Freelance Saga: Learning Curves by Scottie Futch Page B

get
back!”
    Scott nodded then started to say something
but the only sound that escaped his lips was a loud gasp of pain
followed by a garbled scream. He felt like he was being
electrocuted and torn apart at the same time. The world suddenly
went dark. He floated in a sea of inconceivable blackness for a
space of time that he could not fathom.
    The world returned in a blur of sound, light,
and pain. However, the sight that greeted his eyes was not the
laboratory. “What the hell? Did those assholes dump me in the
woods?”
    He tried to stand up but found that his body
was strangely heavy. His movements were sluggish, and his arms must
have weighed over fifty pounds each. Despite the problems he did
manage to get to his knees and then stood up slowly.
    “What did those bastards do to me?”
    Scott turned his head then floundered back a
step, nearly falling down. Something had popped up out of nowhere.
It looked like a floating message screen. Something you might see
in a game.
    He stared at the screen for a moment then
looked to his left and back to his right. “Are you kidding me?”
    Scott touched the screen to see what would
happen and it disappeared. Another one popped up in its place,
however. He read it then touched it again. It was a series of
greeting information screens, the kind of information you might see
when first entering a new game!
    “They, they were kidding right? This is not a
real place! It can’t be real!”
    Now he looked around with greater interest.
Where was the projector? There had to be a projector! After a brief
but tiring search, Scott panted heavily. Wherever he was, he was
exhausted. Why did his body feel so heavy?
    His questioning thoughts were answered with
the appearance of another screen. It explained that he had minimal
attributes currently. “I see. I technically have the strength and
agility of a small child at the moment. No wonder I feel heavy. The
strength of a child and the weight of a grown man don’t work out
that well.”
    After he tapped the new window screen, a big
white arrow appeared in the air then started to blink in and out of
view. He had no real option but to head in the direction that it
pointed.
    “They really aren’t kidding? This world
really is set up like a video game. Still, is it real or just some
kind of sophisticated virtual reality system?”
    Scott struggled to follow the arrow’s
direction and eventually came to an open glade. At the center of
the glade was a pedestal. When he approached the standing edifice a
mirror image of his body appeared above it.
    “Well, that’s not particularly flattering.”
In truth, since he’d left the army he had let himself go quite a
bit. All night gaming sessions and poor nutritional choices had
that effect on people.
    A screen popped up and informed him that this
was the location where he would choose his race and general
starting appearance. When prompted, the message screen revealed
that there were dozens of races to choose from. His choice of race
would decide where he started in the world.
    He toyed with the race choices for a moment.
“Seriously? I can even be classic monster races?”
    Each race had their strengths and draw backs.
Humans had no major strengths or weaknesses physically or
magically, but they had a commerce and technology bonus. Dwarves
and Minotaurs had a bonus for smithing. Elves had a magical bonus,
heightened senses, and excelled at archery. However, they had lower
strength and vitality than a human.
    Monster races had a negative commerce and
intimacy modifier with any race other than their own. They also
required more experience to gain a level. Scott had to consider the
choices carefully. The human option would be easiest but if he was
going to live another life, even if a game, why not be something
different?
    “There’s even a choice for vampires,
werewolves, and dragons. Weird.” What kind of game let you be a
dragon? Seriously, wouldn’t that be extremely broken?
    He thought