On the eighth day of his stay in a new world, Theodore “Bennie” Poundworth did nothing. And for this, the Ghost girl seemed rather amused; he barely left his bedroom. So there wasn’t a lot to say about what he did. Instead, something weird woke him up on the ninth day.

  He woke up to a slew of notifications on his screen, or his eyes, he should say. Most of them were flashing red or white, all vying to get his attention. Groggily, he sat up and tried to focus on them, and through nothing but sheer irritation and a deep-seated wish to get some coffee, he started working through them.

  There were five in total, three flashing white and two flashing red. He first went through the flashing white ones, assuming the red ones would be actual problems.

  The first read:

  Congratulations!

  Achievement ‘Safe Spaces, Safe Havens’ Unlocked.

  You have found a place that is safe and filled with food. You no longer care about finding shelter; instead, you’ve spent one entire day doing nothing, an achievement only possible by the select few born into luxury.

  Luck increased by X – Warning, all stat points controlled by the patron, the user is unable to see.

  He reread that one twice and groaned heavily, he really wished that didn’t mark him as some spoiled noble in a world that so far seemed to be quite stuck before a time of electricity. He closed the notification and hoped no one could read his notification listings in the future. Or that anyone would care about it.

  The second read:

  Congratulations

  Achievement ‘Well Rested’ Unlocked.

  You have taken the time to sleep well, without a care in the world, you’ve slept long enough to relax every muscle, and to forget every worry. Traditionally, this is an achievement meant for the young, but you have achieved as an adult. Bonus points awarded.

  Charisma increased by X - Warning, all stat points controlled by the patron, the user is unable to see.

  He smirked at that, thinking that most babies would probably get that as soon as they were born and fell asleep. Forgetting about this one, he moved on to the last white notification.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Congratulations

  Achievement ‘World Conqueror’ Unlocked

  You have travelled across multiple planes of existence through hard work and effort. Whether by your own power or through the power of another, you are in a new world. While there, you have not only lived but also grabbed a piece of this world as your own. This achievement is only achievable by those from other worlds who have soul-bound parts of a world to themselves.

  All stats increased by X–Warning, all stat points controlled by the patron, the user cannot see.

  He stared at the notification until he was sure his eyes were bulging. He had soul-bound himself to the mansion? He needed to stop doing nothing and go investigate the magic circle he had walked into. Not least of which would mean he had to explore every other room. He had only gone into a few and found nothing of interest apart from the store room. Not even a library.

  And he also wanted to know what the hell his stat points were now. He thought that maybe it didn’t matter all that much, but the system refused to even show him by how much they were increasing. Before he started worrying about any of that, he read the two other notifications, both flashing red, making it hard to see the room around him.

  Fortunately, they were short.

  Quest Received – Find Others

  You have been in another world for close to 10 days. Go find others and make friends, or enemies, but each day spent alone is another wasted opportunity.

  Living Beings made contact with 1/10

  He hmmed at that and minimised the notification.

  Quest Received – Influence

  You are a summoned human from another world. Your patron did not bring you here to wallow away the days in a mansion with every need you have met. This is simply your starting point. Go forth to villages, towns, cities, and nations. You may not need to spread your patron's name, but each new person who hears your name is another step forward on your journey.

  A journey to what? Well, that remains to be seen.

  Others Influenced 0.00001%

  Bennie looked at that for several minutes. He reread that specific notification over and over again until the ghost made a sound. He did not move. He knew how he felt in that moment, rather annoyed.

  “Please tell me you aren’t also going to drop some information on me.” He said, closing the notification. The ghost stood near his closed door, almost politely waiting for him to finish.

  Unfortunately, she shook her head, a sad smile on her face. “I have received a new quest. I don’t get those, " she answered.

  Putting his head in his hands, he rubbed the last dregs of sleep out of his eyes. “Right, so something was clearly watching us, just take it slow. Mind telling me what you usually do?”

  He stood up and went to the closet; he didn’t mind her seeing him naked; she was a ghost after all.

  “Well, normally being such as myself just exists, the system that you humans always talk about doesn’t exist for us. Only living things can see it. It’s part of what makes being undead so strong. No system to control us.” She said, clearly having turned her back on him. Her voice came muffled after hitting the far wall and bouncing back.

  He felt he would soon be walking a lot, so he put on what he assumed to be travel clothes, including the trusty cloak he had become comfortable with and a pair of brown leather boots that seemed to perfectly hug his feet.

  “Okay, so that is unusual. What does your quest say?” he asked as he buttoned his shirt closed.

  “It demands I help you find the portal room and travel with you. Along with something called influence at the bottom.” She said.

  He went to the door and started walking down the hallway. “Right,” he said as she floated through the wall. "What in all hell is a portal room?”

  She looked at him with her head cocked to the side, “I would assume it’s a room with portals?”

  He wasn’t sure, but the ghost had just made fun of him.

  On the ninth day in another world, Theodore “Bennie” Poundsworth set out to figure out what was happening.

  Basic Sock Puppets:

  J.R. Timmerman

  Christo M

  Free Members:

  Scarlett Dawn

  Lisa M

  I need to start doing something cool down here...