Sneak Peek at 14,814 (Patreon)

“Xan, are you coming?” My friend, Josh, anxiously calls out from the door.

“Of course,” I reply with a wide grin, stepping up beside him. “I wouldn't miss this for the world.”

The two of us are headed to the coast on a “special training mission” with our track team. At least, that's how the coach had sold it to the faculty. In reality, we'd probably just run around on the beach and hang out all week.

Josh swung by to make sure I get to school on time, since he knows my history with being late. It's not my fault school starts at such an unreasonable hour. If the education system was going to try to shape me into the perfect little factory worker, they could at least do it when I was fully awake.

We have an uneventful, if a bit cold, jog to the school, and make it just in time for the bell to ring. We rush through the hall and check in with Mr. Pennin, our Language Arts teacher– seriously, who wants to do English that early in the morning?– and make our way through the winding hallways to the back of the school. The bus is already running when we arrive, and we’re the last students on, having made it just in time.

“Alright guys,” the track coach instructs with a grin, “I know we're all excited, but I told the principal that this was a training mission, so we've gotta do at least a little running.” A few of the least industrious members– especially my fellow throwers– groan, but Mr. Justin just rolls his eyes.

“Anyways, make sure you're all on good behavior for David. He's being very generous with his time this week, so treat him with respect and don't forget to thank him!” He sits, ignoring the chorus of at least a dozen thank you’s.

With that over and done with, I slip on my headphones and turn on an audiobook to help distract my mind. Josh had already done the same before Mr. Justin even stood up, so I don't feel particularly bad about shutting him out.

I close my eyes and drift into oblivion for a time…

BEEEEEEP!

I throw my headphones off and rub at my ears. Had they malfunctioned? But they’re brand new! I swear, if I got scammed I'm gonna– BEEEEEEEEEP!

Now I’m looking around– finding everyone else on the bus doing the same, with even the bus driver having slowed to a crawl. Though that might have had more to do with the huge pileup ahead of us. Had everyone heard that noise?

Blue flashes at me from the corner of my eye, and I look around, finding nothing. I move to stand up, only to find that I… can’t.

A rumbling sound comes from just ahead, and a tear opens in the Earth. Suddenly, our bus is falling into a pit, aiming to be impaled on the largest stalactite I've ever seen. Stalagmite? Ugh, not the time for this!

Once again I try to move, but I’m paralyzed, my body completely limp. Some incredibly manly screams echo around me, but I find myself incapable of joining in.

We fall down, down, and just as we’re about to crash into the spike…

[Transporting User: Xan Kim to The Steps.]

[Good luck, Inheritor.]

===

I fall flat on my face, and blue fills my vision.

Name: Xan Kim
Title: [Successor of 14,814 Steps (1)] (Upgradeable)
Level: 0 (/1)
Class: N/A

Might: 1 (6)
Mobility: 1 (7)
Mind: 1 (5)
Magic: 1 (6)

Traits: [Inheritance], [Succession]
Powers: N/A
Skills: N/A

…Huh? What’s this nerd crap?

[The First Step: Escape Him]

What?
I rise to my feet, finding myself no longer paralyzed. Even so, I felt… weak. My body was slow to respond to my mind, I moved at a snail's pace, everything felt more difficult, and I just felt lesser.
Examining my surroundings, I found myself in an orchard. I also found “Him.”

[Doctor | Level 1]

The first thought that crosses my mind is, am I in a horror movie? Before me stood a bloodsoaked plague doctor, holding a huge saw in one hand and a scalpel in the other, both incredibly rusted and coated in congealed blood.
He takes a single, slow step forward, and I run for it.
Even with as frail as I’d become, I’m still in Track, and I quickly reach the end of the row, finding myself at a turn. I ran down the next, and was faced with two choices: left or right?
With no time to deliberate, I took the right turn, cursing whoever decided to design this orchard like a maze. When I turn, I find the Doctor at the end of the row. He’s still walking, but somehow he’s kept pace with me.
A few more right turns and I’m at a dead end. I sprint back the way I'd come, but the Doctor turns the corner just then and I have to dive out of the way of an overhead swipe. I land face-first in a pile of suspiciously perfect apples, quickly turning to find the strange Doctor readying another chop.
I barely manage to crawl out of the way of the strike, but the Doctor doesn't falter, instead creeping forward and preparing another.
Terror fills me. Am I seriously going to die like this? The stalactite would have at least gotten me in the news! At the very last moment, grasping around for something, anything, I do the only thing I can think of: I chuck an apple at his forehead.
*POP*
To my surprise, his head… vanishes. The space where the apple would have struck him is simply reduced to atoms.

[Quest Complete!]
An apple a day really does keep the Doctor away!
Please choose a reward.
Trait: [Tough]
Power: [Self-Healing]
Skill: [Healthy Living]

I stare open-mouthed at the corpse that had frozen in time, then the screen in my vision.
“I'm going insane,” I mutter to myself, “There's no other explanation. My bus fell into that sinkhole and I'm in the hospital. This is all a hallucination, caused by the drugs they put me on.”
Sadly, saying that doesn't make the images go away, so instead I focus on my choices, something that might give me some sort of control.

[Tough]: Your flesh hardens in response to light compression and damage. Your body simply shrugs off minor injuries. Never stub your toe again!

I've been called tough before, but I'm pretty sure that's not what they meant…

[Self-Healing]: Never suffer permanent disfigurement from scars again! Drain your Magic in order to recover from injuries that may otherwise become permanent or leave lasting damage.

A couple guys who used to be on the team could probably use that to heal their old injuries.

[Healthy Living]: Eat your veggies! Your Matrices gain a slight percentage boost based on how healthy your recent actions have been.

Matrices? Oh, M, like Might and Magic and stuff? Wait, so it'll make me stronger, faster, and smarter based on how healthy I eat and whether or not I work out? …Isn't that already how that works though?
I poke at the [Self-Healing] option, and more screens pop up.

[Transporting User: Xan Kim to The Second Step.]

Name: Xan Kim
Title: [Successor of 14,814 Steps (2)] (Upgradeable)
Level: 0 (/2)
Class: N/A

Might: 2 (6)
Mobility: 2 (7)
Mind: 2 (5)
Magic: 2 (6)

Traits: [Inheritance], [Succession]
Powers: [Self-Healing] Level 1
Skills: N/A