MAIA

I spun about, looking for the voice that spoke. It sounded like a woman's.

“I am Maia, your System Guide and a part of your System and set to guide you to the Seal. Before you will appear a screen, your System Dashboard, to set you on the path you should go. Now, I will show you the details.”

A holographic screen showed in mid air, and when I tried to touch it, it responded. On it were some statistics I could barely understand, but which I reckoned were connected to me, as my name and a small image of myself wearing the half mask were at the very top of the screen.

Name: [Alexander]

Level: 1

Bronze Coins: 0/500. 0 used.

Experience Points (XP): 0/10,000

Health Points (HP): 0/10,000

Magic Points (MP): 0/10,000

Strength: 5/10

Intelligence: 4/10

Agility: 1/10

*Skill Section*

Active Skills: NONE

Passive Skills: NONE

Skill Cooldowns: NONE

*Quest and Mission Log*

Current Quests: NONE

Completed Quests: NONE

*Statistics and Analytics*

Kill Count: 0/10

Distance Travelled: 0/50 km

Resources Gathered: 0/1

*Notifications and Alerts*

System Messages: NONE

Warning Alerts: NONE

Event Notifications: NONE

*Equipment and Inventory*

Equipment: NONE

Inventory: NONE

Storage: NONE

*Map and Minimap*

Loading…

I could barely understand this list on the System Dashboard as the counts slowly ran up, except that it was supposed to be mine as my name and image were clearly there and that I'd not done too much on it, not with all the zeros and nones attached.

“I will help you to find the Seal, and you can ask me whatever you want.”

“Are my statistics empty because I haven't done anything?”

“Yes. Do you want me to explain the list of all the counts to you?”

“Yes.” I answered.

“You are at Level 1, which is the lowest level, and which means that you will not be able to find the Seal, even if it was set before your very eyes. That can only be done when you reach the last level.”

“I have a long way to go, then.” I groaned.

“Indeed, you do.”

“And how do I move to a higher level?”

“To reach a higher level, which is Level 2 in your case, you have to do tasks that will earn you coins, and which will take your Experience, Health, and Magic points from 0 to 10,000. Your Level 1 Strength, Intelligence, and Agility also have to reach 10 before you can move forward.”

“Do my Active and Passive skills have anything to do with my going from one level to another?”

“Partially, as getting the skills will help you earn points. They will also help you to execute the tasks that will gain you points.”

“What are my skill cooldowns?”

“Your skill cooldowns is the time that must pass before you can use a certain skill again. The less powerful the skill, the longer the cooldowns.”

I grunted. That didn't seem too good. I would certainly want to have more powerful skills, but it would become useless as it would not last long and I would be left unprotected.

“What about my kill count?”

“Your kill count must also hit the maximum of 10 before you can reach Level 2.”

“So when all these are completed, then I can move to Level 2?”

“Indeed.”

“Okay. Let's begin, Maia.” I said. Maybe trying to reach the Seal didn't seem so hard anymore, and all I would need to focus on was reaching the final one. I was already on Level 1, and even though saying I had an unspecified number to go sounded dismal, I still imagined that I would reach the end.

My System Dashboard buzzed with new notifications.

*1. New System Message*

Congratulations on interacting with your system and Maia, your guide. Your journey to the Seal begins. Move to the Quest and Missions Log for information on what you have to do next. Hades wishes you the best of luck.

I snorted at the sight of his name, and swiped my finger across my holographic screen to find the Quest and Missions Log.

*2. New Quest and Missions Log*

Current Quest: Find the Sword of Pella. 200 Bronze Coins reward.

Completed Quests: NONE.

*3. New Equipment and Inventory.*

Equipment: One Steel Katana.

Inventory: 1x Bag, 1x Water Bottle, 1x Biscuit Box, 1x Night Goggles, 1x Dark Hood.

*4. Map and Minimap.*

I saw the image of one red, curving line that marked the way I was supposed to go, set in an area filled with brown. At the point where I was supposed to find the sword was a small graphic, with the ‘Sword of Pella’ written near it.

*GOODLUCK.*

“Is there anything you would wish for me to help you with?” Maia, my System's Guide asked.

“Get me the equipment and the inventory. And where do I go?”

In a flash, the katana and the bag were in my hand, containing the water, the biscuit, and the dark hood, neatly rolled up.

“Go outside the door.”

I did as she said, and was almost lost by the spectacle my eyes beheld. The wide, unending expanse of sand that went as far as my eye could see made it clear that it was a desert, and was why the colour of the area in my map had been brown. The heat from the sun burned into what was left of my skin, and I winced when I remembered the misery I allowed myself to get tricked into. I could not die, until I fulfilled all conditions.

Hades had played me, and I had no choice.

I threw the hood on, strapped the bag to myself, and stepped into the sand as my metallic feet sank into it, and feeling nothing, began my journey to conquer Level 1.

Outside, the room appeared to be a box standing alone, and I walked until the box became even smaller and then disappeared, going so far behind that it was a small dot in the distance when I turned to see it one last time.