“Finally,” said Sam, tears in his eyes. He hit his knees, letting his emotions show.

After 10 years of walking the walls of the Jungle, being ambushed every day, and fighting innumerable monsters and plants, Sam had found the exit. He stood a full head taller than when he began the journey and his body was considerably more filled out. His muscles were stone-like and hard, and his face and arms were covered with scars from numerous battles. His beard had been recently shaved off, leaving only stubble behind. This had been the longest he’d gone without ever dying in the Tutorial. Despite the sun being fake, his skin still tanned.

In his happiness, Sam also felt a terrible sense of dread. He had wasted so much time in order to walk the walls… And yet the exit was only five days away from the very entrance he came in from! He had merely chosen a bad direction to travel in the first day he entered the Jungle.

Sam’s soul was both crushed and elated at the same time. Now that he found the exit to the Jungle, he could take more reckless actions in the future. Dying wouldn’t have such terrible consequences.

Sam also noticed the changes in his body over the 10 years he walked the Jungle walls. He had grown taller and his scars from battle remained.

Sam could easily clear the scars from his skin with restoration magic, but he refused to do so. Each one had been earned in the Jungle through life or death struggles. Every scar carried a memory, and each memory carried a lesson.

The scar next to his heart taught him about trust. He had found an injured beast that showed no hostility and nurtured it back to health, wondering if he could finally have a companion… Only for the monster to impale him while he slept three weeks later, nearly missing his vital organs. His heart suffered a wound deeper than any claws could reach on that day.

The scar under his right eye taught him about offense and counters in fighting. It was something he never fully comprehended before until he met the ‘Viletooth’, a type of amazingly aggressive snake.

Each scar was like a badge of honor, and Sam wore them with pride.

-

The exit to the jungle was a large stone corridor etched into one of the walls. At the end of the corridor Sam could see a flight of stairs leading upwards and he grew excited. After such a large trial, a part of him was expecting to find another book.

That part of Sam wasn’t wrong.

The stairs lead to a small safe room. Much like the first two, it had a book in the center.

“Astronomy and Magic, Advanced Magic and Cabalism,” Sam read the name aloud, a smile on his face.

The book detailed star systems, constellations, and their effects on certain magics. Ruin magic would grow in power depending on the cycles of the dual-moons whereas Cabala magicks varied based upon what stars were in the sky.

The book also introduced advanced magic in each discpline and described the Aether planes, the 7 parallel worlds that housed the 7 Demon Lords, one for each of the disciplines of magic.

The Demon Lords weren’t conquistadors like the fantasy stories Sam pictured. Instead they ruled akin to Gods over their own planes of the Aether. They were higher beings and held little care for the mortal realms.

-

Sam spent years moving between the jungle and the new safe room. He hunted creatures for meat in the Jungle often, and used their pelts to build a soft bed to relax on when he slept.

The Advanced Mechanics book opened Sam’s eyes to many of the mysteries and secrets of magic. Everything he thought he knew was revolutionized, and his skills improved in leaps and bounds.

-

Using the fauna and monster ingredients from the Jungle, Sam finally progressed his alchemical skills. He used hollowed wooden and bone beakers of his own making. The lack of unreactive glass held him back slightly, since he didn’t have a sterile environment to make his potions, thus their effects were diluted.

Sam created potions of health, mana, fatigue, feather, shield, and flame resistance. He even developed potions that hardened dirt into a cement-like structure, allowing him to create more permanent dwellings rather than simple shelters.

-

Whenever he would get stuck on a subject in his new book, Sam would make a pilgrimage back to the prior safe rooms. He gathered all three of the books in his current abode at the end of the Jungle zone. By studying and comparing the writing in all three, Sam’s magical studies advanced at unprecedented rates. His mind began to unlock the hardest secrets of the arcane.

-

As the years passed, Sam noticed his body growing more robust to a point… But then it suddenly stopped. When he reached the peak of his growth, Sam stopped aging. He assumed this was a feature of the tutorial, considering his strange immortality. It had been a long time since he had seen the blue screen message.

He looked to be a man in his low thirties, robust, strong, and rugged.

-

Years turned into decades, and Sam became so absorbed into his magic studies that he didn’t notice his old memories beginning to fade. He could remember key moments, but names and faces began to elude him. He still remembered his father’s words, but he could no longer remember his father’s face.

Oddly, this provided some comfort to Sam. At the same time, these thoughts exposed his crippling loneliness. Sam missed people. He missed having friends he could hang around with. He missed having pets, and family, and communities.

Sam missed being human.

Still -despite his trepidations- Sam diligently continued studying magic. He had long since forgotten his original purpose behind such study, and instead opted to study magic to satisfy his own desires. He wanted to learn, and so he did.

-

Unaware of the actual time passing by, another three centuries came and went for Sam. His knowledge of the arcane and mystical grew. His powers swelled like the tides and he learned to call forth energies from beyond the mortal plane.

He mastered magics pertaining to each of the Demon Lords, and could even summon forth their virulent energy through Conjuration. The Demon Lords, of course, loathed being summoned and would often make the very act something to regret… Yet they could not harm Sam. They would play pranks on him at most.

Each and every one of the seven Demon Lords came to respect Sam. They acted friendly with him and even offered him advice into mastering their individual school of magic. Having befriended the Seven Rulers of the Aether, Sam’s level of study increased exponentially.

Sam, of course, cared little for their help in the arcane. Rather, he summoned them to simply have someone to talk with. Even though the Demon Lords were vastly inhuman in their personalities and appearances, they provided companionship to Sam when he needed it the most. Oddly, the Demon Lords themselves enjoyed this relationship for the same reason. When mortals normally summoned them, already an incredibly rare occurrence, they always asked them to do things; to do battle, to teach, or to perform rituals. These were things they loathed.

But Sam invited the Demon Lords not out of contract, but out of friendship. And so they paid him back in kind.

-

The seven Demon Lords were strange individuals.

Belial, the God of Ruin, governed over the Aether Plane of Sadorra where his 10 sons served as guardians, each masters of Ruin magic in their own right. Belial’s appearance was inhuman, often twisted and morphing like muddy water. Belial was incredibly prideful, but he tended to put up a strong front to hide his own kindnesses.

Purson, the God of Conjuration, governed over the Aether Plane of Deterra where his many familiars and demons lived. He appeared to have the head of a lion and often would ride a bear. He tended to be the most savage of the Demon Lords, and usually solved problems by murdering and eating them.

Gusion, the God of Cabalism, governed over the Aether Plane of Cairne, and was regarded as the wisest of the Demon Lords. Often when summoned she would take the form of a baboon. She was incredibly interested in the strange ‘Tutorial’ and often remarked how it didn’t exist in any of the eight planes.

Vendel, the God of Alchemy, governed over the Aether Plane of Sine where all manner of fantastic flora and fauna lived freely, facing no danger outside of their own making. She was often regarded as the most intelligent of the Demon Lords, but also the most foolish. She was also the only Demon Lord who preferred a fully human appearance, albeit she changed it from day to day on her whims.

Rasta, the God of Illusion, governed over the Aether Plane of Fetta. He often appeared as a many-tentacled monster wearing a strange metal domed helmet. The strangest of the Demon Lords, Rasta lived in a world of illusions and had a hard time telling the difference between fantasy and reality. He was terrified of mustaches, for some reason.

Cosal, the God of Manifestation, governed the Aether Plane of Tantiel. She appeared as a multi-armed woman with the head of an owl. Her personality was, perhaps, the most difficult to get along with. Cosal was a renowned pragmatist among the Demon Lords and tended to view the world in absolutes. The notion that morality was more complex than right or wrong eluded her.

Zephyr, the God of Restoration, governed the Aether Plane of Halt. He most often took on the form of a goldfish, but he also enjoyed transforming into a giant honeybee as well. He was extremely gentle and kind, except to the undead. The only time Zephyr showed true passion was when confronted with the undead. He abhored undeath and vowed to oust it at all costs. Because of his gentle nature and passion against the undead, Zephyr was the most revered among the Demon Lords by the inhabitants of the Mortal Plane.

-

Five hundred years. Sam studied for five hundred years with the Demon Lords before he found a bottleneck. Perhaps bottleneck wasn’t the right word for it; 'peak' would be more appropriate. Sam had, at long last, discovered the very highest level of known magics in all the eight worlds. He could stand par with each of the Demon Lords in their own disciplines, albeit they held a slightly more absolute mastery of their individual schools.

Intuitively, he could feel the proverbial ceiling above him. Deep down he felt his magic could improve further, but doing so would be a hard grind with little gain. It would take millennia to make his magic even a fraction of a percent stronger than it already was.

Sam had reached the apex of all seven Aether realms, and he felt both oddly satisfied and a terrible sadness.

He questioned his own existence and wondered, ‘What do I do from here?’

…

The answer was obvious: enjoy life. Sam’s memories of his previous existence were faint, but he remembered having fun with friends and going to parties. He remembered having dinners with his family and playing silly games. He remembered watching sports with his father about throwing and hitting a small, fast-moving ball. He couldn’t remember the details, but he could remember the feelings… And that was all that mattered.

There was much more to life than magic.

And so Sam, confident in himself, finally continued his journey through the 'Tutorial', leaving the safe room behind him.