The Systemic Lands

Chapter 1: Day 1 – Welcome to Purgatory

I let out a gasp and fell down on some grey, rough stone. I had just been sitting at my desk at work putting together a data pull to make another report.

Looking around I noted several other people had fallen on the ground and appeared just as confused as I was. Being incredibly fat and just over six feet tall, meant that when I fell, it was far more painful than a smaller person falling. My tail bone was incredibly sore now and there was sure to be a bruise.

I kept looking while seated on the ground and saw that there were other people scattered about the stone plaza. There were plain stone buildings that looked like something straight out of stright Minecraft, surrounding the large square the other people and I had appeared into. Looking up at the sky, it was a clear blue, and the air was warm and comfortable, no smell of salt or anything else, just clean fresh air. The last time I had smelled such fresh air was when I had went hiking in Maine when I was a lot younger and thinner.

The confusing part was that I had been just at work only moments before and was somehow teleported here. I let out a sigh. First step, don’t panic. Second step, accept reality as it actually is, not how I wanted it to be.

I had read enough to quickly narrow down the possibilities, it was either aliens, gods, super beings, or worse a system. “Status?” I said aloud. I ignored the startled yells and discussions between other people since they didn’t appear to know anything either.

Nothing happened and I was a bit thankful, since a System meant throwing common sense out the window and represent untold death. Better check everything just to be sure. “Menu, inventory, help, command, admin,” I tried several spoken words and thought about them, but nothing happened. Since the primary way to advance under a System was death and killing, I didn’t want to deal with something like that. With my fat body, I didn’t have much hope of beating anyone.

Aliens then were my best guess since there didn’t appear to be a System. I was expecting more spaceships and less grey stone. I stood up with a groan. I shook my body off and stretched a bit. At least I had some clothes on compared to other people. Getting teleported while in the middle of a shower or sleeping was quite unfortunate.

I am, or was, a business analyst, not a gymnast. That meant I sat at a computer writing code, creating reports, and e-mails. There were lots of e-mails. At least that was one benefit of being kidnapped, no e-mails.

I had nothing in my pockets since I took everything out when I sat down at my work desk. I didn’t want anything impacting my overly large waist, since it was uncomfortable.

I did note that some people had phones out, but there was no reception, or their calls weren’t getting through. I had on my sweater since work always had the AC blasting or the heat low. I also had black khakis and sneakers. Business casual and comfortable, were the key things to having a productive workday in the office. Also it was hard to find other decent clothes in my size.

I rubbed my face and frowned. Well, I was going to be growing a beard unless I found a way to shave. I wasn’t too worried about food or water. Anything advanced enough to teleport a human being safely, had enough power and knowledge to supply food and water. The stone buildings would supply shelter, so that was taken care of.

Still, I couldn’t just stand around with my thumb up my ass. The first rule for being rescued, is that you need to try and rescue yourself. I didn’t want to waste energy running around like some other idiots I saw. The key was the mindset of a fat person. Maximum gain for the least amount of effort.

I looked around but didn’t see anything notable. Oh, there was a circle of pillars in the center of the plaza. They were about chest height, and I counted eight of them. They were about as big around as my fat leg and came up to about the middle of my chest.

Some people walked by them and looked at them, one even poked a pillar with their hand, but nothing happened. Most of the people were either scared, panicking, or talking to someone else. I rolled my eyes at that. Like anyone would know what was going on. Unless this was like the anime Sword Art Online where the creator hid with the players. I had to be careful about making hasty assumptions.

I made my way to the pillars and confirmed there were no markings. No markings on the rough stone ground in the center either. It was all a dull gray. There appeared to be a very thin line of mortar between the separate stones on the ground, but the buildings and the pillars were single pieces as far as I could tell. I placed my left hand on one of the pillars. Nothing happened.

The surface was slightly cold and smooth. Not surprising for gray stone. I checked my hand. No dust either. There didn’t appear to be any recent rain or wind. A minor but interesting oddity. I put my second hand on the pillar.

That was when I was assaulted by mental images. I quickly yanked my hands back and the mental images disappeared. They were just blurs of color, but something had clearly happened. I looked around, but no one was paying attention to me. Either in shock or talking in small groups. I put both my hands on the pillar again and information entered my brain.

It was a weird experience, and the first thing that jumped to mind was when I was a kid and blood got cut off to a limb and when the blood began flowing again, I would get pins and needles. That was like this experience, but with my brain. I could only wish it was as comforting as ASMR otherwise known as brain tingles.

I had 100 points and there was a store, oh no. Fruit, 1 to 5 points depending on the size. Clothes, 20 to 100 points depending on the article of clothing. I could sense they would be tailored for the person buying them.

Water required a container. I looked for a container, but there was no option for such an item. I looked for other tools, but the only options were sticks for 1 to 5 points based on size, as well as a wood club for 10 points.

I removed a hand and looked around. “You know what is happening?” A middle-aged man had come up to me.

“No, but I have some ideas. Name’s Michael.”

“Frank.” I shook his hand. I noted he was wearing white colored clothes and appeared to be in much better shape than me. Like he had just been out golfing. My mind quickly thought through the implications of our situation. Information was power, but the system type store wouldn’t remain secret for long.

“I did figure some things out. I was thinking we should form a team.” He appeared to be thoughtful, rather than just saying the first thing in his mind. I noticed he gave my fat body a look.

“What did you find out?” Time to take a leap of faith. Hesitation or trying to wheedle a deal now would only make me look untrustworthy.

“There is a System. If you put both hands on a pillar, you get to see a point count and options to buy things. There was fruit, but water needed a container. Try it and then we can talk a bit,” I suggested.

He gave me a skeptical look but nodded. I quickly went back to the shop. No metal, only a club. No armor either. No guide for sale. But an upgrade to the shop itself cost 1,000 points. Either we needed to pool our points, or there was a way to earn them.

I took my hands off the pillar and made my way over to Frank. I waited for him to finish looking through the store and then he looked at me. “That was…”

“Trouble.” His face ran through several expressions before turning downcast. “Team up?” I asked.

“Yes…yes. So, what were you thinking?” He was clearly struggling to understand things after being affected with the knowledge and our circumstances. Thankfully he agreed to team up, otherwise what I was planning would be a lot harder to accomplish.

“We need one or two more people minimum. Decent shape, and more importantly low drama.” I began walking away from the pillars and he followed. I didn’t whisper since that would attract attention but talked softly. People noticed whispers more than quiet talking.

We looked around. “What about those two?” Frank gestured at a man and a woman together. The woman was what I would call fugly, so the chance of interpersonal drama was low. They were both in decent shape. Still, they were already an established pair, which could lead to issues.

“That guy.” I gestured at a young Asian man. He looked lost and confused. A quick look around showed that the demographics probably meant most people here were Americans. Based on the clothes, words I had overheard, and general demeanor.

Frank followed me to the young man. “Hello there, I am Michael, and this is Frank,” I introduced both of us.

“I am Jim Park Soon. Do you know what has happened?”

“I have some strong guesses and discovered some things. Those pillars give access to points and a shop if you put both hands on them. It appears to be some kind of System. My guess is aliens or a system like construct transported us here. I was thinking we can all team up for safety and find a way to earn points.”

“Um, why me?”

“You are young and fit. If you meant why we were transported here, no idea.” He quickly raised up his hands in denial.

“I was studying in medical school. I don’t know any martial arts.”

“Even better. There is safety in numbers. Once more people realize that food can be earned with points, there is only one logical outcome,” I said.

“Forcing others to buy stuff for them,” Frank said.

“Well maybe, that sounds nicer than what I came up with. I was thinking they would use game logic and kill people to try and take their points. I didn’t find a way to transfer them with the pillar. Frank, take my hand and think of exchanging points.” We did and nothing happened. We let go.

“Nothing. That means in a day or two, if no other way is discovered to earn points, then people will murder each other to see if they can get points that way.” There was silence as both of the people in my newly formed group considered what I had said.

“Was there a way to return home?” Jim asked.

“No, but there was an upgrade option for 1,000 points. That means it is possible to earn more. Since there doesn’t appear to be a way to share them or a group purchase feature either.” There was suddenly shouting as the secret of the pillars was leaked by an idiot. I was glad we had moved away before that happened and drew unwanted attention as being the first to make that discovery.

“Team up?” I asked Jim and held out my hand. He hesitated for a moment before taking it and shaking it. Then he shook hands with Frank. Perfect, three people was good for a small group. The odd number meant that votes wouldn’t tie, and we could get to know each other better to form the core of a team before bringing on others.

“This was what I was thinking, once the excitement dies down, we go and purchase bags or packs and supplies. Also, clubs as weapons. Then we try to find the exit to this city. My guess is that we are going to have to kill things to get points.”

“Kill things, what things?” Frank asked. I noted Jim looking at me as well.

“This appears to be a game of some kind. An interface like that isn’t something that occurs in nature. The teleportation is also a clue. Games require competition of some kind. Just killing other people is too boring and can easily be done by whatever brought us here. That means there is something outside of this plaza that needs to be done.”

“Either it is exploration or hunting and killing monsters. Maybe a combination. With no instructions, those are the two most likely requirements to earn points,” I finished my explanation.

“You think they are watching us?” Jim looked around nervously.

“Of course, there is some kind of monitoring. How else will the System know if we earn points?”

“Makes sense. So, you want to explore.” Frank looked up at the sky. “Hard to tell what time it is.” He looked at his watch.

“You can reset it at dawn. That way we know how long the day is and if we are on a different planet. Possibly work out if there is seasonality.” They stared at me. “I might be a fat tub of lard, but my brain is among the best of them. The real question is what direction we should leave the plaza from. Ideas?” I didn’t want to dominate all the decisions, but I also needed to showcase my value.

They came up with the idea I had of using the sun as a reference. In the end we decided to head towards the sun, once we purchased our supplies. The excitement and initial payouts had finally stopped at the pillars as people were talking near them.

We went over to one of the pillars, asking if we could check after the group of two, the couple I had looked at before. After waiting for a couple of minutes they were finished, and I went into the System first.

Backpack, 15 points. Wood club, 10 points. Five oranges, 10 points. Five apples, 10 points. That left me with 55 points. The items appeared floating above the pillar, and I quickly packed things away into the simple pack. Just two straps for my shoulders and the pack itself, no external pockets.

Frank and Jim made the same purchases after me since we had discussed our options while we had been waiting and didn’t want to linger at the store. I noted several people were looking at us but didn’t say anything. There was a risk in being first, but there was also opportunity. What I hadn’t mentioned aloud were the self-improvement options that cost 100 points each.

Body, Mind, Spirit, Perception, and Aura. No stats for myself were given and the initial costs for each of the stats were all the same. While it had been tempting to buy one right off the bat, that was a trap. A weapon and supplies were far more important.

Once my teammates were done, we left the plaza and began making our way through the abandoned stone city.

“This place gives me the heeby jeebies,” Frank muttered.

“Keep alert. I will keep watch forward, Frank you watch our left side, make sure to look up at the roofs as well. Jim, you look at our right side.” They gave me affirmatives as we made our way forward.

The city quickly became frustrating as it was laid out like an ancient city, all helter skelter, no grid pattern. This meant there were no nice straight roads leading to the edge. We had to back track at least twice after hitting a dead end.

Inside the buildings was nothing, not even dust. After checking three of them, we stopped. If there was a special looking building we would look, but the blocks of grey stone masquerading as buildings, had no immediate value as far as I could tell.