Chapter 1: Sole Survivor

It was early afternoon as Tom Everett took his daily walk through the grassland field of his property. He had inherited this seventy-acre forest land from his parents when they passed away. His father was a General Practitioner and his mother was his secretary. His father and mother had a lot of money saved away before they passed away, leaving Tom with a large fortune. Tom treated his wealth with respect and didn't spend needlessly. Still, he would have traded all his wealth to see his parents again.

Things hadn't improved for Tom by much since their passing. One by one, his lifelong friends moved away from the nearby city to Toronto or other parts of Canada. Eventually, Tom was left by himself. He didn't let that keep him down, though. He kept himself busy with his job doing data entry at a warehouse in the nearby city and his daily walks. He, however, couldn't help but feel like he was just... existing. Tom was a hard worker, but he lacked passion. He could not find that thing in his life that pushed him to be more.

It was late April and the snow had almost melted away. The air was cold and damp. Tom was glad he could finally do his daily walks again. He had gained some weight during the winter and wanted to get rid of it.

The wind started to pick up. The nearby trees swayed back and forth as the wind grew in intensity. Tom tried to continue his walk but found it increasingly hard to move forward. Eventually he was leaning forward just to keep standing.

'What the hell?' he thought. 'The weather report never mentioned the winds were going to be this strong.'

The wind got stronger and stronger. Soon Tom could hear it wailing. Tom felt his feet slide over the ground as he started to lose against the roaring wind. As suddenly as it appeared, the wind immediately stopped. Tom fell face first into the ground with a thud.

"Fuck!" he muttered.

Tom planted his hands on the ground and pushed himself up. He brushed the grass off of his shirt and then looked up. Tom almost immediately fell on his ass when he saw a blue screen suddenly appear right in front of him.

*Ding*

SYSTEM Activating...

The blue window disappeared and was quickly replaced with a new one. This one did not have the ding sound.

Date: Tuesday, April 30, 2020

"Oh my god. I think I might being having a stroke."

Congratulations. You and 99 others around earth have been randomly chosen to participate in a test to allow you to gain early access to the SYSTEM.

'Test?'

The test will involve you fighting a random monster. If you are able to defeat the monster, you pass the test and will gain the ability to use the SYSTEM one year before anyone on earth.

"What monster?" Tom asked the screen.

Ready yourself. Monster spawning in 10...

"What monster?" Tom yelled. "What the fuck is going on?"

9... 8...

"Wait, wait, wait!" Tom started to run towards his house, but it was at least ten minutes away, even running.

7... 6...

"This is bullshit!"

5... 4...

"You can't do this to people!" Tom huffed as he ran with everything he had. His legs were burning.

3... 2...

"Please don't," he begged. Tom sounded pathetic and he knew as much. He just didn't want to die like this.

1... Good Luck

A bright white light appeared near Tom. So bright, it was blinding. Tom held his hands in front of his eyes, waiting for the light to die down so he could see again. He didn't have to wait long.

Tom moved his hands out of the way. His skin paled as he saw what stood in front of him. It was a twenty-foot fat cyclops. The creature wore a brown fur loincloth with a thong back and wielded a large crudely made wooden club. The creature looked confused from its sudden teleportation.

Tom tried to quietly sneak away before the cyclops could see him.

*Snap*

A twig snapped as he unknowingly stepped on it. The cyclops turned around and saw Tom.

"Fuck my life."

The cyclops roared and started to run after Tom. Tom ran into the forest as fast as his legs could carry him.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck,' he cursed in his head.

The cyclops swung his club back and forth as he ran through the forest. The cyclops was able to break the trees apart with his swings.

Tom felt the adrenaline pulse through his veins. He could finally think again as the pain in his legs disappeared.

'Need to think. I have to kill this thing. There has to be a way.'

Tom scanned the area as he ran. He realized where exactly he was.

'There's a old housing foundation nearby. I might be able to trick him to fall in there.'

He always called it an old housing foundation, but it was basically a square hole in the ground with the sides stacked with rocks. All Tom knew about it was that it belonged to the previous owners of the land.

'Almost there, almost there,' he cheered himself. His throat was dry and sore from breathing heavily as he ran.

The cyclops was getting closer. The trees were slowing him down, but not by much.

Tom saw the bushes that stood in front of the foundation and ran through them. He jumped down into the seven foot hole and went to the side to avoid being crushed by the cyclops.

The cyclops ran through the bush and was too late to notice the pit. It fell forward and its head collided with the other side of the pit. Its head bent backwards from the impact and a loud audible crack was heard. Blood smeared the wall as his face was dragged down it.

"Yes!" Tom screamed as he jumped up. "I did it! I fucking did it!"

Tom climbed up the wall and stood at the side of the foundation to look down upon the fiend he had just vanquished. He nearly jumped back when he saw the cyclops' eye turn towards him.

Notice Due to the pitfall trap, the cyclops has suffered massive damage to its neck and head. The cyclops is now permanently paralysed.

The window closed as soon as Tom finished reading it. He assumed it could somehow tell if he's read it or not.

"Ah, jeez," Tom cursed. "God damn it."

Tom wanted this to be a quick kill, but it seemed like he needed to finish the creature off. He pulled a heavy rock from the wall of the foundation and moved to the side where the cyclops' head was. Tom held the rock up and quickly threw downwards towards its head.

*Crunch*

The creature's head crumbled and squished under the heavy rock. Tom wiped away the sweat and his brow and, with a sigh, said, "It's done. Ya happy?"

The cyclops vanished in the same white light it had appeared in.

Congratulations You have defeated the Angry Obese Cyclops. You have completed the test and are now able to use the SYSTEM. Notice Initializing the SYSTEM. Notice Unused energy reserves have been detected on your body.

Do you wish to use them to give yourself more stat points?

"Did you just call me fat?"

The screen didn't reply.

"Sure I guess," Tom replied as he facepalmed.

Notice The process of giving you access to the SYSTEM and using your fat reserves will cause excruciating pain.

"Wait, what?"

The pain was so intense and quick that Tom immediately passed out. When he woke up, the sun was starting to set over the tree line and the sky was a bright orange colour.

'How long was I out? Ugh!' Tom winced as he got up. His entire body felt like he was suffering from growing pains. As he got to his feet, new windows appeared in front of him. He walked as he read the windows.

Congratulations You have successfully connected to the SYSTEM. Notice By completing the test in an unusual manner, you have been given the title "Clever One". By earning this title, you have been granted +10 Wisdom. Notice By defeating a monster many levels higher than you, you have been given the title "Determined". By earning this title, you have been granted +10 to all stats. Notice By defeating a monster larger than you, you have been given the title "Giant Slayer". By earning this title, you have been granted +10 to Strength. Notice By getting all of your vaccinations growing up, you have been given the title "Vaccinated". By earning this title, you have been granted +20 to Disease Resistance. Notice As you were among the 100 chosen to take the test, you have been given the title "One Of The First". By earning this title, you have been granted 5 additional skills, 100 fame, +10 to all resistances and an increase in your unallocated stats points for each level gained. Notice As you were the only one to pass the test, you have been given the title "Sole Survivor". By earning this title, you have been granted 5 additional skills, 100 fame, +15 to all resistances and an increase in your unallocated stats points for each level gained.

"What?" Tom yelled.

Many thoughts ran through Tom's head upon that revelation. His stomach turned as he realized that those people died during the test. The guilt from being the only survivor made him feel like shit.

'All those people. Why?'

Tutorial To see your status screen, say or think "Status". To close, say or think "Close Window". Note: Others cannot see your windows or your status, unless they have a high enough Perception stat or a high level Identify skill.

Tom rubbed his forehead and groaned. He then said, "status".

Status Name Thomas "Tom" Everett Level 1 Experience 0/100 Class - Race Human Alignment Good Currency Canadian $10,696,176.43 Xoth 0 platinum 0 gold 0 silver 0 copper Title Clever One, Determined, Giant Slayer, Vaccinated, One Of The First, Sole Survivor Health 290 Health Regeneration/min 2.2 Mana 240 Mana Regeneration/min 3.5 Stamina 280 Stamina Regeneration/min 2.5 Fame 200 Infamy 0 Strength 29 Intelligence 24 Wisdom 35 Perception 17 Endurance 28 Vitality 22 Agility 25 Luck 31 Unallocated Points 30

'This is... Kinda cool. What the hell is Xoth? Close Window.'

Thinking a command worked as well as saying it. Tom noticed he had thirty unallocated points. Until he knew more about how this system worked, he would let the points sit there for the moment.

Notice Do you wish to continue the tutorial?

"Yes."

Tutorial You can learn more details on your specific stats. For example, to learn more on Strength, say or think "Strength Information".

'Strength Information.'

Strength This stat determines your health pool and the strength of your physical attacks.

One after another, Tom went through the windows.

Intelligence This stat determines a person's mana pool, amount of information you can retain and recall, improves understanding of new topics, and increases magic damage.

'What an amazing stat!'

Wisdom Knowledge and experience. This stat determines mana recovery rate and the ability to generate new ideas based on prior knowledge.

'Okay that second part is fairly vague.' Tom then remembered the pitfall trap. 'Oh. Oh! Okay, also useful. Close Window. Perception Information.'

Perception This stat determines your ability to notice hidden away items or people, gain more information from your surrounding, see through illusions, and increases awareness of nearby threats. Endurance This stat determines your damage resistance and stamina reserve.

It was getting dark as Tom got back to his house. He subconsciously entered his house while he continued his info dive.

Vitality This stat determines your health regeneration and resistances to toxins and diseases. Agility This stat determines your speed and stamina regeneration. Luck This stat determines the chance of your attacks doing critical damage and for events to go your way.

Tom turned on the kettle to get his tea ready. He felt like it was going to be a long night as he learned about this new way of life.

"Close window," he said as he scooped the tea leaves from their tin case and poured them into his tea pot. Tom was getting more excited to learn more about what he was capable of. These stats were specific and each of them had great benefits. While he had a lot of unallocated points, he needed to learn more about what he could become before he could use them.

Tutorial To see your Resistances screen, say or think "Resistances".

"Resistances."

Resistances Physical 25% Disease 45% Fire 25% Plant 25% Ice 25% Earth 25% Lightning 25% Water 25% Wind 25% Spirit 25% Light 25% Darkness 25%

"Holy shit!" Tom was very impressed at his resistances. He knew that he got the bonuses from his three titles, but seeing it was something else. 'Close Window.'

Tutorial To see your Skills screen, say or think "Skills".

'Skills.'

Skills Identify Beginner Level 1 Persuasion Beginner Level 1 Language Comprehension Master Level 10 Book Learning Master Level 10 Teacher Beginner Level 1 Nonchalant Master Level 10 Lightning Strike Beginner Level 1 Lightning Enchant Beginner Level 1 Lightning Shield Beginner Level 1 Heal Beginner Level 1 Purify Beginner Level 1 Sword Skill Beginner Level 1 Disguise Beginner Level 1 Prayer Master Level 10

'These are actually good skills. Let's look deeper. Identify Information.' Tom noticed he could only open one window at a time, forcing the previous window to close.

Identify Type Passive Rank D Level Beginner 1 (0%) The ability to gain information on objects or people. The higher your level, the more information you can find. Persuasion Type Passive Rank C Level Beginner 1 (0%) The ability to convince others through your words. The higher the level, the better your chances of convincing people. Language Comprehension Type Passive Rank B Level Master 10 (100%) The ability to speak, read and write other languages you encounter. The higher your level, the more languages you will know.

'And just like that, all those French classes became useless. This is rank B? Just how high do these ranks go? I'll need to check that out after looking at these skills.'

Book Learning Type Passive Rank SS Level Master 10 (100%) You can immediately absorb knowledge and skills from books. Note: Not all books provide bonuses, knowledge or skills.

'Now we're talking! Double S. I've seen this ranking system before in RPGs. I'm guessing Triple S is the final rank. D must be the lowest. I think I'm understanding this now.'

Teacher Type Activate Rank S Level Beginner 1 (0%) You can grant one of your skills to someone else. Currently limited to one skill per person. Increasing your skill level will allow you to grant more skills to each person. Nonchalant Type Passive Rank D Level Master 10 (100%) You like to blend into the background and remain unnoticed. Subtle actions you take while wanting to remain inconspicuous will go unnoticed.

'Okay. So we have sublevels maxing out at level ten and I see there is a Beginner level and a Master level. This is similar to some games I've played. For now, based on that knowledge and conjecture, I can theorize that levels for skills go from Beginner to Intermediate to Master. Each level has 10 sublevels. That percentage number has to be experience until the next sublevel. Easy to understand.'

Lightning Strike Type Activate Mana Required 20 Rank B Level Beginner 1 (0%) You are able to cast a lightning bolt as an attack. Increasing this skill's level can unlock new, related skills.

'I have actual magic?'

Tom wasted no time in running outside. He searched for a target to try his new spell on. Tom's eyes rested upon a rotten log. His right arm came up and he took aim.

'Lightning Strike?'

The sudden discharge of energy from his hand sent Tom to the ground. It wasn't the force of the attack that made him fall back. The attack was so loud and sudden it frightened him to fall. He looked up and saw that the log had a scorch mark where the attack landed.

'Holy shit, I can use magic. Also... Note to self. Practice later.'

Tom got up and brushed himself off. He got back inside and poured his tea into a cup. Tom took a sip and continued his dive.

'Lightning Enchant Information.'

Lightning Enchant Type Activate Mana Required 25 Rank B Level Beginner 1 (0%) You are able to enchant a weapon with the Lightning element. This will allow the weapon to do additional lightning damage for each strike. Spell will only last for 2 minutes. Leveling up this skill will increase damage and duration. Lightning Shield Type Activate Mana Required 60 per minute Rank B Level Beginner 1 (0%) You are able to surround yourself with lightning, reducing incoming damage. Increasing this skill's level will allow a chance that your attacker will suffer lightning damage from their attacks, and can unlock new related skills. Heal Type Activate Mana Required 15 Rank C Level Beginner 1 (0%) You are able to heal your injuries and the injuries of others. Increasing this skill's level will allow you heal more health. Purify Type Activate Mana Required 20 Rank C Level Beginner 1 (0%) You are able to cure diseases, toxicity, and dispel curses. Increasing this skill's level will allow you to cure higher level diseases, curses and toxins. Sword Skill Type Passive Rank C Level Beginner 1 (0%) You grew up in a world where swords are obsolete in combat. Learn fast, you're going to need this. Leveling this skill's level will unlock new related skills. Disguise Type Activate Mana Required 10 Rank B Level Beginner 1 (0%) You are able to cast Illusion magic to disguise either you or someone else. It will last for 1 hour and can only affect one person at a time. The dispel your disguise, either wait out the time or say or think 'Dispel'. Increasing this skill's level will improve duration and how many people you can disguise.

'Hmm. Could be useful.'

Prayer Type Activate Rank SSS Level Master 10 (100%) You can pray to the Goddess of Xoth, Kara, and she will talk back. First attempt will result in a 100% success. Every attempt afterwards will be chance.

Tom felt his skin crawl after he finished reading this skill's description. 'So this just happened.' He paused for a moment to think on this. The first usage of this skill would be one hundred percent successful. Afterwards, it would be random chance.

'Fuck it, I'm doing it,' he affirmed himself. He might need this skill to speak with her later, but he needed answers now.

"Are you there Goddess Kara," he said out loud. "It's me. Tom."