The goblin in the first room became Sam’s training dummy for new magics. The poor creature suffered the fire and ice of Ruin magic, had its soul distorted and ripped apart by Cabalist runes, was immobilized and strangled by the hardening of its own leather armors, suffered under countless illusions, and was maimed and then healed until it lost its sanity.

Sam held little pity for the monster that had stabbed and killed him numerous times, and so he used the goblin as a practice dummy whenever he mastered a new spell.

As time passed, Sam found himself speaking aloud less and less often. Whenever he did have to speak it was for a magic chant, and his own voice proved surprising to him.

Sam lost himself in the magics of the tome, and time slipped by at a breakneck pace. He had long since lost count of his deaths and rebirths.

Sam discovered by using Restoration magics he could supplant his thirst and hunger for a time. He also discovered he could use Restoration to purify and detoxify the goblin’s meat. This lead to longer periods of study. Unfortunately, purifying the goblin’s flesh didn’t make it taste any less foul.

Sam was obsessed. He wanted to master every spell the book held, but often he would get distracted experimenting with new variations of older spells that he came up with himself.

Without even meaning to, Sam increased the size of his magic pool tremendously through sheer effort. His mana grew to extraordinary levels that would dwarf even master magisters. The ability to train endlessly for years without the side effects ruining one’s body gave Sam a ‘cheat code’ of sorts. Soon enough his mana surpassed the levels of dragons and master vampires, his mana overtook the realm of Gods.

Sam’s physique improved over time. As he took in more and more mana his body grew stronger and more dynamic. His muscles cut an impressive figure, but the changes were so gradual he never really took notice.

-

Without even realizing it, Sam had been trapped within the first stage of the tutorial for nearly a century. It was as if he had disconnected from time itself. He read the last lines of the book, his faithful companion, with a smile on his face. He had mastered everything within its leatherbound pages except Alchemy. Without any ingredients, containers, or other means Sam was unable to produce potions. Instead he opted to simply memorize the processes and recipes. He would practice them when he managed to escape this ‘tutorial’.

The last lines of the book read:

‘And so we have reached the end. I have imparted all the necessary knowledge for one to pick up, practice, and master each one of the seven magical disciplines. The rest is up to you, reader. Will you burn bright as the sun, your light giving way to new day for all the world, or will you wither to embers and ash?’

Underneath the closing paragraph was a signature:

‘Roland Southfair Levitas, Archmage of the Kriegan Empire, circa 1252 a.o.’

Sam closed the book and noticed a strange wetness under his eyes. He vowed to made Roland proud.

-

Sam walked to the locked door and reached within his heart, igniting the fire of his soul. He brought forth raw surging magic and, with the forte of a master, cast a spell that tumbled the lock open.

It was time for his journey to continue.

Beyond the door stretched a new hallway, lit by green torches. He walked forward carefully, stepping around each of the new traps. He was curious about them but opted to avoid them altogether.

The end of the hallway opened up into a massive room. The ceiling was hung high with hanging torches that resembled stars.

In the center of the room stood a 7 foot tall skeleton donning a massive sword and strange armor covered in cyclic runes and pulsing magic.

Sam could feel the ambient mana surging and swirling like a hurricane. Immediately he began forming the runes in his mind, pulling up his most virulent spell.

Ruin magic combined together and electric arcs sparked from the sheer voltage on Sam’s fingertips. With a roar, he unleashed a blast of fire, light, and wind reminiscent of an advanced military-grade missile... But the beast withstood the blow, unflinching like a boulder in rapids; the whorls of fire settled around it like eddies in a wide river. It’s head tilted to the side, as if asking ‘Is that it?’ The monster’s bones creaked like old hinges as it bent a knee, angling itself forward. Then it charged.

“Tch,” snapped Sam as he jumped to the side, avoiding the skeleton’s initial slash. Sam pulled on his mana and grabbed at the shadows in the room, attempting to hide his form through a powerful illusion. The skeleton wasn’t fooled. It launched itself at a random shadow and slashed down, cutting Sam from the shoulder to his opposite hip.

“Fuck!” Sam screamed as he tried to heal the wound with Restoration magic… And then he noticed the sword coming back for a second round.

Welcome to the Tutorial!

Sam slammed his hand down on the floor, upset at himself more than anything. He realized -then- how foolish it was to try and cast an illusion against a creature without eyes.