“A horse comes out of a gourd.”
Chapter 1: Awakening in Ridge Haven
The crackle of backfire lifted his eyelids. Blurry. He blinked once. Twice. The world swam into focus through a haze of sterile white lights and beeping machines. His head throbbed like an over-revved engine, memories fading like taillights after a burnout. He took a sharp breath, wheezing like an old rotary. He blinked at the ceiling, trying to piece together... anything. A crash? Screeching tires? The crunch of metal—a gunshot? It all blurred into nothingness. His mind was black.
He was in a bed, hooked up to tubes and monitors that hummed with faint magical auras—enchanted tech, the kind that healed wounds faster than nature intended. This wasn't some back-alley chop shop; this was a proper hospital—of sorts—the room was gleaming with polished chrome and runes etched into the walls. The backseat driver of his thoughts said the runes ward off infection and helped with rapid healing. Then he looked up. Ridge Haven General, if the holographic sign flickering above the door was any indication. Ridge Haven? …he’d never heard of it.
A door slid open with a soft whoosh, and in walked a doctor, she had oddly glittery looking skin for a doctor and a lab coat embroidered with glowing sigils.
Was this some kind of joke? His doctor was cosplaying as an elf. He looked at her pointed ear tips, then her shimmery face. Faint silver markings outline her cheeks, a soft gold pulsed along like a heartbeat—costume looked legit.
She carried a sleek tablet, its screen pulsing with arcane code. “Good, you're awake,” she said, her voice layered yet crisp. Professional and magical with soothing notes of wisdom and experience. “Vitals look stable. No permanent damage, though that concussion might leave you fuzzy for a bit. Now, for the paperwork—can you give me your name?”
He stared at her, then at the tablet she handed over. A cursor blinked expectantly in the “Name” field. Who was he? Fragments teased at the edges of his mind: the thrill of acceleration, the grip of a steering wheel, the scent of gasoline and ozone from spell-infused exhausts. But no name. No face. Nothing. His mind blurred like smoothies in white-walls.
Outside the window, the city of Ridge Haven sprawled like a neon-lit labyrinth. Towering spires pierced the sky, connected by elevated highways that looped impossibly through floating districts. Out beyond the neon and grit lay quiet suburbs on one side, warehouses and docks on the other, and far past them—through the grain and country miles—sleeps the great blue mountain, capped in white wearing a cloudy skirt tinged with cherry blossoms.
Here though. In the heart. Cars—sleek, modded beasts with glowing runes and turbochargers—zipped along the streets below. One revved hard, its engine letting out a sharp crack—the backfire of a turbo spooling up, echoing like a thunderclap.
That sound. It sparked something. Familiar. Powerful. Like a starting line gun.
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“Cars on.” He muttered sarcastically. Noticing the auto cursor mocking him. It dutifully typed the name. He shrugged with a smirk. It was kind of what he said. Screw it, he’ll stick with the name. It felt good. Right. Something simple. Fast.
The doctor nodded, tapping a few keys. “Carson it is. No last name required in Ridge Haven—keeps things anonymous for folks like you.”
Folks like him? He thought. Looking out the window for what sounded like “thunder” only seeing an old challenger drive through the parking lot.
“As for payment...” She glanced at the bill tallying on the screen: $3700.00 for the overnight stay, magical regen spells, and diagnostics. “It'll go on your internal debt ledger. City's got a system for that. You can chip away at it with race winnings, odd jobs, or whatever. No interest if you make progress. Fail to pay up, and well...” she took a breath to let it sink in, glancing over the tablet. “Well, let’s just say the Enforcers might repo more than just a car.” She tapped the tablet.
The tablet binged with confirmation. Carson felt something tingle around his wrist. Nothing restrictive or tight. It was unnoticeable after it materialized. Like the ultimate track-pass wristband.
The holo-band at his wrist chimed with a green glow, a strange ping echoing in his head—not from the machines, but from inside. A translucent blue screen materialized in his vision, hovering like a heads-up display:
[System Notification: Identity Initialized]
Name: Carson
Level: 1
Class: None.
Stats:
Speed: 5/100
Handling: 4/100
Endurance: 6/100
Luck: 3/100
Mana Affinity: 2/100
Debt: $3700.00
New Quest Unlocked: Fresh Start – Clear your hospital debt within 30 days. Reward: +1 Level, Basic Vehicle Unlock.
Failure Penalty: Enforcer Pursuit (Level 5 Difficulty).
There was also a flavor text.
Just pay your bills man. Don’t make the Enforcers drag a skinny guy like you around.
He might not have a memory. But this was new. He was certain of it. He was sure he never had stats before. That, or seeing himself reduced to such numbers hit like a blowout in the first apex. For as alien as it was, it almost felt right… How does he remove the screen?
Carson blinked. Then more rapidly. It didn't dissipate. This was Ridge Haven's famous "System"—the gamified overlay that turned life into an RPG. Everyone got it upon registering in the city, or so the whispers in his fragmented memory suggested. It tracked everything: races, mods, even street cred. Win big, level up. Crash hard, and you'd be grinding side quests just to stay afloat.
RPG? Races? There was a pull there. Perhaps he liked games before? Maybe he liked cars? He looked for a little (x), before waving a hand through the holographic interface.
The doctor didn't seem phased; she probably saw this daily. "Discharge papers are processing. You're free to go. Word of advice: steer clear of the Undercity tracks until you've got wheels and some levels under your belt. Those goblin crews don't play fair."
He swung his legs off the bed, feeling the pull of fresh scars under his hospital gown. He also felt something else. He didn’t know what mana or magic felt like. But he felt something: warmth from his toe pads up his legs. Followed with a gentle vibration of grounding. Like he was accepted. There was even a faint metallic taste in his mouth. Like ozone. No car. No memory. New name. New life. And a debt hanging over him like a checkered flag just out of reach. The System pinging again:
[System Notification: New Challenge Unlocked.
Daily Challenge: Walk the Streets – Explore Ridge Haven for 1 hour. Reward: 50 XP, Map Unlock.]
He smirked—nothing cocky. Idling. Like a cold engine warming up. He looked out the window one more time. A phantom engine rattling somewhere in his bones. Was it a warning? A Promise? …Worse? Carson would take his chances. He was the blind bet—now where was the starting line.
