It had felt like success to Tobias while active within the system, the only problem was that as he removed the helm from his head to find himself still in that small dark closet, he knew that success was eluding him. What had he actual achieved, the first quest of the tutorial? That was all. A bitter sense of irony engulfed him. Why was he being forced to play a game that created such feelings and felt so real. He could understand that the world had been saved by the aliens, but even at his previous levels of power he had been unable to discover much about the aliens, as he sat in that small dark closet a new sense of purpose started to form. He could not describe even to himself what he wanted, as he did not even know the questions that might lead to answers, all that echoed in his mind was “Why”.

  Gathering himself it was clear that, the only solution, for now, was to proceed. One of the things Tobias had learnt in business that power attracted power. Until he was more able in the game it was necessary to what ever it took to become more powerful. So, a man that prided himself not every using a computer was faced that he needed to know what he was facing. The problem was that he did even know that his cell phone connected to the Internet, and his level of accommodation did not come with built in computing. He did have a pamphlet that had come with an eviction notice. reviewing this it was clear that he needed to upgrade his game status from “Newbie” to “Bait” and then “Commoner” for his access rights included using the Television system as a browser. So, no time to waste. He had a feeling that he had made a mistake in only taking 1 quest at a time, as his memory was that at least one of the quests required killing spiders, and he also had a vague memory from an Advert for the game that choices in the game had consequences for decisions made and not made.

  He wondered if there was going to be enough rats to complete the quests that he still had to start.

  So, into the shower, a quick meal, an hour power nap and then back to the game. He saw no problem with spending 20 to 22 hours in the game if he managed his real-world time well. He quickly entered the closet and placed the helmet on his head.

  Accessing the he rapidly checked the quests and yes it looked like he had made a mistake. His only hope was that he would be able to correct the position. Therefore, enabling the quests as soon as possible seemed to be the correct strategy. The only quest that seemed to expand giving further details was the Safe lodgings quest. Tobias recognized that some quests were simple collect and use, while others could have quite complex requirements.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Safe Lodgings