Once I step all the way through, I'm met by a lush green valley. Rows of grassy hills extend far out into the distance leading to a cluster of tall trees. I look down to see that I'm standing on a dirt pathway. It seems too wide to be just for travelers on foot. My guess is vehicles use this for transportation too. The middle-aged vibe of the environment makes me imagine horse-drawn wagons on the road. I take a look up and notice there isn't a cloud in the sky. It's as blue as can be and the sun is shining with vigor.

  “Looks like a damn screensaver.”, I mutter to myself. Regardless, this place is a huge step up from the blank void I was in before. Well, it isn't hard to be better than that if I’m being honest.

  Then it hits me. I squint and scan the grasslands in front of me. It’s identical to the one from Celestial Game’s website. The only thing it’s missing is that village. If it wasn't for the fact that I fought those slimes from the concept art, I'd think it was just a coincidence.

  “They really put me in The Final Sector, huh?”

  It's still a hypothesis, but with everything I’ve seen so far, it makes sense. I take a few steps down and let this possible reality sink in.

  “Okay. So…say this is a game. That doesn't have to be a bad thing.”

  Maybe if I get far enough or complete a specific quest, I'll be able to return home. Or at the very least, get some answers. Either way, I have no choice but to follow along.

  My game hypothesis reminds me of all the rewards I got from my first quest. I remember one of them being full access to the Character Menu. Maybe now I can call for it.

  “Character Menu.”

  I say it with the watch in front of me and like magic, a blue screen opens above it.

  “Interesting…”

  The menu before me brings back pleasant memories of staying up hours playing Oaktale with my best friend Damien. It was this MMO that had us traveling the fictional world of Arcadia. In hindsight, it was pretty simple. You level up, you increase your stats, you collect items, etc. But it was our first MMO so all this was new to us. And we loved it. It gave us the chance to escape our dull lives and become, I don't know, something more. We were like all the heroes we watched on TV together.

  But then, we grew up. Life became too demanding and we both slowly dropped it. There are still days when I think of asking him to hop back on so we can relive those fantasies.

  “Man, when I tell him about this, he’s gonna be shook!”

  After some reminiscing, I bring my attention back to the menu. The first things I notice are the question marks. I doubt saying “question marks” will lead to anything so I move on. My guess is that these will be unlocked as I progress.

  Next, I realize the “Profile”, “Stats”, and “Inventory” options are highlighted yellow with exclamation points next to them. A command almost escapes my lips, but the memory of those slimes jumping me brings me to a halt. I survey the area once more to make sure the coast is clear. Lucky for me, it is. With that, I begin perusing through the menu. Instead of going to one of the highlighted options, I decide to check the settings first.

  “Settings.”

  The word glistens then a new blue window replaces the last. On it is a long list of options that control everything from the look of the screens that pop up to how many can remain visible at the same time.

  “Whoa…”

  It's a bit overwhelming. I scroll down the list and most of the settings seem fine the way they are. I change the max amount of screens that can pop up to 4 and the main color to purple. You never know when you'll need more than one window open. The color alteration was just cause of personal preference, though. The last change I make is to allow alerts to appear before me whether or not I’m looking at my watch.

  Once I’m done messing with the settings, I move back to the Character Menu then call for the “Profile” option.

  “Holy- “

  A new purple window appears to the left of the menu. On the right half of it is…well…me, dreadlocks and all. I move my arm around a little and the me on the screen follows. Feels like I'm looking at a small mirror.

  Well at least I know I'm still me.

  It's common for characters in Isekai to change their look completely upon entering their new world. I'm glad that isn't the case here. When it comes to games where you get to customize your character, I’m the kind of guy who makes them look just like me. It always felt more immersive that way.

  I turn my attention to the left half of the window. At the top is my name; Amani Shepherd. There is an empty area below it, and underneath that is more text.

  “Huh…”

  It gave me a username without asking me. I mean, it is my goto ign (in-game name) so I can't complain. But I'm a bit confused as to how it knew.

  “Man screw it. How did you choose my username?”

  I attempt to ask the watch a question. It doesn’t respond.

  “How did I get here? How do I go back home?”

  Once again, the watch remains silent. But if I’m being honest, I didn’t expect it to answer me. The thought that it might respond to my questions has just been bothering me ever since I found out it took voice commands.

  With that, I return to my profile page. My race piques my curiosity. I thought I’d be a human or something. Why ‘Avatar’?

  Not having a class is understandable since I’m only level 5. I'm used to MMOs leaving you as a “Beginner” or some generic normal class until you reach level 10. Guess I gotta level up to get a class advancement quest or something.

  The “Title(s)” area brings me back to Oaktale. That game also had titles for when you did something relevant to the world or completed some challenge. Some were just for show, but others gave you special accessories or even buffs. If that's the case here, that'll be pretty useful.

  I continue to the next attribute, “Celestial Blessing(s)”. That's some pretty heavy self-branding. My guess is that this is some special buff. Oaktale granted the community super helpful enhancements like double exp or better drop rates during special events. This could be something similar. And to my surprise, I actually have a blessing.

  “Hmmm. ‘Training Wheels’? Like I’m in Easy Mode?”

  There is a small “i” in a circle next to it. It looks like one of those icons you’d hover over on a webpage that gives you more info. I’m assuming this means I can get an explanation for this.

  “Can I get more information on ‘Training Wheels’…please?”

  Immediately, a small window opens up next to the blessing with a short description.

  “Well, that's helpful. Thanks… game…I guess?”

  The window closes once I finish thinking about the blessing. Then at the bottom of the left side of the screen, I come across a section labeled “Bio”. Below it is a short paragraph.

  “Oookay..”

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  This feels like a character sheet from Dungeons and Dragons. I begin to wonder if this was taken from the bio section in one of my social media accounts.

  “Nope. I'd never refer to the Bronx as some ‘far-off land’.”

  Is it possible that whoever put me here wrote this? Are they watching me right now? The cold hands of anxiety climb up my back. I think back to when I felt that presence looking at me before. But with an aggressive shaking of my head, I push the thought away. I do one last scan of my profile to cover all my bases. Then just like the info window, it closes once I mentally decide I'm done with it.

  I bring my eyes back to the menu. The last two highlighted options are “Stats” and

  “Inventory”.

  “Might as well get to my stats now. I’m not trying to fight more enemies in this

  state.”

  My battle with the slimes showed me how much I lack here. Tactics and strategy are important, but what’s the use if I can’t dodge or do enough damage? I'm not trying to get pummeled like that again. Plus, as weird as it is, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little excited. This is what got me into RPG games; the feeling of leveling up and getting stronger. Whether this is what my afterlife looks like or this is some gauntlet I gotta complete, making it a game is a huge win for me.

  “Stats.”

  The command opens a new screen and as I presumed, it contains a list of attributes with numbers next to them.

  “Oh yeah. This is definitely giving Dungeons and Dragons.”

  I don’t see any extra info icons next to the stats, but I can take a guess what they all mean. Strength is pretty straightforward. Constitution probably has to do with defense. Seeing “Resistance” makes me think that my constitution stat refers to physical defense while the latter refers to defense from magic.

  The magic stat is also pretty self-explanatory. So is agility. But the luck stat makes me pause in thought. This one is a wildcard. In Oaktale, this was the stat that decided how much damage the Thief class could do. However, I've played other RPGs where its effect is drastically different. I have absolutely no idea how it'll work here.

  Then a stressful thought crosses my mind. I have no clue what classes I’ll have access to. How do I decide my build?

  After what feels like a couple of minutes of pacing in thought, I bring my attention back to my stats window. All I can do is boost the stats that work best for me, and right now, agility is my top priority. My enemies can’t hit me if they can’t catch up to me.

  “Umm. 10 points in agility.”

  The number next to the stat climbs from a 0 to a 10, but it’s shining. Two buttons appear at the bottom of the window. One says “Confirm” while the other says,

  “Reset”. Then I take a look at my luck stat.

  “Screw it. 3 points in luck. Just in case”

  12 points left. I may regret it later, but I decide to split the rest of my points evenly between strength and magic. With that, I review my stats one last time and take a deep breath.

  “Confirm.”

  The shining effect from the changed numbers stops and the two buttons that appeared at the bottom disappear. Suddenly, I feel this indescribable surge of energy spread through my body. It only lasts for a second, but leaves me tingling. Feels like I consumed a pre-workout drink with a crazy-ass kick. I take a break from all the screens and start hopping in place.

  “Oh shit!”

  My body feels, so light. Slowly, I begin putting more power into my hops. Then I go into a deep squat, throw my hands back, then put my all into one last jump.

  “Awww HELL YEAH!”

  I feel a genuine grin forming across my face. There is nothing for me to use as a marker, so I have no idea how high I jumped. However, it definitely feels like I could jump over someone my height without breaking a sweat.

  After I land, I continue testing my physical limits by sprinting around the grasslands. I probably look like a maniac right now, but I don’t care. This is fun. The sprinting eventually turns into multiple failed attempts at acrobatics. Then after a bit, I collapse on the floor still giggling from pure exuberance.

  “Whew…man! I’m about to be a demon on out there.”

  I get back up and call for my Character Menu again. To my surprise, the “Stats” option is still highlighted. I call for it to open and immediately notice something new. Above all my attributes lies 2 new color coded bars. One is green while the other is blue. Within the green one, I see “HP: 100/100”. The blue one on the other hand contains “MP: 130/130”.

  “Great. Now I'll always know how close I am to death.”

  Regardless, I navigate to the last highlighted setting.

  “Inventory.”

  A new purple window appears. At the very top I see a collection of tabs. From the first one saying “All” I can tell this is meant to organize my items by type.

  Beneath the tabs is an 8x8 matrix of boxes. All but the first one is empty. Inside it is what looks like a small treasure chest. The text “Beginner Item Set” hovers over it.

  “Beginner Item Set.”

  My command opens a small window over my inventory. Within it is a larger version of the chest. Underneath that is more text.

  At the bottom of the window, I see a button with “Open” on it.

  “Open”

  The item window closes and I watch the treasure chest shine then burst into the items that were listed. I’m a little disappointed I didn’t get any armor with this set, but the Destined Weapon Loot Box piques my interest. The name makes it sound like this is about to be something epic. So with my excitement building, I look into the equipment set.

  “Based on my fighting preference? I’ve only fought here once!”

  I take a second to review the fight I had in the void but impatiently drop the thought soon after.

  “The hell am I thinking for? I can just find out. Open.”

  The icon shines and then is replaced by what looks like gauntlets.

  “Ooooh. Yeah, I can work with that!”

  Another smile comes across my face as I call the item’s name. The alert window disappears and the item’s window replaces it. It’s Dull rank. I’m guessing that’s the lowest one. But something interesting catches my eye.

  Learned skill? It looks like items can grant you skills here too. And I notice I can get extra info on the one here. But before I’m able to give the command, the window pops up.

  That’ll definitely be useful. I’m a little taken aback by the window opening without a command though. I bring it up to eyeview as if looking at it again will give me a reason. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s slowly getting used to me. Regardless, I’ve more than learned that action gets me more answers than standing around and pondering. Might as well take a look at my new toy.

  “Umm… equip Scrapper’s Iron Gauntlets.”

  The weapons materialize on my hands. And now that I can get a good look at little, I’m a bit disappointed. It looks like somebody binded my hands and wrists with hand wraps then super-glued pieces of iron on my knuckles, palms, and forearm. I could’ve made this myself.

  “Well this is a beginner.”, I mutter to myself.

  I hope into a boxing stance and throw a few jabs. It’s surprisingly light. I feel it on my hand, but it feels weightless. After a couple more punches, I face the grasslands before me. I feel ready. I return to the dirt path and begin my march toward wherever it leads. Eventually, my undisturbed trek leads me to what looks like a forest. The dirt path leads me right in. But before I can continue, a new window stops me in my tracks.

  Does the new System window format help?