Alpha Agent: A Post Apocalyptic LitRPG

Dan’s eyes remained shut. He didn’t feel the wet pavement on his skin. Actually, he didn’t feel wet at all, which meant he was no longer out on the rain-soaked streets. The area around him was quiet. Too quiet. He opened his eyes and saw a dark ceiling with only dim lighting. He quickly got up and noticed he was in a comfy bed, or at least a bed that was better than his regular one.

He looked around but couldn’t make out what this place was. It vaguely resembled a hospital, but why were the lights so dim? And why was his bed the only one in the room? Dan planted his feet on the floor, noticing the pain from the stab wound in his back was gone. He walked around for a bit, pacing back and forth, and didn’t notice any tenderness or soreness. He was shirtless but still had a pair of shorts on, so reached his hand and tried feeling the wound on his back. No scabs or anything, as if the wound had never been there.

Something else that was off was how he felt. Dan had always kept himself in shape, mainly because he was always on the run from local gangs and getting into his fair share of fights. But he felt different, as if he had more energy than usual.

As he looked around the dimly lit room, he noticed his vision was a hell of a lot better. He could see cracks in the walls on the other side of the room. Dan guessed he had to be at least twelve meters away from the wall, and yet he could still make out small details from far away and in poor lighting conditions.

Dan continued walking around the room, trying to figure out what the hell was going on and how he survived that street fight. Who healed his injuries, and how did he get here? He walked passed a tall mirror leaned against a pillar and stopped in his tracks. Then he walked around the mirror and tried to compare his height to the pillar. He swore he was somehow several centimeters taller. He walked back in front of the mirror and looked at his own reflection.

His gaze hovered on his midsection and the new definition in his abs. He had a chiseled six-pack, just like how a lot of overpowered male heroes were rendered in the video games he played. Dan touched his abs and was unsettled by how rock-solid they felt. He scrutinized other parts of his body and noticed his shoulders appeared broader and his arms a bit bulkier. He glanced down at his right arm and saw his bicep. He curled his right fist, placed his other hand around his bicep and was shocked at how hard the muscle was.

“What the hell is this?” Dan asked out loud.

As if someone was listening to him, floating text appeared in the space in front of him.

Congratulations, you have become successfully enhanced. Please await further instructions for your recruitment.

Agent: Dan “Arctic” Orion

Age: 18 M

Shard: Alpha Corporation

Rank: Tier 0 | Level 3

Strength: 4

Agility: 6

Endurance: 3

Intelligence: 5

Supernatural: n/a | Supernatural stat is not yet available. Agent level too low.

Healing Factor: n/a

You have 15 stat points to spend. Note: you are below the average baseline in Strength and Endurance. A category listing of 5 is the average baseline for a regular human.

Recommendation: put stat points into underleveled stats.

2000 credits added.

Dan stood slack-jawed at what he was seeing. As far as he was aware, he was still in the real world. But what he just saw was way too similar to the character stats in video games. And apparently he had been recruited into an organization called the Alpha Corporation and given a rank and a bunch of stats.

He saw he was given a last name.

The stats faded away, and then a spinning blue hexagon popped up in the middle of his vision. It played its spinning animation for a few seconds before it transitioned into a video pop-up.

“What type of shit?” Dan said.

The video loaded, and Dan saw the same man who had stared down at him before he blacked out. Now getting a better look at him, he noticed the man’s dark brown buzz cut along with the harsh lines carved around his eyes and forehead, presumably scars or wrinkles. He wore the exact same outfit consisting of a white mask with a black strip at the edge along with a white long coat with black accents. Underneath the coat looked to be heavy body armor that somehow seemed sleek at the same time.

The man began to speak, and immediately Dan could feel the power of his voice even through the video.

“Hey, kid. If you’re seeing this video, it means that you survived the procedure and you’re now awake.”

Not many people had intimidated Dan throughout his childhood. But this man, even though he wasn’t actually there in front of him, made Dan’s body stiffen. The bass in his voice alone commanded authority in a way a corrupt cop could only dream of.

And what did he mean by “procedure?” Dan thought.

“I’m sorry you got dragged into this mess. I saw you dying in front of me and I couldn’t just leave you there. You had your own separate battle it seemed. Still, I don’t like seeing bystanders getting hurt. Us agents have a bad habit of forgetting about the world around us.”

Dan still didn’t know what the actual fuck was going on, but he knew since this was just a video, he couldn’t interrupt and ask questions.

“You’re probably wondering how your wound has healed. I injected you with a special serum my shard has been cooking up. It’s classified, so I can’t tell you anything else. Just know you got the latest version of it and you’re one of the select few who has it flowing through your body.”

The man didn’t say it outright, but Dan could easily infer that the serum he was injected with had healed his stab wound.

“My name is Michael Cynosa. I’m an agent working for the Alpha Corporation, one of the three big shards of the East. I don’t expect you to know who we are. Hell, your government has probably been working overtime to cover up our existence to you and the other citizens of this land. The serum I’ve given you didn’t just heal your wounds. You will grow to be faster, stronger and smarter than everyone else. Essentially, you have the same potential for greatness as I do.”

Dan recalled what he’d seen before he’d blacked out—Michael battling the gunmen on the streets and the superhuman speed he used to completely dismantle the entire group.

“Keyword, potential, my boy,” Michael said. “You’ll be starting at the bottom. You’ll have to earn your way to my level of power. Your next instructions are to sit tight and wait until a team from the Alpha Corp arrives to meet you and get you suited up to serve the shard. Is this a draft? Are we kidnapping you, you may ask? Well, that depends on your perspective.”

Dan stood there silent, still wondering what was going on. How did he just get recruited into an organization of superhuman operatives?

“From what I’ve seen of this land, you’re not exactly living in paradise. The weather is garbage. You have crime rates higher than my executive’s blood pressure. And judging from the hand-me-down clothes you were wearing when I found you, you aren’t exactly well off either. Wherever the Alpha Corp brings you, I can guarantee anywhere is better than here. Unfortunately, this process will be quick and I can’t make any arrangements for you to bring family along. This will be a solo trip.”

That was fine by Dan. His only family had died a few months ago, so Dan had nobody. He noticed there was a pause in the video recording. But the video itself hadn’t paused. Michael was simply silent.

“We’re going to need as many bright young agents such as yourself for what’s coming. I can’t get into the details now, but there’s a shard we’re at war with that threatens the whole planet. They’re called the Church of Nano-Evolution. You’ll start hearing more about them once you get settled in with the Alpha Corp.”

Dan scratched his head wondering what the agent was on about.

“I need to wrap this up, my boy. But one thing I will say is I’m sorry. The rest of your life will never be the same from a decision I made for you in the heat of the moment. I saved your life, but you have a hard road ahead. The life of an agent isn’t easy, and you will be tested in ways that will push your very existence to its limits.”

Dan looked at the man funny. The push your very existence to its limits part was a bit much for him.

“I’ve already vouched for you, and you’ve been assigned to a team. People within Alpha will look at you funny because of the… strange circumstances of your recruitment, but you’ll find your place within the shard. Jane Sunheiser will be your new squad leader. You can trust her and the others under her command. Everyone else, trust your gut. You’ll meet a lot of characters where you’re going. But I have a feeling you’ll be fine. You have the newest serum flowing through your veins, after all. And I’ve seen you in action before, your fights against the crime this land is rife with. I know you can handle anything that comes your way. You will need that same tenacity and willpower. Michael out.”

The video abruptly cut out and disappeared. Dan was alone once again. He walked across the room and opened the door. Maybe Michael was still around and he could ask a few questions.

Dan explored the building, checking the rest of the rooms on this floor. He found all of them were either locked or empty. He reached the staircase and saw he was already on the top floor. Looking down and determining the distance to ground level, he guessed this building was five floors high.

Dan pulled up his stat menu, which was as easy as just thinking about it to get his HUD to work.

Rank: Tier 0 | Level 3

Strength: 4

Agility: 6

Endurance: 3

Intelligence: 5

Supernatural: n/a | Supernatural stat is not yet available. Agent level too low.

Healing Factor: n/a

Dan recalled he had fifteen stat points to spend.

Strength: 4 (+6)

Endurance: 3 (+7)

Admittedly, he went a bit overkill going over the baseline so much. But if he had the stat points, why not use them?

Congratulations! Your updated stats are now:

Strength: 10

Endurance: 10

Instead of walking down the steps, he put his new physique to work. He hopped over the railing and dropped down. He landed on his feet with a loud thud and was fine. He didn’t feel any soreness or aches in his legs or feet. He was shocked, as he was barefoot too.

“Wow,” Dan muttered to himself. His body truly was new and improved. “So that’s what ten points into strength and endurance does, huh?”

Dan spent the next half an hour exploring the strange building. It was the same story as the top floor. All the rooms were either inaccessible or eerily empty as if the place was abandoned.

He tried looking out the windows but saw what appeared to be fake imagery that masked what the outside world looked like. While confused, Dan decided he would trust Michael and wait for the team from Alpha Corp to arrive.

He walked back to the staircase to the top floor.

“Let’s see what these guys have in store for me,” Dan said.