Waking up with a slight headache, Jacob took a look around him only to find his scenery has changed.

He was no longer in his small studio apartment resting his head on his computer desk. Instead, he found himself leaning against a stone wall in what looked to be an alleyway.

Checking his body over he noticed how skinny his body was. Lifting up the tattered wool shirt he wore, Jacob could easily see his ribs. Yet, he wasn't dying of hunger. He could feel a slight urge to eat but that was all.

In a situation like this one would usually freak out, but he was not. Assessing his situation was his first priority.

This could be a dream which means he would wake up sooner or later.

As Jacob glanced down the alley, he could make out a few others just like him. Some laying on the cold hard floor sleeping with a thin sheet, others curled up in a ball with their back to the stone wall.

His heart ached a bit, but there was nothing he could do.

Slowly he got up from the ground as he walked towards the street.

There he saw people walking the streets wearing fine clothing, at least compared to his own. Stalls were out in the open where merchants were selling their goods. He even managed to spot a few people walking into stores.

Yet, the strangest thing he found was not the stone buildings or the oddly dressed citizens. Instead, it was the street that was large enough to fit ten grown men standing side by side.

Standing at the alley's entrance, Jacob watched and studied the people. No one paid him much attention, the few that did looked at him as if he was some sort of plague.

After waiting around for five minutes, Jacob saw a line of people shackled together following behind a burly man wearing glasses.

When one of the shackled women fell down, the others continued to walk causing the woman to be dragged on the ground a short distance. He wasn't sure if it was due to the whip in the burly man's hand, or due to the treatment, they experienced before. However, with their dead-looking eyes, each and every one of them seemed to accept their fate.

His first thought was that the citizens would react to this scene, but none did. Almost as if they were used to this.
At the end of the line, Jacob saw a person dawned in silver and gold armor with a large claymore on their back. The helmet covered the person's face completely with only two slits in it, enough for the person inside to see out of.

'Isn't that the royal guard's armor?'

Jacob asked himself as he recalled an armor set from Pathfinder, a virtual reality game he helped to develop.
'Actually, looking at things now… this place does seem familiar, yet different at the same time.'

Pathfinder was a popular upcoming game that recently released its beta test to the public. It was a sandbox adventure game, where the player made choices that impacted the world. NPCs in-game were actually alive, and if one died they would not respawn no matter what.

'Status.'

Jacob casually said to himself just to check and see if he would be able to bring up his character window.

Name: ???
Renown: 0
Honor: -5
Affiliation: None

Class: Commoner Lv 1 | 15
Exp: 0

Lifeforce: 60%
Stamina: 50%
Mana: N/A

Strength: 5
Agility: 5
Intelligence: 5
Charisma: 5
Stat Points Remaining: 5

Ironflesh: 0
Mana Pool: 0
Weapon Mastery: 0
Magic Control: 0
Power Strike: 0
Power Draw: 0
Shield: 0
Athletics: 0
Riding: 0
Sneaking: 0
Tracking: 0
Tactics: 0
Path-finding: 0
Detection: 0
Leadership: 0
Persuasion: 0
Management: 0
Trade: 0
Skill Points Remaining:5

One-Handed: 20
Two-Handed: 20
Archery: 20
Crossbow: 20
Fire: 0
Water: 0
Earth: 0
Wind: 0
Lightning: 0
Dark: 0
Light: 0
Proficiency Points Remaining: 50

[Game Master status found.]
[Received +25 stat points.]
[Received +25 Skill Points.]
[Received +250 Proficiency Points.]