The Time I Got Transported Into My Own Game

Just a generic portal fantasy one-shot. An arrogant CEO of a video game company somehow gets sucked into the world of the video game his company is working on.

Writing Prompt: An arrogant CEO of a video game company somehow gets sucked into the world of the video game his company is working on.

~ ~ ~

I should really stop doing acid after my shows.

I pried my eyes open, expecting to at least see the cool blue tone of my apartment's ceiling staring back at me, but it wasn't there this time. Instead, a cloudless blue sky smiled warmly down on me as if I was one of her hippie nature worshippers.

Great. So, nobody had the decency to at least toss me somewhere near my house when I passed out, eh? Some friends I had.

Steel creaked as I forced myself back on my feet, feeling warm metal wrap around my body cosily. The sun was still glaringly bright, but I felt oddly comfortable, as though my city-honed body had somehow gotten used to the harsh outside overnight.

The familiar hue of grey armour greeted me as I inspected my clothes. Whoever put me in this cosplay and stranded me in the middle of the forest had apparently done a marvellous job at replicating my in-game armour. Must have been one of my die-hard fans.

My head was still spinning like an uncontrolled top, so I decided to do one of those first-aid self-awareness tests on myself. What was the first question again? Oh, right.

What's your name?

Easy. Warren Alexandre, Chief Executive Officer at Riptide Incorporated. Alright, what's next?

What were you doing?

I have to admit; I racked my brains for this one. The last thing I remembered was playing an online game in my apartment. Not just any game, though. I actually developed this one myself. Or at least, my employees did.

Personally, I had no IT knowledge whatsoever; I only took over this company for a friend who had decided to ditch it and pursue other ventures. Entertaining people online with fun engineering experiments was my forté, not coding for hours on end for a game. What do you think I am, some kind of chronically online loser?

Do you remember how you got here?

Now that I think about it, I definitely wasn't doing acid when I got here. In fact, I was actually being a good boy for once this time. It was thundering and pouring out after the public showcase of my game, so I just went home and hopped online to make sure my character didn't get jumped by goblins while I was gone. But speaking of which...

I took a good look at my surroundings again. Hold on, I recognised this place. I was in one of the starting areas in the game. A stray breeze hit me as something unfurled from my back. I gasped.

Wings. Real, honest-to-God, dove wings.

The revelation hit me like a truck. It must have been loaded with gas because my mind shook from the explosion that followed. It couldn't be, right? No way, this was the wet dream of some nerd gamer, not mine. But the evidence was as clear as day, and I wasn't high enough to ignore it.

Somehow, I had been transported into the game world of 'NULL'. And I was in the body of the character I created in the game: a Winged Human Warrior.

"Help! Somebody, help!"

I swear these things only happen when you're stuck in the middle of the forest, wondering how the hell to get back home. I turned away from the screaming woman-

"Help, Mister Warrior! Skill Issue Eighty-Seven! Help me!"

A chortle escaped my lips as I shook my head. Skill Issue Eighty-Seven? What kind of idiot would name themselves that?

"Hoho, so you want a piece of that, too?" The growling voice was obviously directed towards me this time, so I turned around.

And wished I had not.

'Hideous' would be a compliment to the three men standing before me. The smallest one looked like he had a steady diet of five horses and a chicken every day, and the largest one had multiple scars colliding with each other on his face. I think I'll call that one 'Ugly'. The last one was still kicking down a red-haired lady behind them, who looked no older than twenty-five.

"Hey, brother. This one's a Warrior," Fat man sneered, pointing straight at the axe slung behind my back. I drew the weapon just in case.

"Woah, he wants to fight, eh?" Ugly said as his eyes drifted down to the nametag on my armour. "Skill_Issue87. I'll be sure they get your name right at the funeral."

"Oh yeah? You gonna cry when they read my eulogy?" The words spilt out of my mouth before I could stop them. Damn it, I knew that mouth of mine was going to be the death of me someday.

"No, but mayhaps I'll scribble some words onto your tombstone. That ought to teach your fellow guild members not to go sticking their noses where they should not."

The axe shivered in my trembling hands as I continued staring at the men, as though I could somehow convince them to leave just by looking. Didn't they know who I was? I'm the master of their universe, damn it! I was their God-

Wait, I am.

Confidence flooded back into me. I've always had the God mode cheat turned on during my game showcases. No reason why it should be turned off right now. So the only problem I had now was to get the last guy to stop assaulting the woman and face me instead.

I steadied my breath. Alright... first step, generate enmity. So I puffed my chest and stomped the ground like a gorilla.

Fat load of good that did.

The men continued staring at me as if waiting for me to begin something. Well, at least they were polite like that. I racked my brains for a solid minute, before settling for what would've worked in real life.

"Oi, shithead!" I yelled, jabbing a finger at them. "F**k you and your mom!"

Hoo boy, that did the trick.

The rest of the men immediately charged at me as though I had insulted their maternal figures as well. Metal clanged as my axe met the ends of their fists.

I slowly backed away, trying not to think too much about how their bare hands weren't already chopped off by now, or how the sound effects did not make physical sense. As far as I was concerned, I was swinging my weapon wildly. And yet, there seemed to be some finesse in my movements, as though I had been practising for at least a good two months.

A combination of four fists and a muscled leg cut off my short-lived euphoria abruptly. I tumbled to the ground, panting for more air as my vision blurred. Bloody hell, that stung.

My cheats. My damned cheats had abandoned me. Somehow, I didn't have my God mode, even though I was sure I never turned it off whenever I played the game. Shadow darkened as footsteps closed in on me.

Damn it. If only I had bought a level skip back then, these thugs would be down in a minute. If only I had bothered to actually learn to play the game properly, I wouldn't be stuck in this predicament right now.

Here I lay, Warren Alexandre, owner of NULL, beaten to death because I was too much of a cheapo to spend time and money on my own products. Hell, my gamer tag itself would suffice to describe my cause of death.

It would have all been hilarious if it weren't for my imminent doom.

No, this was just the panic talking. Come on, Warren. There must be some way out of this. Maybe talk it out with them? Nah, don't think they're in the mood for a cuppa bevvy right now. Maybe beg for mercy? That might work, if I hadn't already insulted their mothers.

A small crack in a nearby hut caught my attention. It was subtle but was as wide as a cavern to a professional engineer like me. My eyes darted from the structurally weakened beam to the huge piece of loosened log in front of it. Hope blossomed in my heart, although nervousness froze it. If I screwed up the timing, I'm a dead-winged man anyway.

"H- hey, let's just chill and talk this out, alright?" I put my hands in front of my body, slowly backing towards the weakened beam. "Why are you so angry at that woman? Look at her. She's pathetic, and so am I. Any chance you could just... You know, forget about all this?"

"Forget about it?" Ugly growled. "She sold me defective flowers! The maiden I fancied threw them away and slapped me when I asked for her hand. It must have been because those flowers were terrible! Why would anyone reject someone as handsome as me? It's because of her that I remain maidenless!"

My back bumped against wood. Good, no need to put up a show anymore.

"Yeah... Well, you have a face only a mother would love." The smirk returned to my face. "Maybe you should go home and cry to her about it."

Ugly froze for a few seconds to process what I just said before realisation dawned on his face. He snarled, raising his fist for what looked like a full-powered punch.

I ducked.

Sure enough, wood crashed all around me as his fist drove cleanly through the beam. I dived for cover, making sure that the loosened piece of log crashed into the three men before scurrying back to my feet.

"What're you waiting for?" I yelled at the stunned lady. "Run, woman! Run!"

~ ~ ~

I swear, I was this close to breaking into a full-blown sprint when the open town gates finally loomed over me. If I had to hear another 'Thank you', I was going to lose my mind.

The wall guards gave me a friendly nod as I walked through, accompanied by the clingy woman. But judging from their expressions, they were probably just acknowledging my class instead of me. Man, was I a genius to have picked up Warrior as my starting job.

"We have reached Cleport city safely, kind sir!" the woman stated the obvious. "My name is Rosaline Alyss, and I'm a flower peddler. For generations, my family has honed the art of botany and aided numerous adventurers in their quests. I am the latest in a long line of florists to maintain the Garden of..."

Her voice blended in with the background noise as I cast my gaze to the lively marketplace instead. It was a riot of colour and activity. Vendors stood around in every shade and corner of the cobbled streets, haggling with their customers about the price and quality of their products.

Armed guards patrolled the streets casually while men took turns downing their wooden cups at what looked like a mediaeval bar. I blinked, thoroughly impressed by how realistic the town looked. The graphic designers of this game were detailed people if nothing else.

"-As such, feel free to visit my shop for medicinal herbs! We have the legendary 'Dawn Of The Morning', sure to revive you when you're out of energy. Also, we sell..."

I rolled my eyes in annoyance. The woman was still speaking? Wasn't there any way I could just skip this dialogue or something? Next time I have to listen to someone's life story, I'm at least getting myself popcorn.

"Look, lady. No offence, but you're just a flower peddler, right?" I cut her off, folding my arms. "That means you're a common NPC who has no practical use. I need to talk to someone with a little more authority, so stop following me around. For the last time- You're. Welcome. Shoo, you're safe now. Go on with your day, alright?"

Rosaline stared at me for a moment before breaking into a wide grin.

"But I must reward you for saving my life, kind Warrior!" she chirped excitedly as though she hadn't heard a single word of what I just said. "Wait here, I'll get you something from my store."

She scuttled off as soon as she finished her sentence, so I took the chance to escape into one of the taverns and clear my head.

After a few rounds of ordering drinks that did not exist, I finally settled for an ale. My surroundings blurred before my eyes as I began to think furiously.

I did not have much knowledge of this game, that was for sure. Hell, I don't even know why I approved its production in the first place. 'NULL' was mediocre at best, just another online MMORPG set in a fantasy world named Gaia. Like there weren't already hundreds of similar games floating around in the industry. The only thing it had going for it was the cutting-edge AI technology seamlessly integrated into its system.

To make things worse, I'm no gamer at all. I only created this character because my stream viewers wanted to watch some gameplay for fresh content. After all, countless hours of engineering shows tend to get stale, no matter how good of an entertainer I was. And now, I was stuck here all by myself, with hardly any knowledge of coding or gaming to prevent myself from getting killed in the outside world.

Or was I?

I downed my cup of ale. No, it made sense. If I could be somehow transported from the real world to the game world, why couldn't someone else be? For all I knew, there could be other players like me, stranded in their respective areas and drinking their sorrows away.

That's it! All I have to do is find them and team up, that's all. Surely, my charm and wit would suffice to win anyone over, wouldn't it?

I almost slammed my fist on the table in excitement. Man, I really am a genius for coming up with a plan like that. The first choice was easy. Towers, the Guild Leader of one of the Top Raid guilds in the game. He was one of the first few people who added me as a friend in the game, despite being unaware of my frankly famous identity.

If I remember correctly, his guild was based in Serenity Falls. Warrior was a tank class, sure. But I'm apparently not enough of a gamer to even avoid getting my butt kicked by a bunch of simpletons. With his help, there was no doubt that he could protect me with his skills.

There was really only one other person I remembered in this game, and his game name was Yukina. I had no idea where this female fox-girl character would be, but I'd place my bets that she'd be heading to the same place as I was. After all, the three of us had joked that we'd had so much interaction in Serenity Falls that it was pretty much our home base.

Alarm bells rang in my head as I pat my armour down like a security guard at an airport.

I groaned audibly. Of course, I didn't have any money with me. Or gold, in this case. Or whatever the currency is in this world. Great, now I'm gonna have to wash dishes for a night to make up for one miserable cup of ale-

A signboard caught my eye.

"Due to the valiant sacrifice of Holger the First, all members of the Warrior guild have the privilege of drinking for free in this tavern," it read. "May he forever be remembered as the man who bravely defended this tavern from the siege of Warlord Blackfinger the Terrible."

Well, I certainly won't complain about that, convenient though it may be.

The doorbells tinkled as I exited the cosy tavern. Night and chirping crickets greeted me as a cooling breeze wafted through my hair, accompanied by a familiar face-

Christ, not her again.

"Skill Issue Eighty-Seven, there you are! I've been looking all over for you!" Rosaline said happily, leaning a little too close to me.

And you didn't take that as a hint to leave me the hell alone?

"Please don't call me that. My name is Alexandre." I smiled as politely as I could, though it probably looked more like a grimace, considering my rapidly surging annoyance. "You wanna tell me what you want?"

She thrust a white flower in my face.

"Please, take this as thanks for saving my life. I hope it proves useful to you one day," she said with an innocent smile.

I stuffed the flower in my armour carelessly. It was useless to me. Sweet-smelling, sure. But not what I needed. That girl was mighty naive to treat a stranger she just met with such kindness.

Still, there was no point in interacting with her any further, especially since she was of no help to me. Humans run the world; that's the unfortunate truth. Get good at dealing with them, and you can get anything you want. Suck at being one, and nobody's even going to attend your funeral.

"I have another request, kind sir. Would you be so kind as to help me deliver this to my sister, Rosabelle Alyss?" Rosaline pulled out an enveloped letter from the thin coat draped loosely around her unwashed top. "She is working as a government official in the Capital, and I just want to let her know that I'm doing alright. I cannot make the trip by myself, but a brave, strong Warrior like you can. After all, I believe you have a much tougher constitution than a frail civilian like me."

"Sorry, but no. I'm intending to head to... I mean- I'm going to register as an adventurer." I decided to lie, hoping that it would be good enough to get her off my back. "I don't intend to make any pit stops, so I don't have time to do your menial chores for you."

Rosaline clapped her hands excitedly like a three-year-old toddler.

"That's just great! The closest place to do that is Serenity Falls, and it's on the way to the Capital!"

Oh, for the love of-

"Alright, alright. You got me." I practically snatched the letter from her. "Tell you what. I'll do this for you, and you'll advertise my name at your flower stall or wherever you sell your stuff. Deal?"

"Of course, hero! Of course!" She was jumping for joy now. "Oh, thank you so much once again, kind sir! I'll make sure everyone in this city knows about the good deeds of Skill Issue Eighty-Seven!"

"Yeah, whatever. See you around- On second thought, nah." I turned around, waving my hand as I effected the best Shakespearean accent I could. "Fare thee well, young maiden!"

I grabbed a map from a nearby stand and headed towards the city gates. For better or for worse, I never seemed to run out of stamina, nor was I even beginning to feel sleepy. And that meant I should be able to make it to my destination within the next few hours on foot if I moved quickly.

Serenity Falls, here I come.

END