In the far distance, of around fifteen meters, he saw one person from the group whispering something to one of the eagles. As if the eagle would have orders given, it flew into the sky as fast as it could, making itself unseen.

Looking up in the bright sky, the boy wondered where the eagle would be. But what he didn’t know is that the eagle was right behind him, staring into his soul, with its small and green eyes.

“It’s right behind me… right?”

Asked the boy, turning around real slow like he was made out of ice, stopping his breath for a second.

The eagle exhaled once on his face, and it was way closer to him than he expected.

“YAH!”
Exclaimed the boy out loud, when he met the watery eyes of the stone eagle.

Not wasting any time, the eagle chomped the back of his hoodie, grabbing only the clothing, and flew up in the air with him.

“Waaaaaaait!”
Screamed the boy, feeling a sense of his stomach dropping, feeling like he was made out of feathers.

Forgetting that he was tens of meters in the air, casting a mixed shadow into the green plains, his and the eagle’s, he kept struggling his feet out of anxiety and nervousness.

While mid-air, the eagle took a leap towards the ground, packing up its wings, creating a sound of dust moving between two rocks that are moving as well, just like pepper would get through a small shredder.

Underneath a few bent trees, waiting in the cold shadow, a group of people waited for the eagle, or the boy.

“I HOPE YOU ARE ENJOYING THIS… CUZ I DON’T!”

Yelled out the boy, sticking himself on the neck of the eagle while targeting the ground, thinking of a possible way to escape if he falls, that’s how positive he was.

The boy screamed as hard as he could, creating a high pitched voice, on which the group of people from underneath them, laughed with power.

By packing up its wings, the speed and velocity was so high, that the boy almost lost consciousness, barely being able to keep his eyes open or even take a breather.

Like a rocket falling down, the eagle spread its wings a few seconds away, before  hitting the ground at maximum speed. The wings that continuously moved, blew away the fallen grass fibers and the dust that was around them in the flat plain. Touching the ground with its claws first, making a perfect landing, the eagle let go of the boy’s  hoodie. 

“Hua, hah, aaaaghh”
Grunted the boy, extending himself on the ground, breathing rapidly, then making small “snow Angels” in the short grass, while joyfully laughing.

“I’m alive. I’m alive. YES!”

Repeated the boy, still in a rollercoaster of emotions, from being jump-scared, to afraid of being eaten, to feared of getting dropped off like a package in the middle of the sky.

Seeing him only in the moment that he was already petting his stone-eagle friend on it's forehead, a person from the group with short gray hair and baggy white clothing, extended his arm towards the eagle’s forehead.

“How was the ride with Garry?”
Asked the man, patting the eagle’s forehead with a slight smirk on his face.

The boy quickly sat up from the ground and waved his hand in a welcoming way, while smiling awkwardly, not knowing how to react in this situation.

The same person with the gray hair approached him, extending his right hand for a handshake, while giving away a welcoming smile.

Looking at the man’s extended hand, the boy took the sign of respect that he was giving to him and shook his hand.

“You know you could’ve just come here, right? You didn’t had to hide”

Said the man, firmly tapping the boy’s shoulder with a firm slap, pushing his upper body almost one meter towards the left.

“Your tall friends are really intimidating”

Chuckled the boy, feeling like this is an awkward situation.

“Oh, you mean Garry? No, no, Garry is very docile, he’s just hungry when he sees danger in other creatures, he’s not hungry for humans”

Smiled the man, slapping the boy’s shoulder again, in a friendly manner

A moment of realization came to all of them at once. Their different face reactions turned all into the same one, a frozen reaction of slight shock.

“You… you are the Starter!”
Exclaimed the man with the gray hair, filled with happiness.

“Starter? No, I’m… wait… who am I? I can’t remember... who--”
Continued the boy, upset and slightly stressed, while looking at his extended palms, thinking about the fact that he doesn’t know who he really is.

“Did you hit your head in a Quest? You are the most popular guy in the city, but you don't know your name? Oho-ho, boy, you really are something"

Continued the man, having the same joyful reaction stuck to his face.

"By the looks of it, I think you are the popular ones, I'm just... me"

"If you really don’t know who you are, can I give you a name?”

“I can ride with that”
Agreed the boy, nodding his head in agreement

“What about… Starter!”
Exclaimed the man with the gray hair, excited about his good way of finding names in a nonchalant way

“Is this guy for real?!”
Asked the rest of the group, shocked by the choice of name.

The man with gray hair, pointed the edge of his fingers towards himself

"I'm Reddy, these two guys are Dot and Comma, and these two girls over here are Tyma and Refa"

"Yo!” (Dot)

“Heya” (Tyma)

“Sup?” (Refa)

“Here” (Comma)

Swallowing once, not knowing if he should ask these questions, Reddy thought he would just go for it.

"A few questions here, Starter. Do you remember something before doing your first quest?”

Asked Reddy, calmingly taking care of the bad situation.

“How do you know that I am still not that evolved in Progression?”

“Your “Progression effect” is shown through your hoodie. If you have something over your skin, it will just get reflected over that”

“Oh, I didn’t realize that until now”
Said Starter, checking out the sleeve of his hoodie.

The wind started blowing gently, pushing the small grass fibers towards the far lands of the almost infinite plains.

“Before doing my first Quest, I remember something white… and something grabbing me from inside a door, dragging me somewhere, but I’m lucky to remember even this. Everything is in this... type of fog”

“Amnesia is not common through adventurers, but your case is really odd, something or someone must be between all of this. A few years back, thousands of Starters were spawning in these very plains, doing their first quests, but that stopped last year, when someone else took charge of this entire existence. Someone, or something”

“Did I win a raffle to get here?”
Asked Starter

“No… not even close. You, Starter, you were chosen for a purpose”

Reddy extended both of his arms in front of him, like he would carry a person in his arms

“Either eliminate all the Evil there is, by finishing all of your quests and take out the “Ever Founder". Or you can choose to side with him in the end, and let it be yours”

“What are you talking about? What is all this?"
Asked Starter, confused about the situation he was put into.

“Forget about that, that is just future stuff, you know”

“Yeah, future stuff, no biggie”
Continued Comma from behind, who was trying to climb the bent three to get a few green apples from it.

“Hurry it up, Reddy, we have to get to “Empty Cliff” by morning”
Said Dot, climbing up on his stone-eagle, preparing himself to fly out.

“One last thing for you, Starter, and the most important one. Do not put your “Pro-Points” into “Obvious talents”, use all of them for “strength” only.

“Pro Points, Obvious talents?”
Asked Starter, puzzled, scratching the top of his head, having his eyes narrowed, trying to understand all these details at once.

"Aaghh, this again, don't mess with his brains, Reddy"

Groaned Comma, circling his pupils around, while swinging his left arm in sign of being annoyed by Reddy’s words. 

Upsetly at Comma's comment, Reddy turned around, disturbed, not thinking that a friend of his would barge into his advice.

"Mind your business, Comma. Starter will be my next “follow-up”, he will take the “Win”. He just needs a little push, that’s it. A very sudden and intense push”

Then Reddy approached his eagle, Garry, and climbed up on top of it, after which he fixing both of his hands underneath a crack that he was using to keep his hands in, so that he wouldn't fall while flying on Garry. Reddy switched his look in front, preparing to fly away with his friend.

“H-Hey, Reddy!”

Exclaimed  Starter, right when the rest already have left, two pairs on two stone-eagles.

“Yes, Starter?”

“Is what you told me really my last goal or purpose? What about the Quests, what will happen if I finish them all, but what if I lose one and get killed somehow?!”

Anxiously asked Starter, with a touch of heart, yelling out his questions

Reddy climbed down from Garry and walked up towards Starter.

“Starter, right here, right now, you have the path to choose. Become a King. The most respected Hero from the whole world. The most notorious villain. Become a family man. You can do anything you want. You can listen to me or you can go on your own way, this life, this is just a Game for you!"

Reddy raised his fist, sticking it to Starter’s heart, slightly pushing it, then giving away a bright and honest smile.

Jumping back on his friend, Garry, energetically as he was, Reddy looked back at Starter, giving him an honest nod.

“If you want to talk about it, then you will have to become the most Ill-famed villain that ever existed, or the most powerful warrior of all. We will meet again in these conditions”

Reddy put his index and middle finger close to his forehead and waved in sign goodbye, fixing a nod of approvement and a slight smirk on his face, before flying away in the cold breeze of the day, following his friends that have already disappeared in the massive clouds, up, in the limitless sky.