Dominion's Temple

Daichi opened his eyes, straining them as if he’d never seen sunlight before. The ground he laid on was full of cracks and covered in withered flora. As his eyes finished acclimated, one gaping hole in the dome ceiling above illuminated a vast, ancient atrium. Light cascaded down towards stone flooring etched with peculiar markings, coalescing like a spiral into another statue of Dominion in the room's center.

Well, guess I'm finally here, he thought. Let's see if Paradise is really a paradise.

Daichi sat himself up. From the glaring light overhead, a hummingbird started swooping down. It glowed gold and trickled a trail of shimmering dust as it approached. Daichi held out his finger for a perch, but the yellow creature only hovered around him while sprinkling some twinkles. 

What is this? An attack? He focused on its body, prompting a pop-up to appear detailing the bird’s info:

[Name: Hummingheal

Level: N/A

Lore: A rare creature believed to bring blessings to anyone that encounters one. Its feathers emit a golden dust with healing properties, and its wings can create gusts to maximize its dust's spread.]

As soon as he finished reading, the gleaming Hummingheal zoomed away and back up into the sky.

Daichi let out the largest sigh of his life. Thanks to Dominion’s explanations, he knew what he'd gotten himself into, but entering a new world for the second time in a row was still exhausting.

He stood and examined his new garments: a thick, beige robe tightly hugged him that looked fit for a true wizard. Further below, one buckled belt was wrapped around his waist that came equipped with a strange, steel holster on his right.

Some weapon maybe? Daichi's finger tugged one of two closed hooks from the holster, sliding out a metal tube. After one quick shake, a scroll tumbled out to the ground and unfurled itself, displaying familiar, black markings in the shape of a summoning circle. Clueless, he bent over and reset the whole contraption.

Wait, what about that Hummingheal notification? Do I have my Menu here? He lifted his finger as if to will out the Dominion Menu, but instead a new interface popped up. The Menu layout was similar though its tabs were different: Status? Gear? Inventory? Guild? Several more. Within his Gear tab he had an "Invoker's Robe", "Basic Tome", "Basic Holster," and two "Basic Scrolls" but nothing more. Starting me from the bottom I guess.

Daichi scrolled down to a tab labeled “Skill Tree”. Tapping on it unleashed large, virtual tree that overtook his Menu’s boundaries. Myriads of question marks were dotted along the grayed-out tree branches. His only skills at the tree's base that appeared unlocked were “Furbolt Summon” and “MP Haste”. He clicked on the latter for details:

[Title: MP Haste

Type: Passive

Cost: N/A

Effect: When health falls under 30%, MP regeneration is slightly increased.]

“MP” stood for “Magic Points” which fueled the usage of skills. Dominion didn’t espouse details but Daichi assumed MP recharged over time based on the wording. Above his blue MP bar in the corner of his Menu was Daichi’s full-red HP bar. A count of his "Gold" hovered on the opposite side.

Basically just a game then, huh? He closed the Menu. Daichi had years to figure everything out, and from a glance knew he couldn’t access his old features nor contact anyone from the outside world. He thought about his dad and if he'd found a motionless body by now. Would Daichi get put in the same ward as his sister? He imagined Hanako crying by his hospital bedside, making him quiver.

I don't want this "experiment" to last long, but nothing much I can do besides find Kyouko for some peace of mind. 

An exit way out of the atrium led into an enormous, ancient corridor. Overgrowth leaked from cracks in the stone walls, while light from the towering exit ahead illuminated Daichi's whole passage. His footsteps echoed even at a slow stride. Soon, he began to hear the flutters and purrs of a wild frontier. 

Daichi winced and held his hand in front of him to block the overwhelming light as he stepped outside.

When his eyes adjusted, he found himself standing atop a decrepit stone balcony overlooking a vast forest. In the distance he could faintly make out a town surrounded by giant walls, and beyond that, a set of towering mountains far off in the horizon. Sure didn't hold back with realistic details.

As he walked along the balcony's perimeter, Daichi’s eyes gravitated towards a statue of someone in hulking armor. Its grieves, gauntlets, and sabatons appeared scale-like, complementing the huge set of dragon-esque wings behind it. Spikes like barbed wire lined its broad shoulders while both scaly hands gripped a huge, claymore sword as they leaned forward like a king waiting for combat.

Oh? Daichi noticed a label on the statue's pedestal that read "GW"; a familiar initial he couldn’t quite remember. Well, probably not important.

He turned back to face the massive, abandoned temple he just exited from. Immediately, a green bell appeared in his vision—the classic signal of new notifications. A quick tap opened his revamped Menu: a tab that was previously blacked out filled itself in named “World Map”. Daichi opened it and an enormous continent took form before him. It zoomed in on his location towards the left-hand bottom of the map, marking it as “Dominion’s Temple”. Like his skill tree, the rest of the map consisted of question mark icons—presumably locations he’d yet to discover. But things like terrain and landmarks were very much discernible.

Far up north on the map was a large city overlooked by some fancy castle. Daichi assumed this was Paradise's capital and made a mental note to make it his ultimate destination. After closing the World Map, he noticed a time and date had appeared below his Gold count. It was past noon and the date read March 9, 2099.

So they’re using our same date as the real world then? Guess I'm gonna miss the start of a new century back home. I'm trapped here for around three years.

Daichi took a series of stone steps down into the forest. A breeze blew aromas of green, lush nature straight up into his nose. All of his senses blasted off, as if Paradise's programmers had perfected the human body more than natural evolution. But it was a calming chill as he finished the remaining stairs—his point of no return.

He recalled Dominion’s advice of maneuvering through the forest and joining a guild in the nearby town. Daichi was reluctant to trust strangers, but acknowledged the disadvantage of not having allies in a world already filled with powerful players. Strong friends would be necessary in helping find Kyouko, even if it meant swallowing some pride.

But now it was time his adventure began in full. The vast, open, beautiful world awaited him, along with whoever else was lying in wait.