[Welcome to Dreamland, Eden Fraser!]
Eden woke up in a strange, immaculate white room. Wherever he looked, a blue holographic screen followed, but his mind was in such a haze that he struggled to make sense of the words written on it. Besides, he was more concerned about figuring out how he got into this room than reading the words.
However, as he dug into his recent memories, the text in the hologram changed, and he suddenly felt compelled to read it.
[Dreamland is a haven for the brave and hell for the meek. Here, people dance between life and death, danger and opportunity are inseparable, and dreams are materialized. If you are interested, please nod your head. Otherwise, you will be sent back to your world and forget about Dreamland.]
Eden's lips opened up slightly as he read the words, unable to tear his gaze away from the word 'dreams'. The whole premise of Dreamland sounded like a fever dream and something that any well-adjusted person would avoid.
Or maybe the thrill of the unknown and adventure would win out, and people would be ready to 'dance between life and death' for it.
Again, this promise of danger might scare away most people, but Eden was seriously considering it. Not because he was a masochist or had a death wish. Far from that. But Eden was not content with his life either.
He could not be said to have failed at anything. From the youngest age, he had followed the tracks set out for him, going through school with little effort through what his family and teachers saw as a gifted mind, getting a useless degree from college, and having his apartment. His social life might be somewhat lacking, but he was just fine that way.
But even among all this 'success', Eden felt empty, and this feeling only worsened with time. He felt like his life lacked any sense of purpose, like he was a piece of wood drifting on the eternal river of life, aimless and temporary, sometimes bumping into other drifting wood but unable to affect any of it.
And so, despite the promise of danger and probable death, Eden nodded, for when he read this message, these were not what he saw. All he saw was the possibility of escaping the current.
Following his nod, Eden heard a bell-like noise ring out in the room, which somehow felt content, though he had no idea how a bell could sound content, and a new message appeared.
[The purpose of Dreamland is evolution, and we believe that the best catalyst to do so is adversity. We are not butchers, however, and as everyone has different strengths and potentials, they also should go through different hurdles.]
Eden read the logical but cold words passively and asked aloud, not even sure he would get an answer, "What would be these hurdles and adversity?"
[Players are sent to different fictional worlds, along with other Players. Sometimes you will be set to work together to accomplish missions, and at other times against one another. In every world, all players will have to accomplish a main mission but may also find side missions and secondary objectives for additional rewards.]
Eden's eyes widened as he read the words, his breath caught in his throat as he asked, "Fictional worlds? As in stories? Games?"
[Among other things, yes. Any story that was told, no matter the medium, has a chance to be used to create a mission world. Before entering any of these missions, however, you will first have to go through the tutorial, as a new player. Exceptionally, you shall be the only player present in the mission world. You may select the difficulty of your tutorial. Do note that dying in Dreamland results in death in the real world.]
The text once again changed, showing the different difficulties. Very Easy, Easy, Normal, Difficult, Very Difficult, Nightmare.
Eden smiled ever so slightly as he glanced over at the option, the haze from earlier having now completely faded away. This choice came to him just as easily as the earlier one did. According to the prompts, danger and opportunity were inseparable, meaning that the higher the difficulty, the better the rewards.
It was classic video game logic.
Obviously, many would be spooked by the chilling reminder at the end of the message and be pushed into choosing the easier difficulties. It was not a choice without sense either, as choosing an easier tutorial mission would mean reaching the stage of teaming up more easily.
Everyone had their strengths and weaknesses, and no one was omnipotent. Choosing an easier difficulty would allow one to mitigate their weaknesses, reaching other players more easily and thus allowing for a more reliable way forward.
But Eden had accepted to come to Dreamworld precisely because he did not want to walk the path set out for him anymore. Instead of walking down the road paved for him, he would follow what he believed to be the best one.
Here, it was the hardest one.
[Nightmare Tutorial will send the Player to a Very Difficult-level mission world without system interference, meaning you will not be receiving any boost to your skills or attributes. The death rate of Nightmare Difficulty is 98%. Confirm selection?]
That 98% sure was intimidating, but Eden did not waver and confirmed his choice. The moment he did, the immaculate white room suddenly turned into a decrepit and narrow bathroom stall. Instantly, the stench of piss assaulted his senses, but it went practically unnoticed as Eden focused on the new prompt instead.
He immediately noticed that it was a little different from the earlier ones. It looked much more simple, being a straight, rectangular blue box. The earlier ones had golden curved lines around their edges, and the font had been different. It had looked refined, as if it had been a work of calligraphy, while this one was written in a much more basic font.
[World: Friday the 13th (Nightmare)- No system restrictions]
[Main Mission: Survive for 7 days.]
[Background: Part of the group of friends who will be hunted by Jason. Basic information about the group transferred over.]
New memories appeared in his mind, telling Eden about his new identity. The transmission of information was a little jarring, but Eden quickly got the hang of it. It was quite bare-bones, but it was enough for him to blend in seamlessly into this world. Aside from his own identity, he also got some information about his new 'friends,' the crew who would be hunted by Jason. A crew he was now part of.
What he learned had him pinching the bridge of his nose, inadvertently breathing in the stench of the stall as he did his best to remember the plot of the movie.
Although Eden would not call himself the greatest horror movie fan there ever was, he still had watched his fair share of them, yet it had to somehow be one of those he could barely remember. He was not in just any Friday the 13th, but in the 2009 reboot.
The problems did not stop there either. Not only did he not remember the exact plot, but from what he could remember, this iteration of Jason was quite powerful as well. He was also mysterious, as he only had a single movie, meaning some of his abilities might not have been shown.
Of course, all things considered, Eden was not left powerless either. His knowledge, while lacking, was also not negligible. Moreover, he was familiar with Jason as a character, be it his strengths, weaknesses, or habits. Now, the question was, what powers would Jason have? Would he have all of his powers from the earlier movies in the franchise, or only those from that particular movie?
Considering the difficulty he had chosen, Eden bet the first possibility would be closer to the truth.
Eden did not let that intimidate him though. After all, since there were side missions, Eden intended to complete them as well, and he had a hunch that slaying Jason would be one of them.
Did the idea of murdering Jason bother Eden?
Absolutely not.
Also, the information that had been transferred to Eden did not solely pertain to his identity.
Staring into the now empty space in front of him, Eden muttered tentatively, "Status."
[Name: Eden Fraser]
[Title: N/A]
[Talent: Locked]
[HP: 40/40]
[MP: 0/0]
[Strength: 4]
[Agility: 6]
[Physique: 4]
[Intelligence: Locked]
[Wisdom: Locked]
[Skills: N/A]
The attributes were pretty self-explanatory, although somewhat disappointing. Eden learned the average human value for all stats was 5, so he was below average in both Strength and Physique, and even his Agility was barely above average.
However, it made sense, as he never was very strong. Eden was taller than most, standing at 184 cm, or about 6 ft 1, but he was lean. He only ever really exercised to keep himself in shape, and even then, it was more for appearance than strength.
After all, looks were far more potent than physical strength on Earth.
Eden did not regret his past decisions, however. Not only could he not know he would be sent into a fictional world to fight for his survival, but it was also inevitable. Everyone has weaknesses and strengths, and if one simply followed the flow, they would end up facing a situation that forced them to poke into those weaknesses.
Hence, what Eden needed to do was avoid situations where he would be forced to rely on his weakness and instead stir the situation to put his strength into action instead.
In this instance, it meant that Eden had to avoid facing Jason head-on at all costs.
Back to his status page, he was left with some confusion. After all, three of the entries had been marked as locked: Talent, Intelligence, and Wisdom.
Following video game logic, which Dreamland seemed to adhere to, then Intelligence and Wisdom probably pertained to his magical stats. That was what made the most sense to him, and he could get behind why he would have them locked.
Getting sent to magical worlds to evolve without getting access to any of the magic himself would be unreasonable, and Dreamland had already shown itself capable of miracles, so giving him access to magic was not too out of pocket.
Eden did wonder in the back of his mind whether Intelligence and Wisdom had existed back on Earth, being inaccessible simply because they were locked away, or if they had only appeared upon his entry into Dreamland, but he let go of the thought as the answer did not matter to him.
In any case, the two were locked, and from the look of things, he would not be able to return to Earth any time soon.
As for unlocking the two attributes, Eden was not too worried. Even if he did not manage to unlock them on his own, he was sure other players would manage to figure it out. And while Eden would rather not rely on others, having little trust in others, information could be bought regardless of trust.
For this tutorial, whether Eden managed to unlock the stats or not, chances were that he would not be able to use magic, so his plans would be based on his current capabilities.
The one entry that left Eden more confused was his Talent. This one he had no idea what it was, why it was locked, or how to unlock it. Where he might manage to figure out how to unlock Intelligence and Wisdom on his own, he would probably need to buy the information for this one.
After taking a moment to organize his thoughts and make a preliminary plan with his current information, Eden lightly coughed at the stench of the place before slamming the door of the stall open and rushing out of the toilets.
The main cast of the movie, which now included him, had stopped at a gas station. Stepping out of the toilets, Eden saw the guy behind the counter briefly glance his way with a knowing smile.
Eden had not exactly been discreet in the way he had slammed his way out of the toilets, which apparently amused the cashier. It was only for a moment, as the cashier turned back to the man talking to him.
This client was not part of the crew, but he was a member of the cast nonetheless. He looked frantic as he waved a poster in the cashier's face, while behind him three other members of the cast waited. All four of them looked like the actors who played them, which made Eden wonder what would happen if an actor became a player and stumbled into someone they played.
Chasing away his idle thoughts, Eden quickly examined the three members of his friend group, incorporating the information he had been given about them.
The one in the front, who was looking impatient, was Trent. He was the 'leader' of the crew, and the group was heading to a cottage his family owned for the week. He was a tall blond guy who played football and perfectly fit the role of the popular stud.
Next to him was his girlfriend, the cute, sensitive, innocent, and caring Jenna, who would end up as a failed final girl. The concept of the final girl was a popular trope in horror movies that would have one girl survive the killer, overcoming her innocence and weakness to beat the killer. Jenna was a failed final girl because while she had the qualities for one, that is, all the ones cited above, she ended up dying at the end of the movie.
The third one stood in the back, and he was the stoner Asian Chewie. Just like his two friends, he was a walking stereotype. He mainly served as comic relief, was easily manipulable, and played no important role.
Finally, the guy waving the poster in the cashier's face was not a nameless grunt either. While not part of the group of friends, he was the main protagonist of the movie, the caring brother seeking his sister.
Currently, he was waving the wanted poster of his disappeared sister, interrogating the cashier, "I just wanted to know whether it was okay to plaster the sign on the front of the shop, or at least somewhere people could see it."
This man was Clay Miller. The name had been part of the information Eden received. He was looking for his sister, who had been kidnapped by Jason. Of course, only Eden knew that last part.
The cashier looked at the poster of Whitney Miller, clearly disinterested as he spoke half-heartedly, "I heard of their story, the group of teenagers who disappeared around here… it ain't the only scary story around these parts."
He passed a hand through his greasy hair and revealed half-rotten teeth as he chewed on a piece of gum, "Listen, kid, if it was up to me, I'd agree, but this ain't my store. And the owner, he's kind of a you-know-what."
Clay looked clearly disappointed and could probably tell that this cashier had already made up his mind to refuse but still asked hopefully, "Is the owner here then? Maybe I could-"
Before he could finish, he was rudely interrupted by Trent, who looked like he finally had enough of waiting, "You're done yet? We don't have all day, so we'd appreciate it if you could move along."
The young man looking for his sister sighed but did not confront Trent, choosing to apologize quietly and retreat instead. While Jenna looked sorry for him, Trent had this satisfied air to him. People had made way for him his whole life, and he saw no reason for this to change.
However, Eden, knowing he was facing the main protagonist, took one of the posters from Clay's hands and pretended to look at her face for a few seconds before shaking his head, "Sorry, we haven't seen her. How long has she been missing?"
Clay gave him a half-smile to thank him for his manners but, at the same time, unable to muster a proper smile, replied, "Six weeks. She came here with a group of friends. They- they were all found dead."
This caused Trent to snort, "Then she's obviously dead; why even bother? You stupid or something?"
The half smile was immediately wiped off and replaced by fury as Clay clenched his fists, clearly prepared to throw a haymaker Trent's way, but before things could devolve into violence, Eden stepped between the two and said, "Don't mind him; he's a moron. You said they found the corpses of her friends, but I suppose they did not find hers if you're here?"
Clay still looked angry, but he was reasonable and nodded at Eden's question. Trent, on the other end, rolled his eyes, not taking the insult to heart based on their established friendship.
Believing he had found an opportunity, Eden decided to drop a hint: "You know, I did some research about this place before coming here. Have you heard about the incident twenty years ago?"
Clay clearly did not, and as Eden was about to explain, the clerk exclaimed, "You heard about that! I thought only locals remembered that Voorhees witch."
"Power of the internet, my friend."
Turning back to Clay, Eden quickly explained, "Twenty years ago, Camp Crystal Lake used to be a summer camp. That is until tragedy struck. A kid drowned, and his mother took revenge by savagely killing nearly all the counselors. Only one survived, although I can't remember her name."
Clay frowned and said, "But that was twenty years ago."
Eden handed the poster back to Clay and shrugged, "No, I know it's not her; she was killed by the counselor who survived. It was the only way for her to escape. But what if your sister and her friends got a little too close to Camp Crystal Lake and fell on some copycat? If that's the case, then they probably did sloppy work. With that in mind, if no traces of your sister were found, then she most probably was not harmed but kidnapped. Of course, this is all guesswork, but if I were you, I'd look for her around Crystal Lake. Armed, preferably."
Clay looked a little overwhelmed by all the information, but clarity and hope soon returned to his eyes as he nodded determinately and thanked Eden before walking out of the station, leaving Eden happy with the result.
The 'guesses' he made had several leaps in logic, but to a man desperate to find his sister, they were easy to ignore.
Besides, this was Eden playing on his strengths. Looks may seem useless in this kind of situation, but the truth was that people would far more easily trust someone good-looking and charismatic, allowing for easier manipulation.
And since Eden had meta-knowledge, he did have the ability to play on his strengths.
Once Clay left, Trent confronted Eden, "Why did you help him? We don't even know him."
Eden shrugged and replied, "It doesn't cost me anything to help him, and who knows, if something happens to us, that would be one possible helper."
Trent rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah I know, your karma thing."
Eden's mind stilled for an instant before returning to normal. He had not expected Dreamland to be so thorough with his background. While Eden did not really believe in karma himself, that a good action would necessarily be rewarded, he did often speak of it to make himself look more 'mystic'. This helped make a good, deeper impression on people and get him in their good graces.
It was one of many things Eden did to put himself in people's good graces, and he did not expect Dreamland to make his identity in this world so similar to his real self.
It was a good thing, though, as it meant he could be himself without fearing having his 'friends' think he experienced a sudden personality change. It also helped him understand better how each of them saw him since he knew better than anyone what kind of impression he would make on certain types of people.
A little more impressed with Dreamland than before, Eden sent a glance at Jenna and whispered teasingly, "You got a lovely boyfriend, Jenna."
She chuckled softly, making sure Trent would not hear it as she watched Eden walk out of the station, unknowingly confirming Eden's conjecture.