I looked out the window as lush, green trees that towered over us zoomed away in a smear of light. The rented Mini Cooper rushed through the road, ignoring the bumpy landscape. Astrid was driving as I sat in the back seat, listening to a song while tapping to the beat on the car. Today was our once-in-a-year outdoors trip, the only day we go outside, excluding trips to the nearest 7-11. As the beautiful scenery ahead became clearers, us getting closer and closer, I got all giddy and excited. The road upwards got a bit wilder, with sharp turns and unsuspected bumps. It was close to a cliff that overlooked a beautiful village below. A sharp turn to the left, soft turn to the right. Another sharp turn- *snap*. A loud crack made me jump. The car swerved a bit to 'much' and sent us whirling. I felt something lurch in my stomach.

"What the...the brakes snapped!" Astrid exclaimed. "Kathrine get-"
Just before she can finish her sentence, a huge boulder slammed against her side of the car. The impact jammed one side of the car shut.
"Jammed." I said,. "Other side!"
But that wasn't the end. The car rolled backwards and hit a tree on the other side, jamming the other side.
"No, no, no." Astrid muttered, pressing the horn repeatedly. The windows shattered and glass flew everywhere but there wasn't enough time to climb out.
"Somebody!!!" I screamed knowing full well nobody would hear us. "Anybody..."

The car rolled, increasing in pace as it approached the cliff. My throat clogged, I stared in absolute horror, and the car quickly inched towards the edge. This was it. I didn't know what happened in the few seconds we fell. My eyes were shut but I could feel my insides flipping inside out. I regretted eating breakfast. I flew from my seat and slammed my back on the roof. The impact on the ground slammed the car and compressing it to half the size it was originally.

"Astrid..." I called out but my voice was weak. My head throbbed. Blood trickled down my face- no. Blood covered half of my head. My bones felt absolutely crushed. My vision flickered; off and on. But I refused to believe. I refused to believe this was the end. I grasped the ground, pushing myself up, only to tumble back down into the pile of more broken glass. The car entrapped us in our own grave. Welp. Hello hell.

~

(Kathrine's P.O.V.)
Am I dead now? Is this death? What happened? Where's the heaven and hell I've been told about since a child? Or is this my eternal punishment for being uncooperative in society? It felt as if I knew everything but remembered nothing- there were countless of theories formulating in my head, stacking upon one another into a huge pile of confusion. Let me remember...I was in a car crash with Astrid. Astrid?

The word echoed in my head, pacing around my empty brain, alluring my curiosity with its mysterious resonance and aura. The feeling it gave was in between 'uncanny' and 'comforting'. It was familiarly obscure. Was it a name? Someone important? What do they look like? Is it a word? A thing? It was haunting, echoing throughout my void-of-a-brain, making me forget what I was just thinking about. I shook my head. I'm getting off-track.

Currently, I have forgotten how to move and can see nothing but darkness- 'Astrid', whatever it is, is irrelevant right now. I couldn't be dead if I was conscious. Can I move...I shook my head! I moved earlier! I felt it. The slightest tingles that came from the muscle memory of shaking my head, but I knew it was huge progress. I had found a path to follow, like a glitch to exploit. I kept pushing my limits, a butterfly trying to break out of my cocoon, extracting all I knew on moving my body from the few, meager memories I had. Trying each 'movement' gave sense of familiarity yet a feeling of the unknown. I felt like I was getting closer to something...

"Gah-!" Light flooded my vision causing me to hiss like a vampire. I felt alive but the definition of 'alive' was vague. I was almost certain I died...my memories seemed so true...so real. "Astrid..."
I was laid down so I pushed myself upwards. I looked over on myself- I was somehow in a leather tunic with a white undershirt and cloth pants that gave me the stereotypical 'medieval-commoner' vibe. The room around me was light gray, the only exit being a blue, wooden door at the side. A small, dainty window let warm sunlight leak into the room. Was I just kidnapped or something? Am I supposed to be relieved I'm not in the underworld? I wouldn't be surprised as my head was quite droopy as if I'd just been drugged (not that I'd know how that'd feel, wink wink).

"This is cold..." I was seated on a chilly object that was elevated from the ground. I pulled my hand away from the freezing entity and jumped off. Upon laying my eyes on what I was on, I stared. For some odd and peculiar reason, I was lying down on a stone coffin. It wasn't even decorated with flowers. A little bit creeped out, I thought that maybe I was a zombie. Should I be thankful that I'm not kidnapped? I decided not to dwell on it further, afraid that things would only become more confusing the more I do. I turned to the wooden door and wrapped my hand around the cold knob.

Wherever I was, I couldn't stall for much longer. Bracing myself for a zombie apocalypse or kidnapper's lair, I turned the knob and pulled the door open. Behold- *drumroll* a cathedral. Wow. I'm kidnapped by a cult or something? Resurrected from the dead by some priest of necromancy to be part of a zombie invasion? Or am I in some hallucination? My mind was in a blur. Shaking my head, I took a look at the grand place. There were tons of stained windows, colors plastered onto them. Every ray of a sunlight hitting the glass turned into multi-colored disco lights. They didn't have any specific image on them but mesmerizing nonetheless. I turned to my left were the main centerpiece seemed to be- a stone coffin, same as mine, but at least 20 times bigger. There were elegant, white orchids that decorated the the edges of the coffin. That coffin was most definitely empty but it still was decorated by a bunch of flowers. I was on a coffin but there were no flowers. I really need friends. Astrid...

(Moving on from my loneliness and cynically sad view of myself,) Behind the said coffin was yet another stained window but this time it was humongous. Its beauty wasn't just mesmerizing- it was beguiling. The light that came through the panes were vibrant, chromatic colors that splashed onto the ground. I stared for a moment before rubbing my eyes. I've got to focus. Analyze...
There were numerous chandeliers and candles tracing the top and sides of the cathedral. There were also many other doors similar to mine lining the walls. As I looked around, frantically turning my head for clues, I saw a guy calmly walk out one of the blue doors. He was so casual about it as if it always happened. There were a bunch of wooden chairs that resembled a church and a red carpet ran in the middle but there was no altar in sight. I speedily walked through the red carpet and took my first look outside- it was really...one heck of a sight.

The sun shone gleefully on the medieval, stone houses. The stone road was crowded with busy people and varying stalls. The citizens were wearing layers of armor, colorful capes and wizard hats. They held axes, swords, and what-seemed-like magical staffs. My memory's a bit hazy but I'm pretty sure it's not normal to be wearing and holding these kinds of stuff. Am I in the land of dead otakus, N.E.E.T.'s, and cosplayers? It would explain a lot.
I continue to walk, feeling out-of-place (even though everyone else looked out-of-place), and timidly stared. As I passed by the stores and stalls, the aroma of savory food invaded my nostrils. The scent was killing me with temptation and the sizzling of food filled me with insatiable hunger. I turned into a dark alleyway and paused. I was hungry. Now what. I squatted in the damp alley, thinking hard. Everything felt so real yet...fake.

Then I noticed something. Something I'm sure wasn't in the 'world' I was in before. Tabs. There were two in fact- a golden one (with a three line icon) on my lower left, and a silver one (with a gear icon) on my upper right. I didn't know how, but I opened the golden one. In revealed a screen-in-screen page with a crap ton of confusing 'info'. There was a coin icon with the number '1000' besides it, a text saying 'mana' by a blue bar at max, and 'hunger' and 'thirst' with bars saying '75%'. Scrolling down further, I saw a 'class' category with a bunch of subcategories below it like:
Summoner : LV. 1
Sorcerer : LV. 1
And etc. There was then 'subclass' and it was just like the 'class' one but with different categories. I closed it (with the power of my mind...?) and opened the next tab. It was yet a another mini-screen with buttons and a adjustable settings. Music volume, sound effects, voice and brightness. I made the brightness higher and practically blinded myself as the world around me suddenly got more brilliant. I turned in back back down in regret and scrolled to the final setting. It was a button saying 'log out'. I attempted to tap it but to no prevail. After trying for a couple minutes, I let it go and moved on.

"It's like a game..." I thought aloud. I remember a bit of my past and that included a lot of gaming. But...I can't be in a game, can I? I wouldn't get any where trying to figure out this...thing by myself. I needed help. And lots of it. I was shy and reserved but I'd have to overcome it if I wanted to get anywhere. I trotted out of the alleyway and observed who I could possibly talk to. Everyone seemed like they had friends, were in a hurry, or preoccupied with something at moment. I had to walk a bit farther before finding the first 'free' person- she had dark, brown hair which was kept in place by a lacy ribbon. She wore a white blouse underneath a dark blue traveling coat. Her gray skirt extended to below her knee and just like everyone here, she held an odd 'weapon' of-the-sorts: a glimmering silver staff with an intricate wave-like designs and a twinkling, aquamarine gemstone

Forcefully self-destructing my shame and shyness, I tapped the girl at the back and asked her in a low voice.
"Umm, excuse me...do you know where I am?" I timidly inquired. She turned around abruptly and got a glimpse of her surprised, ocean blue eyes. She seemed to raise her eyebrow at my odd question.
"Oh...just, screw it." I muttered, shacking my head furiously to hopefully hide my shame. "Can you help me?"
"Uhh, okay. I'll help you. I'm Astrid." She smiled, lifting up her heading for a handshake. But then it clicked. Astrid...
"That name..." I wondered. My voice faded away as a fell deep into thoughts. Coincidence? Fate? I turned up to her confused eyes. I stared at my reflection which swirled in her sea blue eyes as she cooked something up in her brain.
"Are you...Kathrine?" She asked, her voice slightly more enthusiastic than earlier.
"Yeah! I'm still confused, but I feel like I know you. I mean...yeah." I stated.
"I'm confused too, but care to come along?" She invited. "I mean like...I'll help you and whatnot."
"Sure!" I nodded, stuck in the moment.

The memories I had felt 'realer' and I didn't feel as lost as I used to feel. I'll admit I was was too giddy at the 'thought of figuring something out' to comprehend the fact that I was practically following a stranger who may have just tricked me into joining them. But she knew who I was, I knew who she was (which, coincidentally, is a way some scammer steal from unknowing victims....). Maybe I was being an irresponsible teenager but who cares? I had nothing better to do.

She suddenly took my wrist and trapped it in a tight hold. As my hand slowly turned pale due to her tight grip, she pulled me through crowds of people, weaving in and out. The farther we ran, the more modern the houses became. From the ancient-looking ones with stone walls and wooden roofs, there were now concrete houses and two-story homes.. At this point, we were already walking and Astrid had let go of my wrist.
"Doesn't this part of the village look pretty?" Astrid thought. "Every house is unique."
"Yeah..." I nodded.

She pointed to two-floor home, with a light grey, concrete walls and a dark blue roof. "Come in."
She trotted through the front gate without touching it as it opened up for her.
"You don't lock it...?" I asked, a bit confused.
"Oh- you know how in games, there are only certain people allowed to enter your home?" She explained. "It's orta like that."
"A game..." I trailed off. As we entered her house, my eyes feasted upon the beautiful shelter. The blue-gray walls gave a soothing aura. The cozy living room had a glass coffee table, two grey three-seater couches (which looked incredibly soft), and a T.V. There was a dining room with a wooden 6-seater dining table followed by a jaw-dropping kitchen. It had the latest and most high-tech looking appliances, a gray-blue, braided tiled splashback, with granite counter tops and a matching island. It looked good-as-new. There were stairs that led up to the unknown, probably some bedrooms and bath. A basic house with basic necessities executed brilliantly, with the right touch of comfort and elegance.

"Mama...Mia." I breathed, mouth agape. "It's beautiful!"
"Glad you liked it. I thought of the design myself." Astrid grinned, obviously proud.
"Woah..."
"Why don't you sit down." She gestured. I gladly took the offer and got comfortable.
"Do you know anything about where we are?" Astrid asked. I shook my head. She smirked, tossing me a pen and paper out of nowhere. "As help, I'm giving you a lecture of what I currently know. Take down notes."
"Lecture?!" An image seems to flash in my head of the same situation happening to me not-too-long-ago. "Familiar."
After around 30 minutes of lecturing, my piece of paper was just about full. I re-read it, taking in the information:

~Classes~
One person can usually handle using two classes at one time but it is not easy to switch classes upon choosing.
Includes: Summoner, Sorcerer, Swordsman, Tank, Healer, Assassin
~Subclasses~
One person can be all subclasses (but levels may differ).
Includes: Maid, blacksmith, housewife, cook, bard, outlaw, etc.
~ Use of magic is limited due to mana capacity (as magic skill increases, capacity also increases).
~ You you can't die. You'd respawn in the cathedral (at the price of a memory from both you 'previous' life and 'present' life.
~ This is a game-like world and stuff so remember that.

"And we're done." Astrid wrapped up. "You got everything?"
"Think so..." I took a glance at my notes. "How long."
"Don't blame me. This world is quite the mystery." She grunted. "No questions, then?"
"Actually- I do have a question, miss." I teased. "What do you mean by 'game'?"
She seemed irritated at my snarky remarked by answered anyways. "It's an accepted fact that we're in a game-like world. Even I agree- I remember playing a bunch of games, R.P.G.'s in particular, and I can easily see the similarities of it with the 'world' we're currently in. Monsters, settings, classes, even guilds. It all matches us, really."
"Is there any concrete proof of that?" I interrogated.
"None..." She frowned.
"Doesn't this make the world amazing? You can't die and there's magic and lots of stuff to do, right?" I questioned.
"Well...dying does come at the price of memories. I've heard stories of people not remembering anything about the old world and those who don't remember their friends in this world either. It's not common but scary nonetheless." Astrid said.
"Bummer." I sighed. "Why are we here?"
"I don't know." She paused. "No one does. I remember dying but...not sure."
"Yeah...I do remember dying." I tapped my head lightly with my finger. "Gah..."
"Don't think too hard about it." Astrid suggested. "Why not we go shopping for your staff and stuff and some food to flush out your stress?"
"Heck yeah!" I cheered, jumping off the couch. "I'm starving!"
"We're buying your clothes first missy." Astrid glared. "I'm not gonna be tolerating your leather tunic any longer..."
"How rude." I scoffed. "Fine."
"How rude." She scoffed back. "I'm helping you."
"Whatever." I let her take my wrist once more and drag me along. I had just realized how close we've already becoming. It was almost creepy. After walking for about a minute, Astrid brought up a question.

"What class will you be taking?" She asked, letting go off my whitened wrist.
"I wanna be a sorcerer." I announced. "Magic seems real cool. What class are you?"
"I'm a summoner." She replied.
"And why is that...?"
"Because I thought having little minions seemed cool." She proudly admitted, a cheeky grin stretching across her face.
"That is totally not a stupid reason." I sarcastically remarked. We past through the clusters of people and fought off the alluring scent of food to reach our destination. We were back at the area with medieval buildings. The one we were in front of had a sign with a magic wand: Witchcraft and Wizardry 101 .
We entered the shop and I was bedazzled by the luxurious array of silky robes, snug coats, lavish hats, gallant staffs, fancy wands, adorable accessories, price tags, price tags, and price tags.

"Good morning! What are you looking for madams?" A euphoric employee walked to us, a smile pasted on her face.
"Um..." I glared to Astrid as a plea for help. Being an anti-social human being, I was quite uneasy. She slowly backed away, giving me that 'your-problem' look. "T-the basics. For a new sorcerer."
"Sure! This way please." The lady guided my through the racks and pathways as Astrid silently followed behind. We reached the sorcerer's section and the girl smiled. "Accessories and there and other clothes are there."
"Thank you." I nodded. The employee walked away to give me some time and privacy and Astrid stepped right back besides me.
"Go pick your clothes now." Astrid pointed.
"You betrayed me!" I whined.
"Stop complaining, kid." She huffed. "Just pick out some clothes! Make sure it's within budget: 1000 coins. Got it?"
"Yes, mom." I mocked. After a while of contemplating, I ended up picking up a silky, gray cape with pastel pink linings, a cute lil' cat-wizard hat that has the same color palette as my cape, a simple white dress that was a bit below the knees, and a staff that put me into a trance. The said staff had a shimmering silver shaft that curved into a crescent at the top. The grip was wrapped with a customizable cloth, so I choose pastel pink to match my current theme. There was a pink gemstone at the end in a diamond shape. From my knowledge, I could tell it was a morganite gem. This was the one. There were numerous other designs and shenanigans that beautified the staff. Overall- enchanting.
After fitting the clothes and finalizing my decisions, we paid at the counter and I had merely a penny left.
"Happy adventuring!" The cashier waved goodbye.