
[ Item: Cloak — a green hooded cloak, perfect for keeping your skin and face hidden.
Durability: 30/30. Mana: +10. Agility: +5. Magic damage: +5%. Mana regeneration: +3%. ]
"Hmmm, not bad for beginner items."