With a plink, the skeleton-knight slapped down a crossbow bolt. Then it charged.

Sam dropped the crossbow and rolled forward, dodging the skeleton’s swing. The monster’s sword cut into the stone where Sam had been standing like butter, shaking the room. Using that opportunity, Sam brandished his dagger and slashed across the skeleton’s knees. His mana-infused strike dented the monster’s armor and caused it to stagger back, giving Sam a moment of reprieve.

At every opportunity, Sam continued to blast the skeleton with different magics. From dispels to flames, from freezing temperatures to spears of light, from soul rends to armor manipulation... But nothing worked. The creature seemed resistant -if not outright immune- taking only the bare minimum of damage from anything magical in origin.

Sam's illusions, no matter how complex or powerful, were seen through. Auditory, visual, tactile, and even olfactory illusions, they all made no difference. The monster seemed to sense Sam through some other means.

And so Sam did the only thing he could: he fought with brawn instead of brain. Just like his first tries against the goblin, Sam went after the skeleton-knight time and time again, and with each fight he grew more and more skilled. Something had to eventually work on the monster, and thus Sam opted to try everything.

The battles soon became showcases for Sam. His skills had grown and he started to see the weak points in the skeleton’s fighting style… And so he relentlessly attacked those weaknesses.

-

Sam dashed forward and slashed hard, finally taking the skeleton off its feet. He smiled as he moved to deliver the final blow before the monster could recover, but he had made a glaring mistake in his calculations. The skeleton, while on the ground, raised a bony hand and unleashed a burst of raw magic. A massive electrical discharge smashed into Sam, tearing his upper-body apart. Thunder roared in the small room.

Missing most of his torso, Sam stared at the skeleton knight with a slacked jaw. The monster’s hand was outstretched and nearly smoking from the ambient mana it had just produced.

Sam died once again, except this time he died screaming: “IT CAN USE MAGIC?!”

Welcome to the Tutorial!

Sam stopped rushing to fight the skeleton knight. Instead he opted to train his physical combat skills on the goblin in the first room, interweaving magic into his strikes. The skeleton was simply a beast he couldn’t beat with trickery or pure magic. He needed the skills of a real warrior to continue.

And so Sam started seriously training his body. Whenever he fought the goblin or even the skeleton knight, Sam would study their movements. He meditated on the martial arts, and used illusion magics to recreate his foes in safety to practice and explore potential methods of attack.

He used his knowledge of anatomy and Restoration magic to improve his physical training beyond normal limits, and he found his body growing increasingly more powerful as he suffused mana throughout it.

It was at this time Sam finally realized that his body retained any increase in physical strength after death.

This realization opened a whole new avenue to Sam, who began a training regiment that would kill normal men… And it did. Sam died hundreds of times from overtraining and overexerting his body in tortuous ways. He had long since thrown off the shackles of pain, having suffered beyond the capacity of mortal men.

Sam became the embodiment of recklessness. He decided to abuse his pseudo-immortality and train in ridiculous methods. He practiced swinging his knife until his hands and shoulders bled, he punched walls until his frayed knuckles gave out, and he kicked doorways to harden his shattering shins.

Sam forged a body so powerful it could be classified as a weapon itself. He trained for years in this manner.

During this time Sam never neglected his magic, either. He practiced weaving magic into his combat.

Eventually, after an extraordinary amount of time, Sam determined he was ready to face the skeleton.

-

Using illusion magics, natural speed, and overwhelming strength, Sam bypassed the goblin and traps without wasting a modicum of mana or physical power. He wanted to fight the skeleton knight at full strength.

Sam stepped into the skeleton knight’s room and brandished a sword, something he created by modifying the old rusted dagger with his mana. It pulsed green from the Manifestation magic enchantments inscribed onto it.

With a roar, Sam charged the skeleton and met it in mortal combat.

The dull thud of metal striking metal echoed through the chamber. Sam exchanged blow after blow with his enemy. He took every opening he could find to chip away at the skeleton’s armor.

He matched the Knight’s moves and surpassed them, showcasing his improvements. He was like a God of War personified, and his skeletal foe was soon pressured back.

Sam aimed every strike for a joint or connecting piece of armor, and after nearly 10 minutes of deadlock he finally managed to break open a crack in the monster’s breastplate.

Not willing to waste the opportunity, Sam plunged his sword through the skeleton’s body and unleashed the full torrent of his saved up magic. Sam unchained the fire within himself and created an unmatched inferno of Ruin magic. His spell used his sword to transmit his spell, and the blast struck like a meteor inside the skeleton’s armor, negating the magic resistances that had so plagued Sam earlier.

The monster died in a flash of blinding white light. Not even ashes remained. Once the creature died, the wall behind slid open to reveal a doorway.

Exhausted, Sam fell down and let his sword clatter to the floor. He had nearly no mana left. His attack earlier could pass for the definition of ‘overkill’. He started to focus on healing and regaining his strength to face whatever came after such an indomitable foe.

After recovering, Sam moved to the doorway on the far side and continued his journey. After walking down another trap-filled hallway, he came to the next ‘challenge’ room.

Sam opened the door and was greeted by a soul-crushing sight. Inside the room, standing like statues waiting for his challenge, were two skeletons wearing the same magic-resistant armor as the last one.

…

“Fuck,” Sam muttered under his breath as he rolled up the sleeves to his shirt. Then, with a roar, he charged into a losing battle.