It was a near silent night, with the roving noise of cars breaking the still monotony every once in a while. Moonlight struggled to break past the cloudy sky, leaving only the lamplights to serve as illumination, and the odd still lit house. Midnight, a duration where only the night owls and night shift workers stay up, but it seemed that these particular suburbs were not fans of late night living.
Most had already crept into their beds and wrapped themselves in comfort, but a certain blond was still preparing for his journey into dreamland. A yawn escaped him, undeniably tired and ready to lie on his mattress and call it a day, but the mobile in his hand vibrated as if to remind him that his time was not now. He sat on the edge of the bed and typed in his last words before putting it on silent, hoping that his 5 alarms would do their job and awaken him in the coming day.
He felt blessed as the cold air slowly turned warm under the futon, and his brown eyes were slowly covered by their lids. His breath turned soft, and his hair ruffled while turning in his bed into a suitable position. Then, he was asleep like those living in the houses next to him, just a few hours later, give or take.
Out of nowhere, the dead silence of the room was replaced by a soft hum followed by a thud. The sound slowly broke the young man out of his barely enjoyed sleep, his eyes opening into the sight of a paradoxically glowing black circle. As his sight focused, he noticed a blue hue surrounding it, and dots of white blinking inside of it. Confusion replaced annoyance, and the hum grew louder while he began to physically feel something change.
Whatever fell on the ground must have been a book, its cover opened and papers loudly announcing their shaking, while the whole item was being dragged closer. His eyes widened once he saw his own futon get pulled up, as if gravity was reversed, and his body slowly alongside it. More objects slipped to the ground with thuds and cracks, while the lighter ones flew up and into the circle, but he ignored the former as fear took over him. He gave his back to the portal above him and grasped his mattress for dear life, the covering crumpling at the sheer strength of his hold.
Unfortunately, the longer he held, the harder the portal pulled. Soon enough his grasp was aching, and he couldn't keep holding anymore. He yelled for help, yet he couldn't even hear his own voice from the racket being made. And in the blink of an eye, he was no longer in the room, and no trace of the circle remained once it blinked out of existence, the only proof being the mess made by its force.
Once he was inside, he froze. Not as a reaction, no. He was unmoving as if a spell was cast on him, only his rapidly moving eyes left to their own devices. Around him were the aforementioned glittering lights, floating randomly in the black vastness of this space. His own body was glowing too, for some reason, but it didn't lessen the speed of his heart beats. "Where am I? What just happened?" Questions deserved, and quickly answered.
[Welcome, Gamer.]
The words sunk through him like ice, his stomach churning at the implications. He commanded his body to break free of this state, to lift his arms and flail his legs, but they stayed in place, his limbs separated in a star-like pose. The feeling of lack of control did not help his mental state; nevertheless, the blue hologram/screen/illusion stood right in front of him, uncaring of his feelings.
He attempted to flail once more, unable to even grunt as his throat wouldn't listen to him, leaving the only option to stare at the words ahead. For one reason or another, the hologram didn't update as expected, giving him time to digest the situation more before abruptly changing.
[You, Viscus Lime, have been picked to solve a millennia old dilemma.]
The question of "What just happened?" was answered, but the response was not reassuring. He tried to open his mouth and speak out, but it seemed it was frozen as well. The words took their time to change just like before, trepidation increasing.
[Due to gaining access to the Gamer System, you will be given 3 innate traits to assist you on your mission.]
The blond, Viscus, had no comment. For the third time, he tried to move his limbs, but he stopped once he was finally convinced about his helplessness. His eyes spotted the words change. "Calculating", it said, a spinning dotted circle resembling those used in loading screens right beside it.
[According to the calculations, you have been granted: Creator's Blessing, Mana Touched, Desperation]
According to the blond, he didn't want whatever this System decided for him, but his opinion did not change the outcome. He couldn't stress how helpless he felt, how much he wanted to shout out in anger and denial. Viscus did not care about the "millennia old dilemma", no matter how much it tried to convince him. Suddenly, a headache echoed in his skull as the knowledge of what each of these traits did slammed into his mind, kicking off his train of thought.
Each one did something different, but all of them sped up his ability progression in some way. "Creator's Blessing" for crafting, "Mana Touched" for skills using Mana, and "Desperation" encompassing what the former two do not.
His mind felt like mush, and his gut threatened to send bile to his throat. Luckily for him, it couldn't move, but the sensation wasn't something he'd put in the lucky category. Ignoring his state, the hologram continued its function.
[You, Viscus Lime, will be sent to the world of Remnant, a world fraught with carnage and war. Your job is to end it.]
He tried to reread this sentence to understand what it meant. Sadly, it brought nothing but confusion for the blond, his vision sticking to the words 'end it'. What exactly was he supposed to do? Rather than answer his question, one last screen popped up as if to mock him, followed by a portal similar to the one that dragged him from his home.
[Good Luck]
And he was gone.
Welcome to Project CEM : Dragged Along.