Close quarters.

Shaking my head, I follow Mum, ‘Wait no, Sanda. Fuck, that’s going to take some getting used to.’ It's impossible to tell exactly how late it in the day it is, but the sky is completely dark, and the starts are out in ****. I stare wide eyed at utterly unfamiliar constellations, the feeling of being on another world finally hitting home.

I glance down around the campfire, noting similar looks of awe on every face. As much as I would love to stay up and stargaze, it has been a truly trying day. Still, we are in a brand new, and potentially hostile, world. I can see off to the side of the fire that Sandra and Lisa have outdone themselves, and a large pile of sticks and branches sit ready to fuel a watch fire.

‘Speaking of watch.’ I clear my throat to gather everyone’s attention. When all eyes are on me, I say, “Good job today, everyone. I know things have been stressful, but you have all handled yourself extremely well. Now, I know you are probably tired, I sure as hell am, but we are in an unknown forest with unknown dangers. Magic is real here, therefore so, potentially, are monsters. For that reason, we should set up a night watch.”

The girls share a look. It is Em who pipes up with, “Errrrr, we already have?” In an amused (and slightly embarrassed) voice, I say, “Oh, alrighty then. Who gets the pleasure of listening to me snore like a chainsaw?” Ash chuckles at my joke (yup, joke, no chainsaw snores from me!), then says, “Tis I who gets that privilege, at least for a couple of hours.” At my raised eyebrow, she says, “We are going to try four shifts of two hours each a night and see how it goes, that way each night someone gets a full night’s rest. We’ll rotate the shifts to keep things fair.”

“Sounds good,” I reply, “who’s the lucky duck who gets the first night off? And where is everyone sleeping?” “You’re that lucky duck tonight,” I open my mouth to protest, but before I can, Ash continues, “and don’t argue! This is a thank you for pulling our asses out of the fire.” I snap my mouth shut, glaring at my smug looking sister.

Ash winks at me, then says, “As for who’s sleeping where, the person with the night off will sleep with the person on the second shift, that way they only potentially get disturbed once early in the night. Third and fourth shifts will sleep in the other tent. Still with me?” I scratch my head as I consider the question, but quickly nod. It makes sense, at least of a sort.

Emily has first shift, so will spend most of the night in the same tent as me after she comes to replace Ash. After that is Lisa, and finally Sandra takes the last shift. That settled, talk around the fire resumes for a time, but it’s easy to tell that people are feeling weary, me included. Not long after and I decide that it’s time to crash, but before that, I needed to get ready for bed. My mood immediately improves when I realised that means I will be finally casting magic!

Excitedly, I dug through my inventory, drawing out the rucksack where I stored all the item’s I would need to access daily. I am distracted however by a new tab on my screen, labelled ‘Equipment‘. Sure enough, when I select it, a drop-down menu appears in my vison and I am met with a standard RPG Equipment screen. An image of me stares back at me, labelled boxes pointing to various places all over my body, some filled with items I’m currently wearing, whilst some (such as entries for earrings, rings, or necklaces) remain blank. Two options off to the side grab my attention, the first labelled ‘Outfits’, and the second labelled Weapon sets’. Focusing on the options brings up a tooltip.

0----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------0

Outfits and Weapon sets: As an added benefit of the Inventory system, you can create custom Outfit and Weapon sets. These sets allow you to quickly swap between equipped items. At your current level, you may create two Outfits, and two Weapon sets beyond the default setting. The items in these sets are stored separately from the inventory, so don’t take up any Inventory slots.

Creating Outfits and/or Weapon sets: You create an Outfit or Weapon set, equip all the items you wish to include in the relevant slots and think, ‘Create Outfit’ or ‘Create Weapon set’, then name your new pre-set when prompted to do so.

Switching between sets: To swap between different sets, simply think the name of the desired set with the intent to equip that item or item set. Please be aware that if a currently equip item does not have a replacement in the new set, it will stay equipped unless specified otherwise at the time of creation.

0----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------0

That’s so useful! In no time flat I’ve set up an Outfit that includes all of my combat leathers (aptly named ‘Armour’), as well as the Weapon sets ‘Spear’ and ‘Bow’, remembering to designate the quiver holding all my arrows as something that always gets replaced. I spend some time playing with the new feature, swapping between weapons with a thought.

Before I forget, I let my family know about the feature and how it works. As I explain a thought occurs to me so, blushing furiously, I none so subtly hint that people who are about to share a tent with the only man present may want to set up a sleepwear outfit to avoid having to change in front of said man. Incredibly embarrassed, but glad I avoided what could potentially be an incredibly awkward situation later, I head back over the edge of the camp.

Digging through my backpack, I fish out my toothbrush and a bottle of water, and, after wetting the head of the brush, focus on casting my very first spell. 'Am I summoning an enormous ball of ice to bring devastation to my enemies? Am I healing someone on the very brink of ****? No! I’m summoning some toothpaste!'

I chuckle at the absurdity of it all, then clear my mind before focusing on the spell. I feel a twitch in the very centre of my being, then the feeling of power flowing from my core. The power flows down my arm before finally gathering at the very tip of my right pointer finger. Unbidden, arcane gestures appear in my mind, and I follow the gentle instruction, watching with fascination as the spell forms.

The spell ends with a flourish, and a tiny ball of white light appears at the tip of my finger. I move my hand, but the light stays firmly attached to my outstretched finger. Holding my toothbrush with my other hand, I run the ball of light over the bristles, and watch in wonder as a line of toothpaste forms on the brush. Once the brush is covered, the spell finished, and the light fades.

'I did it! I cast magic! I’m a fuckin wizard!' I can’t help chuckle at myself. Curiously, I bring the brush to my mouth… and have to resist the urge to spit it out. ‘Gods! That’s disgusting!’ The paste lacks any kind of flavour, but the texture can only be described as chalky grit. Worried that I’d cast the spell wrong, I bring up the spell description.

0----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------0

Spell name: Mage’s toothpaste (Lvl 1, 20%).

Spell School: Evocation.

Range: Touch.

Description: The mage channels the power of the arcane, forming a paste used for oral hygiene. Higher spell levels will improve the texture and taste of the paste, as well as have a freshening effect on breath. This spell costs 1 Mana per second the effect is held.

Cast time: 3 seconds.

0----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------0

‘Well, that answers that question then.’ A brief look over the information regarding other Mage’s utility spells shows it’s the same with them too. ‘Ah well, they’re too useful not to use, so hopefully they’ll level quickly.’ Soon enough my evening route is finished and I am more than ready for bed. After a round of goodnights, I check Ash is decent, then clamber into our tent.

Ash, still dressed in her armour, smiles at me as I enter, then continues rummaging in her easy access backpack. I can’t help but laugh at her look of concentration as she rummages, and she gives me a mock annoyed look, before withdrawing her toothbrush with a triumphant “Ah ha!”

She walks past me towards the tent exit, a mischievous grin on her face as she says, “I’ll get out of your hair so you can change, wouldn’t want to offend your delicate sensibilities by staying for the show!” She then dashes the rest of the way out of the tent before I can find something soft to lob at her, giggling as she goes.

Once changed, I clamber into my sleeping bag and try my best to get comfy. A blinking in the side of my vison catches my attention, and I realise with a grin that I have notifications waiting. I focus on the icon, and a prompt fills my vision.

0----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------0

Congratulations! Your Skill in Leadership has increased to Level 2!

• For reaching Skill level 2, you have been awarded 20 Exp!

Congratulations! Your Skill in Speech has increased to Level 2!

• For reaching Skill level 2, you have been awarded 20 Exp!

Congratulations! For your efforts in setting up an effective camp in the wilderness, you have unlocked the following Skill:

• Survival (Lvl 1).

For an in-depth description of this Skill, please examine your Skills tab.

• For unlocking a Skill at the Novice rank, you have been awarded 50 Exp.

0----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------0

I smile at the notification, happy that I am making progress, despite the short time I’d spent here, ‘Wherever here is? I don’t even know the name of the world, let alone the country I’m currently in’. once again the system proves that it's listening to my thoughts when a new Quest pops up.

0----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------0

You have received a new Quest!

Quest available: Where am I?!?

Description: You have arrived on your new world, but know literally nothing about it. Might be a good idea to fix that oversite.

Objectives:

• Discover the name of your new world. (0/1 name discovered).
• Discover the name of the country you are currently in. (0/1 name discovered).
• Discover how the local calendar works and find out the date. (0/1 date discovered).
• Purchase (or otherwise procure) a map of the local area. (0/1 Map obtained).

Rewards:

• 1000 Exp. (per party member).
• Interface upgrade. (Map function).
• Interface upgrade (Calendar and clock).

Penalties for failing or rejecting this quest:

• Stay lost and ignorant about the world around you.

Do you accept this quest? (Y/N)

0----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------0

‘Exp and extra system functions for something that I was going to do anyway? Don’t mind if I do.’ I hit accept, and the widow closes. Notifications out of the way, and dog tired from an eventful day, my eyes slowly drift closed. But by the time Ash returns to the tent, I am already asleep.

In my favourite stories, things would now go one for two ways. I would either wake up then next morning, well rested and rearing to go for a day of adventure, or, we would be attacked in the night by some shadowy evil ****, but heroically fight them off with the power of truth, friendship, or some shit like that. Unfortunately, that’s not what happens. In reality, I can safely say that I have the worst night's sleep I’ve ever had.

First, it is cold. With the temperature of the evening being so pleasant, we had been expecting a comfortable night’s sleep. We were wrong. The temperature bled away quickly, and I was awoken for the first time that night as my body protested the cold by shivering. Luckily, I had extra inventory space and my queen-sized duvet only took up the one slot, vowing to never speak of this to anyone, Ash and I huddled together side by side in our sleeping bags like two peas in a pod, my duvet thrown over the pair of us.

You’d think that would be what kept me up, sleeping next to an incredibly attractive woman who just happened to be my sister, snuggled together for warmth like some sort of relationship building event from a visual novel. You’d be wrong! We were under the duvet for less than five minutes when what can only be described as a scream fresh from the pits of hell pierces the night.

We all quick-swap to our armour Outfits and pour out of our tents, ready to do battle with an ancient evil, just in time to see Emily clubbing something small, furry, and horrifyingly loud with her staff as the thing desperately gnaws on her leg, screeching all the while. We are just in time to see the end of the fight, as Em brings her staff down on the head of the beast with a sickening crunch.

0----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------0

Emily Hill has slain X1 Unknown Beast (Lvl 3). As you are in a Party, you gain a share of the experience. You have gained 10 Exp!

0----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------0

A brief examination of her bitten leg shows that her armour stopped the vast majority of the damage, but a small trickle of blood highlights an area where a particularly vicious bite has punctured through. I heal the wound with my first ever cast of Minor Heal, for which I receive a surprisingly tight hug as thanks. We drag the furry thing beyond the circle of light from our campfire, intending to examine it in the morning, then head back to our assigned tents, Emily giving everyone a slightly shaky “Goodnight.”

At the very least, I begin to, but eventually my steps slow, then come to a stop entirely. Something in Em’s tone rings alarm bells. Telling Ash that “I’ll be back in a minute”, I turn around and sit beside my little sister as she sits by the campfire. I try to meet her eyes, and, although she tries to hide it, I see the fear in them. “Em, What’s the matter?” “Nothing. Go back to bed. I’m fine.” I shake my head at her obvious lie, and try again. “Em, please don’t lie to me, what’s wrong?” Tears budding in her eyes, she replies, “Have… have you looked at the combat log?” Feeling genuine worry, I focus on my interface, and bring up the log.

0----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------0

Log Begins

Unknown Beast (Lvl 3) Bites Emily Hill (Lvl 2) for 0(4) points of Piercing damage. (all damage blocked by armour)

Unknown Beast (Lvl 3) Bites Emily Hill (Lvl 2) for 0(3) points of Piercing damage. (all damage blocked by armour)

Unknown Beast (Lvl 3) Bites Emily Hill (Lvl 2) for 0(3) points of Piercing damage. (all damage blocked by armour)

Emily Hill (Lvl 2) Clubs Unknown Beast (Lvl 3) with Novice Staff for 3(5) points of Blunt damage.

Emily Hill (Lvl 2) Clubs Unknown Beast (Lvl 3) with Novice Staff for 5(7) points of Blunt damage.

Unknown Beast (Lvl 3) Critically Bites Emily Hill (Lvl 2) for 3(7) points of Piercing damage.

Emily Hill contracts Unknown Disease (Category 5 Pathogen).

Emily Hill (Lvl 2) Clubs Unknown Beast (Lvl 3) with Novice Staff for 4(6) points of Blunt damage.

Emily Hill (Lvl 2) slays Unknown Beast (Lvl 3).

Log ends.

0----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------0

“Oh. Fuck.”