The following items have been deposited into your inventory:

Twilight Boar Fur x 1 [F- Crafting Accessory]

TP x 25 [Already Deposited]

“Sarah, Andrew,” Jack called out in a muted tone, catching both their attentions. “Do any of the boar carcasses glow for you?”

“Yes, that one,” Sarah replied first, pointing at the gruesome remains of the boar that had impaled itself on her spear, its viscera littered all across the site of its death. Jack wondered why Sarah, who was clearly a sheltered office woman, didn't have a… stronger reaction to her clothes being drenched in the blood of an animal she had slain. James too, while he had exposed many weaknesses through his reactions, and buckled under stress once- didn’t seem particularly bothered by gore, almost as if the nature of this power… desensitized them to seeing blood and viscera.

That… Jack found that dangerous, but it was not like he had any power to change anything.

“Approach it, and the system should provide you with an option to ‘Loot it’,” Jack explained, and he supposed that the woman found her explanation reasonable enough as she moved towards the carcass.

Andrew remained standing on the spot, perhaps waiting to see what happens to Sarah. Jack shrugged, and continued to walk towards the other, level three carcass. He hoped that the rewards were slightly more…. generous, because he didn’t find the fur of a creature he could slice through too useful.

The following items have been deposited into your inventory:

Twilight Boar Fur x 1 [F- Crafting Accessory]

Twilight Boar Pendant x1[F- Neck Ornament]

TP x40 [Already Deposited].

“Alright, let's move. We’ll talk on the way,” Jack called out with some urgency in his voice, even though it may be an exercise in futility. The creatures clearly had some way to track them across long distances, so that might be a unique property of the twilight boar’s or the system directing them. If it was the latter, nothing could be done. However, their location was still highly exposed and vulnerable, and it made no sense to stick around anyway.

Inventory

Quantity

Nourishment Capsules

500

Hydration Capsules

500

Recovery Pill

5

Twilight Boar Fur

2

Twilight Boar Pendant

1

Name

Jack Fletcher

Age

28.6 Years

Race

Human [F-]

Cultivation Level

2 [95%]

Class

Swordsman (O) Lv. 2 (83%)

Cultivation

Initiate I

Talent

-

Skills:

Inspect, Qi Blade [MAX], Qi Pulse [Lv.2]

Equipment

[F-] Bastard Sword

STR

6

CON

11

DEX

8

AGI

9

PER

8

WIS

7

INT

9

WIL

7

QI

6/11

FP

0

TP

65

Note: Your TP threshold has crossed 50. Tutorial Shop is now unlocked.

Tutorial Shop

Cost

F Rank Weapon Artefact [Requires Class Lv. 5]

12,500 TP

Race Evolution Stone [Requires Cultivation: Lv. 25] [100,000/100,000]

10,000 TP

Qi- Attunement Stone [Earth] [Req. Class Lv. 5, Cultivation Lv. 5] [100,000/100,000]

5,000 TP

Qi- Attunement Stone [Fire] [Req. Class Lv. 5, Cultivation Lv. 5] [100,000/100,000]

5,000 TP

Qi- Attunement Stone [Water] [Req. Class Lv. 5, Cultivation Lv. 5] [100,000/100,000]

5,000 TP

Qi- Attunement Stone [Wind] [Req. Class Lv. 5, Cultivation Lv. 5] [100,000/100,000]

5,000 TP

Class Change Token [Requirement: Before Class Evolution, limited to introductory classes only].

1,000 TP

F+ Grade Cultivation Manual [100,000/100,000]

20,000 TP

Elixir of Life [Increases Mortal Lifespan: 100 years, and cures all mortal illnesses. Transferable, Effects do not stack]. Does not work on Cultivators. [100,000/100,000]

20,000 TP

F- Grade Cultivation Elixir [Increases Cultivation experience gain by 100% for twenty four hours.]

8,000 TP

Familial Contact Stone [Lets you contact ineligible mortals/non-cultivators once every twenty four hours]

100 TP

System Module: Talent Detection [Informs the cultivator when a talent has been used in the vicinity.]

500 TP

Minor Tribulation Pill [Assists when breaking through cultivation level bottleneck trial. Increases chances of success by 30%]

8,000 TP

Soul Sword [F- Ranked, Growth E+] [25/25]

100,000 TP

Qi- Attunement Stone [Thunder] [Req. Class Lv. 5, Cultivation Lv. 5] [100/100]

80,000 TP

Randomized Familiar Egg [F- to E+]

25,000 TP

Empyrean Weaponsmith Token [1/1] [Receive a F- growth weapon upgradable up to C+ grade.]

10,00,000 TP

Attunement Removal Stone [Only valid till level 25.]

5000 TP

More items will be added to the tutorial shop after unlocking certain conditions/passage of time.

Jack was just going through his [Inventory] and [Status Screen] to see the changes that had taken place, when a notification informing him that he was now eligible to see the [System Shop] popped up.

His left hand started quivering as he finished reading through the list, clenching it to stymie the shock he felt coursing through him. A part of him wanted to abandon his teammates then and there, knowing that every second was precious— there were only a limited amount of [Qi Attunement Stones] available, the item that he had immediately made his first priority. If he understood their meaning correctly, consuming one should transform his plain blue Qi into a coat of flames, or a torrent of water if he so wished. There was no description, but Jack did not know what other reasonable inference the word ‘attunement’ could carry.

This was a race. A race against time. Worst of all, Jack could see an item that people would potentially grow crazy for. The [Elixir of Life] was truly a low blow, to increase the lifespan of a parent or a child by a hundred years…. that was a temptation people would trade lives for, let alone inconsequential Tutorial Points.

And this was only the offering made in the beginning…

Jack decided to withhold this information from the group, even though there was a chance they might realize later on. He desperately needed to amass TP in the short time gap he had, even if it might not amount to much in the greater picture. There was also another crucial factor to consider- the system had mentioned killing monsters awarding items as well, would they possibly compare with the bounty offered by the [System Shop]?

On that note, Jack selected the Twilight Boar Pendant from his Inventory, a pitch black rectangular hole in their manifesting in front of him. Almost instinctively, Jack reached his hand inside only to feel a coarse fiber rope like material make contact with his hands, pulling it out. He knew how the Inventory system worked, but it didn’t make the process any less creepy.

Twilight Boar Pendant, F- Grade Accessory.

Description: Increases damage done to [Twilight Boars] by 5%.

His actions attracted the attention of the others, holding a coarse rope necklace with a Twilight Boar’s Long Tooth attached to the end.

“What’s that?” James asked curiously, slight bitterness leaking into his voice from having his own rightful kill stolen. But that matter was considered resolved, unless he wanted to kill Andrew— because that was the only twisted way of getting his experience back.

The other two also perked up in attention, listening closely to Jack’s words.

“Did you two receive anything from the boars? Also keep your voice down, James,” Jack lightly whispered, as he turned around to face the group members trailing behind him.

“Twilight Boar Fur and some points,” Andrew spoke up first, slightly surprising Jack with his candor. Perhaps this was his way of showing cooperation with Jack and acknowledging his lead? Or an act, but Jack had made it clear he had no intention to trust him either way.

“I got uh… Meat? And yeah, twenty five points. Though I can’t open the [System Shop] that was mentioned in the tutorial,” Sarah replied as she made gestures with her left hand, most likely examining her Inventory or Status.

“Meat?” Jack repeated after her, slightly stupefied. “We have food and water pills for over a year, why does the system offer meat as a reward? Curious, curious,” Jack muttered, intrigued.

“Maybe a morale boost? Those pills taste like, well, nothing,” Andrew chimed in with an opinion, and Jack found himself agreeing with his conjecture but not certain. While they were not soldiers, fighting on tasteless rations sounded soul-crushing for the morale, especially for people who were in an office cubicle merely hours ago, having access to all sorts of modern amenities and seasoned, spicy food.

“Fair enough. Anyway, this necklace gives me 5% more damage on [Twilight Boars]. I suppose it's better than nothing,” Jack explained to the group, once again scanning his surroundings for any sign or sound of movement.

“Sounds a damn lot more useful than fur,” Andrew replied, though there was no animosity in his voice. Clearly, it wasn’t very impressive, but like Andrew said, it did increase his survival chances positively.

Jack wanted to use [Qi Pulse] again, but it was prohibitively expensive— requiring 2 Qi Points to carry out a full fifty meter pulse and one for a limited pulse.

“Agreed. Now, Andrew and Sarah, this might come off as a personal question but, what skill did you receive for reaching Class Level 2?” Jack finally asked the question he had been waiting to ask, hoping it was something useful.

“Qi Pulse,” Andrew replied, though Sarah’s response overlapped with him, merely a second behind.

“Huh. That does make sense,” Jack nodded in understanding, realizing something.

“What do you mean?” Sarah asked with curiosity, Jack noticing that her eyelight was different after witnessing the spat between himself and Andrew— thankfully it was not fear, but respect perhaps? Or comfort, knowing this was a group where the weak would not be mistreated? Though Jack himself was not sure how long he intended to stay with them— if they started to threaten his goals or survival, he would make the decision to lose.

“Qi Pulse is a quite generalized skill, nothing about it seems related specifically to swordsmanship, though it undoubtedly benefits it,” Jack explained his line of thought, eliciting a nod from Andrew.

“I see,” she replied.

“Anyway, I digress. Point is, [Qi Pulse] will be a skill that is essential to our survival, but it also requires 2 Qi Points per use. So we will have to set up a rotation, and I have already used the skill once before, so one of you will have to volunteer first,” Jack calmly explained, hiding the fact that he’d actually used it two times- once in combat.

He was torn between hiding it and disclosing it, but ultimately he was still level two and if Andrew decided to backstab him he needed a trump card to overcome the man’s physicality and healing ability— which Jack noted, he had still not decided to display.

“I’ll do it,” Sarah volunteered first, slightly glancing at Andrew. Perhaps she wanted to limit their interactions and avoid further fights. Jack appreciated Sarah’s thoughtfulness, maybe he would take her along if he decided to break away from the group. If of course, she was willing.

“Thank you, Sarah. Please, do it now. Andrew, you’re next. Pulse in thirty minutes or when you feel a threat, whichever is earlier,” Jack himself thought the threat should be abated for at least ten or so minutes, unless the intention was to outright kill them off. They had taken down three level two beasts and one level three, perfectly equal to the number of people in their group. If Jack hadn’t taken incentive to slay the first beast and then deal with the stronger one, maybe not everyone would have made it alive.

Sarah complied, tapping her Qi Infused right foot against the ground and releasing a light, harmless, circular wave of Qi.

“Clear,” she whispered a few seconds later, causing the group to release a collective sigh of relief.

“System, please direct me to the citadel,” Jack whispered aloud, and seconds later a minimap opened in front of him, the area except his immediate surroundings marked in grayscale, but an arrow pointed out the general direction he should follow.

“Is it the same for you guys?” Jack asked them as he pointed towards the North-East, taking a moment to recenter himself. This was Malanike National Park, and his surroundings- the tall Douglas-Fir trees, the rejuvenative smell of nature wafting in the surroundings, except tens of times stronger and fresher than he remembered, the shrubbery hiding all manners of small wildlife and critters, and the distant noise of a waterfall crashing against a body of water and large boulders. He tried to recall even the minutest of details, the most minor of details, anything about the landscape, the terrain, that could increase his chances of survival by even a morsel.

They nodded in response.

“Any objections for heading towards the citadel?”

There was silence, but their assent was evident. Where else would go but in the direction of shelter, even if that made their direction obvious and prone to ambush?

“Then it’s settled,” Jack took the first step forward, followed by the others in a lineup he’d assigned- James, Andrew and then Sarah. He believed in Sarah’s moral compass enough to trust her to intervene in case Andrew made a move on James, and James had no way of attacking with his bow without making a significant amount of noise.