The first Undead guard was happy to menace with its spear, hemming Chris in and keeping him at bay until the other two arrived. Unwilling to fight three versus one, Chris lunged forward, hooking the spear away and pushing into the Undead guard’s reach, making its spear ineffective at the close range. Taking notes from his fight with the rock …

Hundreds of undead sat slumped, side by side, against the walls of buildings that enclosed the town square. Their eyes burned dimly, in a state that seemed more like temporary inactivity rather than death or sleep. The four bone knights Chris had seen earlier sat slumped together against a far wall—looking like discarded dolls, their ribcages swung open like furnaces …

Chris shifted the body of the wolf around just in time. The axe buried into its body, kicking like a jackhammer and sending Chris flying back. A burning line of pain surface on his forearm as the axe head bit clean through the wolf’s body and gnawed at his arm beneath. He landed on his back, the corpse of the …

When Steve had finally stormed off—after being teased mercilessly by his ‘friends’—Chris checked his gains. He’d gotten two additional levels from the fight with the trolls, and he’d completed the quest. Sadly, there was no First Completion title to be had, if it even existed. It was irritating, but not unexpected; having to hobble all the rock trolls in the …

“Can’t you just lead us to the rock trolls and let us defeat them for you?” Steve asked. Chris paused, then went with his only hope, repetitive NPC dialogue. “Without my mace, I am unable to defeat the rock trolls, my sworn enemy. I fear returning to Kingscastle with my quest unfinished, especially should it become known that I unwittingly …

Chris landed on a hilltop, less than half a mile from a town. Already he could see humans being teleported in, milling about in the town square, jumping in fountains and generally doing whatever it was gamers did in tutorial towns. They were all dressed in the same clothing. Chris looked down, seeing himself dressed in a simple homespun leggings …

Vel’Xrt looked through the viewing slit and used his [Insightful Gaze] skill before hurrying off to find the Professor. What was that thing in there? His skill described it as a Level 7 Christopher Hill, he didn’t recognize the species. It resembled the elves to some extent, but lacked the pointed ears of that race. What’s more, it seemed to …

Blood leaked from the wounds on the beast’s body, but despite its limp it was still terrifying fast. Chris didn’t have to dive away this time, but he couldn’t move slowly either. The questing claws missed him by a hair’s breadth as he looked around for another weapon. His former spear protruded from the back leg of the monster, waving …

Chris landed on his back with an explosion of breath. His mind reeled at the unexpected ejection from the diginet, and the even more unexpected impact. Just moments ago, he’d been slinging spells with his guild in a newly released MMO. Now, above him, were rows upon rows of strip lighting and white ceiling, furrowed with scratches, flecked with filth. …

They were the wanderers. Effigies of ancient stone. Cradles of primordial cold. The pilgrims of a thousand worlds. Voyeurs to ten million horrors. Witnesses of a multiverse on the brink. And they fell. Oh yes, they fell indeed. The meteors fell like judgement from the heavens. They fell upon an insignificant planet in an insignificant spiral arm of an insignificant …