The moment Aryan's boot touched the grass of the New World, the universe took a screenshot.
There was no wind. There was no sound of birds. There was only a crisp, digital chiming sound that echoed not in their ears, but inside their skulls. It was the sound of a server booting up. The sound of dopamine.
[DING!]
"What was that?" Sarah gasped, clutching her handbag. "Did anyone else hear a microwave finish?"
"Look," Aryan whispered.
Floating in front of Aryan's face was a translucent, semi-transparent blue rectangle. It hovered in the air, tracking his eye movements. It wasn't magic. It was an Interface.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE.]
[WELCOME TO TERRA NOVA: VERSION 1.0]
[THE ARCHITECT IS DEAD. THE NARRATIVE IS NOW OPEN-SOURCE.]
[CALCULATING KARMA... ASSIGNING CLASSES... PLEASE WAIT.]
"Blue boxes," Barnaby said, staring at the air from his jar. "How dreadfully gauche. It blocks the view of the landscape."
But Aryan wasn't looking at the landscape. He was looking at the text scrolling rapidly across his vision. This was the consequence of mixing the Star-Dust and Creation Ink. They hadn't just baked a world; they had gamified it. The universe was now running on a logic engine to sustain itself without an author.
[PLAYER: ARYAN KHANNA]
[ROLE: THE FOUNDER / THE EDITOR]
[CLASS ASSIGNED: REALITY ARCHITECT (MYTHIC)]
Strength: 45 (Wood-Enhanced)
Agility: 60 (Sleepless)
Intelligence: ∞ (Author Authority)
Luck: -10 (Tragic Backstory Debuff)
[UNIQUE SKILL UNLOCKED: "THE RED PEN"]
Description: You have the power to edit physical objects. You can delete injuries, rewrite the material of a weapon, or highlight a weak point. Cost: Stamina + Sanity.
"I have stats," Aryan murmured, waving his hand through the blue light. "And my Luck is negative ten. That explains a lot."
The Party Formation
"Oh my," Rhea giggled. She was poking at her own screen. "Look at this! I'm a Bard!"
[PLAYER: RHEA KHANNA]
[CLASS: HEARTH-SONGSTRESS (EPIC)]
Skill: [Buff of the Home Cooked Meal] – Increases party regeneration by 500% when singing near a stove.
"And me!" Sarah cheered. "I got [Cowardly Tactician]! 'Bonus to running speed when terrified.' Hey, that's rude, but accurate!"
The First Son, the massive wooden Siege-Engine, stood silently. A massive golden screen floated above his head, visible to everyone.
[UNIT: FIRST SON]
[CLASS: THE WORLD-SHIELD (LEGENDARY)]
Durability: Unbreakable (Unless subjected to termite damage).
"We are a party," Mira realized. She looked at her own screen. Her hazel eyes narrowed.
[PLAYER: MIRA]
[CLASS: THE ANCHOR (UNIQUE)]
Description: You are the glitch that keeps the simulation real. As long as you survive, the server stays online.
"No pressure," Mira muttered.
But the biggest surprise—and the reason this chapter would go viral on the forums—was Barnaby.
The fish was floating in his jar, reading his screen with wide, bulging eyes.
"This must be a clerical error," Barnaby bubbled. "I demand to speak to the manager."
Aryan leaned over to look.
[PLAYER: BARNABY]
[RACE: GOLDFISH (AWAKENED)]
[CLASS: LEVIATHAN OF THE SHALLOWS (DISASTER-GRADE)]
Strength: 0.5
Charisma: 100 (Max)
Hidden Stat: [Eldritch Potential]
[UNIQUE SKILL: "THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT"]
Description: Your smallest actions (sneezes, bubbles, fin wiggles) have a 5% chance to cause a natural disaster within a 5-mile radius.
"Disaster-grade?" Aryan wiped sweat from his forehead. "Barnaby, don't move. Don't breathe. If you wiggle your fin, you might summon a tornado."
"I am a weapon of mass destruction," Barnaby whispered in awe. "Finally, the respect I deserve."
The First Mob
"Heads up!" the Talking Stove clattered. The Stove had also received a system designation: [Item: The Sarcastic Forge]. "I detect hostile intent! A Mob is spawning!"
The peaceful green grass of the floating island began to ripple. This was the "Tutorial Zone," and no RPG is complete without a Tutorial Monster.
But because Aryan had used "The First Lie" and "Creation Ink" to make the world, the monster wasn't a rat or a goblin.
It was a Glitch-Wolf.
The creature materialized from the air. It looked like a wolf, but its texture was missing. It was a checkered pink-and-black checkerboard pattern. It growled, but the sound was static noise: KRRR-ZZZT.
[ENEMY: TEXTURELESS WOLF (LVL 1)]
[NOTE: THE DEVELOPER FORGOT TO COLOR THIS ONE.]
"It's ugly," Sarah said.
The Wolf lunged. It moved with jagged, lagging frames.
"First Son, tank it!" Aryan commanded, falling naturally into the role of Party Leader.
The Siege-Engine stepped forward. CLANG. The Wolf bit his wooden arm, but its teeth shattered against the [World-Shield] defense.
"Rhea, buff us!"
Rhea began to sing a high-tempo battle hymn. A golden aura surrounded the group.
[SYSTEM: STR +10% / COURAGE +20%]
"Mira, flank it!"
Mira moved like a blur. Her [Anchor] class gave her stability, allowing her to run on the air itself as if it were solid ground. She struck the Wolf with the flat of her hand, sending a shockwave of red energy through it.
"My turn," Aryan said.
He stepped forward. He didn't punch. He activated his skill.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: THE RED PEN]
Aryan's mahogany finger glowed with a crimson light. He reached out and touched the Glitch-Wolf's head. A holographic keyboard appeared in front of him.
He selected the Wolf's [HP: 100/100].
He deleted the "1".
[HP: 00/100]
The Wolf didn't die; it simply Despawned. It vanished into a cloud of binary code, leaving behind a single glowing item on the grass.
[LOOT DROP: WOLF PELT (UNFINISHED)]
Description: A blurry piece of fur. Can be used to craft... something.
"I just edited it to death," Aryan said, looking at his hand. "This is... incredibly broken. I love it."
The Quest Board
As the particles of the wolf faded, a massive Golden Exclamation Mark (!) appeared floating over a nearby hill.
"A Quest Marker," Barnaby noted. "How derivative. I love it. It implies rewards."
They walked up the hill. Standing beneath a floating cherry blossom tree was a stone tablet. As they approached, text etched itself onto the stone.
[MAIN QUEST: THE 100 FLOORS]
Objective: This world is built vertically. You are currently on Floor 1: The Meadow of Beginnings. To stabilize the Universe and find true peace, you must climb to Floor 100.
Current Obstacle: The Elevator to Floor 2 is broken.
Requirement: Find the [Gear of Logic] hidden in the Dungeon of bad Grammar.
Reward: 500 Gold, +1 Level, and a Pizza Party.
"A Pizza Party?" The Stove opened its grate in excitement. "Finally, a quest worth doing! I can bake the crust!"
"Floor 100," Aryan muttered, looking up at the sky. He could see other islands floating high above, fading into the clouds. It was an infinite tower of adventure. "100 Floors. That's plenty of space for a story."
He turned to his friends—his Guild.
The Giant Tank. The Bard Sister. The Rogue Anchor. The Cowardly Tactician. The Sarcastic Forge. And the Disaster Fish.
Aryan smiled. The "Sleepless" fire in his eyes settled into a steady, determined burn.
"Alright, Guild," Aryan said, putting on his long coat (which the System had labeled [Coat of the Protagonist +5]). "Let's go grind some levels."