Chapter 4: Prime Time
John ran his fingers over the book that lay open before him as he read aloud from the page, "the God of Games?" As the words left his mouth, the book had additional ink rise out of the paper to form a quick elaboration for John's sake. The new information read, "The God of Games is one of the few of the divine who stood in support of Jupiter during his condemnation by the rest of their kind. Known for his love of all forms of games, his extensive knowledge of Earth's pen and paper and video game systems was essential in Creating the system I have created for you."
John's expression lit up as he could only imagine how cool a system the patron of gaming could make! John hurriedly flipped to the next page. Whatever John was expecting, however, it was not what he saw before him. The middle of the second page held an embossed icon, stylized as a cartoon version of the book he was holding. Below it read the text, "primer.exe," and handwritten directions to double tap on it next to it. Rolling his eyes, John followed the instructions.
As his second tap resounded on the page, nothing seemed to happen at first. But after a brief moment, John noticed a warm sensation on his hand. The book had started to liquify! And John's hands were completely enveloped in the new slimy remains of the book. John opened his mouth, preparing to cry out in disgust as the Primer darted up along his arms and into his mouth. As the last bit of slime passed his lips, John fell back onto the ground, his vision now black. In the pitch-black, John saw a message appear before his eyes.
"Initializing. . . . . Complete
Language Pack (Common). . . . . . Installed
Installing Shaders 0%
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Installing Shaders 1% (~6 Hours Remaining)"
"Fucking shaders..." John bitterly thought as his consciousness slipped away.
******
Ugh, what a splitting migraine. My head has not hurt like this since the last time I drank several years ago. Nor have I been this dehydrated...
My eyes flicked open. Above me was a beautiful evening sky, without a cloud or trail of smog to interrupt its infinite blue vastness. It reminds me of water. Oh yeah, water, that would probably help with this dry, parched throat I currently have. I uneasily rose to my feet as my head continued to pound and feel like a rock had caught me behind the right ear. As I looked around to get my bearings, about 30 feet to my one side, I could see a small lake, maybe 500 meters or so in diameter, just past a few trees. The water's surface was as smooth as glass in the calm evening, making it look even more inviting. Before I could think any further on the matter, I quickly stumbled past the trees. The nearest one to me had drooping green branches laden with bright purple spheres. As I got past the tree, I took the last few uneasy steps needed across the small sand beach that encircled the lake.
Dropping to my knees, I plunged my head into the clear water to deeply drink some of its H20-y goodness, completely forgetting all of the survival skills I had learned throughout my life. "AAAH! Freshness!" I shouted to no one in particular. After a few minutes, I had drunk enough water to recover my higher thought processes. I looked into the once again smooth water as I saw myself reflected there. However, it was not precisely the 'me' I was used to, and I had the much younger-looking face of roughly my 20-year-old self, all youthful, with no wrinkles, no worry lines, no bags under my mind, no beard streaked with premature grey. As my gaze wandered lower, I spotted the magnificent body the head lay upon. Covered only by a thin, form-fitting shirt, the chiselled physique I now rocked was evident at a glance. I had always had the underlying potential for such a well-defined body in my previous life. But I had slipped farther and farther away from the ideal as stress, working too much and eating out too often had led to an unhealthy doughy body. Ready to pull the shirt off to truly appreciate the upgrades, my bladder suddenly gave me a nudge, letting me know I needed to take a leak desperately. I swiftly hobbled over to some nearby bushes and relieved myself.
Once I had those two most pressing concerns taken care of, I became aware of how hungry I was. I looked back at the alluring purple fruits. Dang, they were so pretty. But before I could make another survival-unfriendly decision, my survival skills kicked in, and I was immediately suspicious of the brightly coloured fruit.
I started to immediately regret my haste in not boiling the water before I drank it. And if on cue, my stop shot a few waves of opening pain, before it suddenly ceased, I heard a little chime noise, and I saw a message flash up in the lower right-hand corner of my vision. "Lead Belly Activated: Toxins resisted."
My first thought was about how convenient it was before I quickly realized I no longer had the Primer. Just as the panic started to well up inside me, another message appeared in my vision. This one explains that the Primer has been integrated and my system initialized. Most importantly, I could now summon the Primer system overlay just by thinking about it in my head. "Primer," I shouted in my own skull. And before my eyes, a menu popped up. My eyes were immediately drawn to the top option on the list. Character. And as quickly as I focused on it. A character sheet popped up for me to examine.
Name: John
Gender: Male
Race: Human (Greater)
Age: 20
Class: Adventurer
Level: 10
EXP: 0/10,000
Stats
HP: 400/400
MP: 360/360
Strength: 20
Agility: 18
Stamina: 20
Intelligence: 18
Wisdom: 12 (+5)
Charisma: 10 (+4)
Skills
Lead Belly (Natural, Greater): Anything ingested by the skill holder with poisonous or toxic effects will have those effects rendered neutral and can be digested for their positive benefits.
Divine Presence (Natural, Lesser): During interactions with mortals, the skill holder has +4 to their Charisma towards either Persuasion or Intimidation attempts.
The Beheld Eyes (Natural, Greater): The skill holder has integrated the Primer with their souls, giving them the Primer's ability to investigate and report the character sheet for any creature in visual range. The skill holder can also adjust what is shown to other investigatory skills of equal or lower prowess. The eyes cannot be damaged.
Classless (Temporary): The skill holder has started a new game but has yet to choose their Class and Starting Quest Line.
Equipment
Cotton Shirt
Cotton Pants
Leather Sandals
Primer
Void Storage
Daaaaang, check me out!
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone