Even an hour after Aaron's encounter with the aquatic monster, the disgusting salty taste of the octopus plagued his mouth. He groaned as ran his fingers through his hair. His head pounded, and his eyes were bloodshot. Overall, it felt like he had been dragged through the pits of hell.

“Sit still. I can’t heal you if you keep moving,” Tony said. A warm green light surrounded his hands, proof that whatever skill he was using was working. Thank god Tony had selected the Healer class; without his help, he would have been in rough shape.

“You know, this reminds me of the time I killed a great white shark with my bare hands. You see, around thirty years ago, I was tasked with getting rid of a man hidden on a submarine in the Pacific Ocean. Of course, I couldn’t afford a submarine of my own, so I had to swim to the bottom of the ocean using scuba equipment. On the way down, I was attacked by the shark.” Aaron tuned out the old man’s rambling. At first, he had fallen for his stories, but after sharing a cell with the man for three weeks, he learned to view them all through a heavy lens of skepticism. There was no way they were real; they were too absurd.

After nodding along, and listening with half an ear for some time, the healing green light flickered out. “I’m out. Don’t pick a fight with another Octopus till I get my magic back, okay? I won’t be able to save you,” Tony said like a grandfather lecturing a child. Aaron groaned as he climbed to his feet. He still felt terrible, but the healing had taken the edge off. He gazed out to the sea. Somewhere under the depths, the Bonemaw Octopus and its kin resided, trapping him on the island. He smiled, too wide, to be natural. Just you wait, I’ll be back.

Now that escaping the island had been ruled out, he had to focus on surviving the dangerous monsters that crossed through the portal. He had to be stronger if he wanted to live, so he opened up his skill screen. He still had 3 unused general skill slots that were burning a hole in his pocket. Each second he delayed making a selection, he lost out on potential skill points. He opened the screen.

The vast majority of skills he had unlocked were useless, so he removed them from the list. However, there were a few leftover that looked promising. He couldn’t wait to choose.

Class Skills (1/6): Mana Bolt Lvl 27 (Common - Tier 3): Skill Paths: 3 Fires a ball of mana in a straight line out of your hand. Costs 5 mana. Damage based on skill level and stats. General Skills (1/4): Stealth Lvl 4 (Common - Tier 1): Skill Paths: 2 Walk through the night undetected. While active, you are harder to notice. Effect is amplified while in shadows. Costs 1 SP per second. Pending Skills: Focus (Common - Tier 1): Sharpen your focus to a razor’s edge, disregarding everything unimportant. Passively increase focus per level. The bonus can be increased by letting auxiliary senses fade to the background. Survivalism (Common - Tier 1): Rain or shine, you’ll still be there. Decreased food and water requirements per level. Increased ability to scavenge food from any source. Aquatic Creature Hunter (Common - Tier 1): Become a shark among minnows. Deal bonus damage to anything that calls the water it's home. Passively provides knowledge on aquatic creatures’ habits. Running (Common - Tier 1): Run with the wind. Passively increases stamina and speed per level. Pistol Mastery (Common - Tier 1): Gunpowder and brimstone; make life a living hell for your enemies. Passively increases accuracy as well as minorly boosts damage. Improvised Weapon Mastery (Common - Tier 1): Turn a pencil into a deadly weapon. Gives knowledge on how to make and wield an array of improvised weapons. Meditation (Common - Tier 1): First understand yourself, then understand the world. Increased Mana and Spirit regeneration while active. Increased introspection and inner peace while meditating. Breath Holding (Common - Tier 1): Breathing is for losers. Reduced oxygen consumption per level. Increase the amount of time you can hold your breath per level. Open Hand Brawling (Common - Tier 1): The noble art of punching people in the face. Let no challenge go unmet. Passively provides a minor boost to damage while fighting with your fists.

The first thing he noticed about his skill list was that Mana Bolt had shot up 2 tiers, ending in Tier 3. He wasn’t sure what exactly the tiers represented, but they increased at the same rate at which he completed skill paths, and it was displayed prominently on the screen so, it was probably important.

Secondly, he could see why they were called General Skills. They paled in comparison to the skills his class offered him; their effects were minor and mostly operated in the background. Still, some of them could be useful. For example, Surviviliasm could very well be the key to his survival.

Alcatraz had increased its capacity to hold prisoners since its inception. Currently, over a thousand inmates resided on the island. That number may have decreased recently, but the general point still stood. With so many people on the island, resources such as food and water would become hot commodities. Even the strongest fighter couldn’t overcome hunger.

There was no telling how long he would be stuck on the island: a week, a month, 3 months; he had no clue. For that reason, he erred on the side of caution and selected the skill.

For the same reason, he disregarded the Pistol Mastery skill. It would make him much more dangerous with the weapon, but bullets were a limited resource on the island. It was just a matter of time till they ran out of ammunition. When that time came, everyone who took the skill would be screwed.

The next skill he considered was Running. Normally, he would take the skill; running away was a full-proof way of getting out of most conflicts unscathed, but there was nowhere to run to on the island. He was trapped. He needed something to make him more formidable in combat - so he didn’t have to run away.

He inspected the two combat-based skills he had unlocked: Open Hand Brawling and Improvised Weapon Mastery. Open Hand Brawling on the surface seemed like the stronger skill, opposed to Improvised Weapon Mastery; it actually gave a bonus to damage. The problem was, the bonuses only applied when he wasn’t using a weapon, which greatly narrowed his flexibility. If he was a skilled boxer, he would take this skill, but he wasn’t. He wasn’t particularly skilled at any type of hand-to-hand combat. If he had to fight, he’d prefer to use a weapon. For that reason, he selected Improvised Weapon Mastery.

With only one General Skill Slot free, he became more selective. He immediately disregarded Breath Holding and Aquatic Creature Hunter. They would undoubtedly help him kill the Bonemaw Octopus, but he had no intention of going back in the water any time soon. He needed a skill that would help him in every situation.

That left Mediation and Focus as the only skills left on the table. Mediation would allow him to regenerate Mana faster, which was a high priority for him. Now that Mana Bolt had some levels under its belt, he could confidently say it was his main offensive tool. The only problem was that his Mana regenerated slowly. He opened his [Status] screen.

Name: Aaron Green Class: Mage Lvl 4 (50/475) HP: 129/175 MP: 52/280 SP: 24/40 Strength: 10 Endurance: 9 Recovery: 8 Defense: 8 Dexterity: 13 Agility: 8 Perception: 10 Mind: 17 Magic: 28 Spirit: 4 Skill Points: 15

In the hour that he had been laying on the dock recovering, he had only gained 52 MP. Compared to his original Mana Pool that was an impressive amount, but now it was simply too slow. It would take him over five hours to get back to full. That was an amount of time he simply couldn’t afford to wait. The more spells he could cast, the more monsters he could kill. Experience-wise, it was a no-brainer.

However, Focus still was an appealing option. In that state of hyper-focus, he reached under the water; everything felt like it was possible. The world bent to his desires. If he could constantly be in that state, he would become much more dangerous. The downside was, to reach that state, he would have to sacrifice his senses. That was a trade he wasn’t willing to take. Awareness was too important to forsake.

He took one last look at his [Status]. A warm feeling of pride swelled within him; it had only been a few hours since the System’s advent, but he had already made so much progress. The quantifiable progression was addicting, similar to a mobile video game; he wanted to watch the numbers grow larger.

“Kid, do you have any more bright ideas for getting off this island?” Tony poked him in the back.

“I’m not a kid. I’m 23; that’s practically a fully grown adult.” Tony laughed. “And no, I don’t have any more ideas for getting off the island. Unless you know how to make a boat, we’re stuck here.”

“I don’t know how to make one, but I know someone who does. Remember Dan, the guy three cells to the right of ours. He used to make boats when he wasn’t busy smuggling cocaine over the border.”

Aaron grinned, a fraction of a plan forming in his mind. “You think he’s still alive?”

“Probably, he’s a crafty guy.”

Dark clouds rolled across the horizon, blocking out the sun at a supernatural rate. The air took on a sinister tint. He could smell that something big was coming. Long cords of electricity arced from cloud to cloud, building in intensity.

“Looks like quite the storm is brewing; we should get inside,” Tony said.

Aaron nodded. It was time to return to prison. Before he could move, the sky opened, and fat beads of water fell at a torrential pace. He cursed; his clothes would never dry at this rate. The unlikely pair walked back to the prison as bright pillars of lightning smashed into the ground, painting the world in a blinding white light. The System’s signature minor weather disturbances were making another appearance.

He smiled as he entered the building's cracked walls. They were prisoners once more, but he was determined to change that. With a little bit of luck, they’d find Dan and be off the island before sunset.

-----

Deep below the ground, screams of pain echoed through a cell. Claws scraped into stone, and fists whooshed through the air. However, a quieter, more subtle sound dominated the fighting: a pair of rustling chains. Whenever they would clank against each other, another roar of pain would soon follow.

Blood pooled on the cold stone floor as the carnage continued. The excess leaked out from under the door, making it look like the gateway to hell. Finally, the violence stopped. Under a flickering fluorescent light, Tommy Copperright stood alone with tens of monsters broken at his feet.

He strode forward, his broken chains dragging against the floor, till he reached the cell door. His fist met solid metal. Again and again, he punched the only remaining obstacle to his freedom. His skin tore, and his bones broke, but eventually, the door fell. A simple door could never stand up to his will.

For the first time in 16 years, Tommy stepped out of solitary confinement. He squeezed his fist, relishing in his new power. He was free, and he would have his revenge. The guards wouldn’t know what hit them.