[SCHEMA]: This concludes the BEGINNER TUTORIAL section describing your CHARACTER SHEET. In addition, the SPELLS section has previously been covered. If you do not have any further questions on these sections, please make the next selection from the MENU items:

[MENU]

[CHARACTER] [SKILLS] [SPELLS] [INVENTORY] [CRAFTING] [JOURNAL] [MAP]

Hmm. I finished Character, I have no spells, so … I’d kind of like to know where I am. With a touch, I selected [MAP] The main [MENU] screen cleared and a map flowed into place, but it was nothing like I expected.

“Wha …?” I said, my voice breathless in shock. “What have you done to my world?”

[SCHEMA] In order to facilitate contact between all surviving life forms, it was decided to return this planet to an earlier state. This is the arrangement of land masses your scientists have labeled as ‘Pangaea’. This supercontinent is how your land masses were arranged approximately 175 million of your local years ago.”

I was totally speechless. Now that the first shock had passed, I could make out the main continents. South America was prominent with Africa canted a little, but still recognizable. Where the Atlantic had once separated the two continents, there remained what looked like a large river. The East Cost of North America sat above Africa to its north-west across a strait and an impossibly small-looking Eurasia to the north-east, its southernmost part barely kissing Africa’s northernmost, and open seas encircled the whole thing.

I focused on the Florida peninsula and moved my eyes to the west where the southern tail of Texas joined Mexico. I willed the map to zoom in on that area, but nothing happened.

“Why won’t the map zoom in on my present location?” I asked.

[SCHEMA] Your map will only show the parts of your area that you have personally explored unless another USER shares their map with you, or if you have found or purchased a system-approved map.

“But why doesn’t the map at least show my present location?” I asked, frustration tinging my voice.

[SHEMA] You are not presently located within the physical dimensions of your planet as you understand it. The BEGINNER TUTORIAL is what you would understand as a pocket dimension created specifically for your individual use and will be disincorporated after you leave the BEGINNER TUTORIAL. If you are familiar with what your species knows as a video game, you may think of this location as an “instance.” Instances are created by the SCHEMA system for TUTORIALs, certain dungeons, and training, among other purposes.

I didn’t even know where to start, or what to think. I just stood there, mouth open, as the implications set in. Finally, I realized that it was all just too much to handle, and I did what I usually did in such situations: I ignored it, and moved on.

“Okay,” I said, and winced internally at the shakiness of my voice. Damn, but I hated to be afraid! Sure enough, the heat of anger immediately flared up in my chest and steadied me. I hated fear, and anger had always been my go-to when that happened.

“Fine,” I spat. “[SKILLS], then.”

[SKILLS]

The page was divided into two parts labled SKILLS and ABILITIES

“What is the difference between a SKILL and an ABILITY?” I asked SCHEMA

[SHEMA]: SKILLS are learned while ABILITIES are innate. All ABILIITES that you learned or acquired in your previous life can be translated into the system after the prerequisite SKILL has been learned. Additionally, some SKILLS and ABILITIES are passive, while others require conscious activation to use.

[SKILLS]

LEAP OF FAITH: (Passive) You no longer require exhaustive information before coming to a conclusion! LEAP OF FAITH may make learning other SKILLS and/or ABILITITIES easier to learn!

[ABILITIES]

INTUITIVE LEARNER: (Passive) Learning other SKILLs and ABILITIES without prior training increased by 2%

CRITICAL THINKER: (Active) Puzzles and problems are 2% easier to solve

I remembered getting the notifications for these, but I didn’t recall whether it had mentioned if they were active or passive or not. My one SKILL and my ABILITY Intuitive Learner were both passive, while CRITICAL THINKER was listed as active. I guessed that made sense, since I had to consciously apply myself to think about something critically.

There were no more skills or abilities listed. I was about to move on to the next section when a thought occurred to me. “Is there a limit on how many skills and abilities I can learn or use?

[SCHEMA] No

Okay. Well, that answered that.

“Let’s move on to INVENTORY, then.

Immediately, the screen split into two sections. On the right was an outline showing a human body with different sized squares outlining the head, neck, shoulders, upper and lower arms, wrists, hands, torso, waist, upper and lower legs, ankles, and feet. To either side of the arms were square outlines, and five small squares under each hand. The sections that covered the torso, legs, and feet were filled with pictures of the clothing I was wearing, while the rest were empty.

The right-hand section was a 5 X 5 grid of squares, and the top line of 5 squares contained various objects. The first three looked like test tubes holding red, blue, and green liquids, then what looked like a partially unwrapped candy bar, followed by a knife.

[SHEMA]: The diagram on your left is a representation of all the items you currently have equipped. Focus on each item to read its description.

I switched my focus back to the left section and willed my eyes to focus on the picture of the shirt that filled the torso section.

BEGINNER Tunic: This is your default clothing. This item is soulbound and cannot be stolen, sold, dropped at death, or given away until it is replaced by another soulbound item of the same type.

Armor 0

Make Homespun Cloth

Type Light

Durability N/A

Weight 2

Rarity Universal

Value 0

“What does soulbound mean?” I asked.

[SCHEMA] an item that is soulbound cannot be stolen, sold, given away, or dropped either intentionally or at death unless it is unequipped and replaced with another soulbound item. It can be unequipped and replaced by an item that is not soulbound, and if that replacement item is dropped at death, the soulbound item will automatically replace it upon resurrection or respawn.

“Wait … wha?” I nearly shouted. “Resurrection? You mean I can come back from the dead?”

[SHEMA] It is possible for USERs to be resurrected by another USER, usually a priest or mage who knows the spell or has the scroll Resurrection, or for a USER to respawn at their last bound location, usually a graveyard or dungeon entrance.

“So … you’re saying that I’m, what, immortal, now?”

[SHEMA] The purpose of the SCHEMA system is to facilitate the Hastening of Evolution of client civilizations. In order to more efficiently accomplish this goal, USERs have the unlimited ability to be resurrected by a priest or mage within 5 minutes of death in the field, or within 24 hours of death at a temple. Additionally, USERs have been granted a random number of respawns whereby they will reappear at their last bound location 25 hours following their death.

The words were almost as inconceivable after the explanation as they had been before.

“So, I can come back to live right away if someone resurrects me, or in 25 hours if someone doesn’t?”

[SHEMA]: Correct, though the number of resurrections is random for each USER in order to retain the value of learning from mistakes. USERs never know how many respawns, if any, they have, so they are encouraged to learn how to survive without respawning.

I could hardly believe what I was hearing, but one thing I did know, I didn’t want to find out if I had even one respawn coming. One of my aunts taught me a secret to packing a lot of stuff in a car: “Just pretend like you don’t have any trunk space at all, so you have to get everything in the back seat.” We hadn’t gotten everything in the back seat, but the amount we had gotten in was surprising. I’d seen her pack a whole room full of junk into the space of a small coat closet, once.

The same concept applied; I didn’t have any respawns. Period. As long as I thought that way, I’d never have to find out that I didn’t have one left.

*DING*

WILLPOWER +1

I willed the notification away, anger flaring in my chest, again. The whole situation made me afraid, which meant I was mad and willing to take it out on the first thing to come along.

“Can I stop these fucking notifications from popping up every time I turn around?” I spat.

[SHEMA]: Yes. From now on, each time a notification appears, you may move it out of your line of sight or minimize it into a blinking icon and then move that icon to the sides, top, or bottom edges of the screen. After the first time, every notification of the same type will be automatically minimized until such a time as is convenient to review. Additionally, if you wish, all notifications will be automatically minimized during combat. Do you wish to minimize notifications during combat at this time? WARNING! Notifications contain information SCHEMA has categorized as vital for survival! Completely dismissing a notification without reading that information is not recommended! WARNING! Minimized notifications will automatically expand 24 hours after being minimized if not reviewed beforehand!

“Uh, yeah. I want to automatically minimize all notifications during combat.” Not that I planned on getting in any fights, but if I did, I sure didn’t want giant stone blocks of text blocking my vision.

The good thing was that the notification and SCHEMA’s warnings had successfully distracted me from being angry, and I was ready to continue with the TUTORIAL.

I focused on the shirt again and the same information popped up:

BEGINNER Tunic: This is your default clothing. This item is soulbound and cannot be stolen, sold, dropped at death, or given away until it is replaced by another soulbound item of the same type.

Armor 0

Make Homespun Cloth

Type Light

Durability N/A

Weight 2

Rarity Universal

Value 0

I was about to ask SCHEMA what the Armor description meant, when, acting on a hunch, I instead willed myself to focus on the word. Immediately, a description appeared:

Armor values indicate how much damage an item can block. The higher the armor value, the more damage an item can block. The BEGINNER TUNIC does not block any damage.

*DING*

CRITICAL THINKER: (Active) Puzzles and problems are 3% easier to solve

I almost dismissed the notification but remembered just in time to minimize it so that new ABILITY notifications would now automatically minimize. Immediately, the notification box became a small, slowly blinking square. I reached out and moved it over to my far right field of vision where I hoped it wouldn’t get in the way of anything. My face flushed with pleasure, and I almost got angry again at how little it took to give me a feeling of accomplishment, but I guess if you looked at the situation rationally, I was virtually the same as a newborn baby, at this point.

Then, I focused on Make:

This tunic is made of crude homespun cloth made from hemp fibers.

Heh, heh, everything I have is made of hemp; I guess there’s no prohibition here!

Type was next:

This tunic is considered Light Armor. Light armor is typically manufactured of some type of cloth, split leather, or suede

Durability:

Durability does not apply to soulbound items, while they may be damaged normally for their type, after you sleep, resurrect, or respawn, they will be back clean and whole.

Well, that’s nice, I guess.

Weight:

This tunic weighs 3 pounds

Rarity:

Universal: Every USER receives the same BEGINNER TUNIC. Items are classified by how commonly they may be found in containers or dropped by creatures. The rarity scale is (from least to most)

Universal

Common

Uncommon

Rare

Epic

Legendary

Divine

Typically, the rarer an item, the higher the quality and cost.

Value:

This tunic cannot be sold, therefore it has no value. Even if it could be sold, everyone has one, so nobody would buy it.

I moved on and focused on the pants and shoes:

BEGINNER Leggings: This is your default clothing. This item is soulbound and cannot be stolen, sold, dropped at death, or given away until it is replaced by another soulbound item of the same type.

Armor 0

Make Homespun Cloth (Hemp)

Type Light

Durability N/A

Weight 3

Rarity Universal

Value 0

BEGINNER Shoes: This is your default clothing. This item is soulbound and cannot be stolen, sold, dropped at death, or given away until it is replaced by another soulbound item of the same type.

Armor 0

Make Homespun Cloth (Hemp)

Type Light

Durability N/A

Weight 3

Rarity Universal

Value 0

I looked Next, I considered the square outline around the head of, I guess it would be my figure:

Head

Armor

Make

Type

Durability

Weight

Rarity

Value

So, whatever I wore on my head would appear there. From there, I moved on to each square outline as I came to them, noting that they were named only for the body part with the exception of the narrow rectangles at the neck, wrists, and ankles which were labeled:

Amulet, Bracelet, and Anklet respectively. The squares to either side of my arms were named (from left to right):

Offhand, and Main hand. SCHEMA knew everything about me, so it made sense that it already knew that my right was my main hand. I guessed for weapons, or maybe a weapon and a shield. I started to ask, but then decided that I had already spent a lot of time on this. I’d surely find out whenever I equipped something. I was about to move on, but I just couldn’t. Sure, I’d spent a lot of time, but this was my life I was playing with! What if the spaces were for something vitally important and I missed it just because I was impatient?

*Ding*

I heard the notification chime, but the notification itself automatically minimized. I felt that same sense of accomplishment that I’d done something good. Since I wasn’t in any danger, and, yeah, I was curious, I opened up the slowly blinking icon:

The one about the increase to my CRITICAL THINKER ABILITY was first and I was able to dismiss it. The new one immediately appeared in its place:

WILLPOWER +1

Heh, heh, heh! Being a stubborn son of a bitch was finally paying off! I dismissed the notification and focused on the two squares again:

Offhand Weapon or Shield:

Armor/ Damage

Make

Type

Durability

Weight

Rarity

Value

Main Weapon

Damage

Make

Type

Durability

Weight

Rarity

Value

So, I was right. I didn’t have any weapons or shield equipped, but when I did, I guessed I’d see them in those places. Impulsively, I looked over at the right-hand grid to where the picture of the knife was. I focused on it and thought Equip

Immediately, the knife disappeared from the grid and appeared in my image’s right hand. What I hadn’t been expecting was for it to appear in my right hand! In my surprise, I dropped it to the ground. I noticed that it immediately disappeared from my inventory screen, as well. I bent down and picked it up, then focused on it and the description appeared:

Main Weapon: Rusty Knife

Damage

Make

Type

Durability

Weight

Rarity

Value

1-3

Crude Iron

One Hand/Bladed

10/10

0.5

Common

1 c

I was about to unequip it back into my inventory when I felt a light tug at my waist. A belt had appeared wrapped around me; more like a crude length of rope, but there was a crude wooden sheath attached on the right, so I sheathed the knife. Interestingly enough, its icon stayed in the square next to my right hand, so I guessed it counted as equipped, even when it was in its sheath. Also of note, the narrow rectangle at my waist now had a picture of the belt. I focused on it:

Belt

Armor

Make

Type

Durability

Weight

Rarity

Value

0

Rope (Hemp)

Light

10/10

0.5

Common

0

Next, I moved on to the small squares under each hand. Each of them, when I focused on it, simply said:

Ring

Well, I couldn’t say whether or not I’d ever been the kind of guy who wore rings, but 5 on each hand seemed excessive to me. Maybe people didn’t wear a ring on every finger, but they had a space for a ring in case someone wore it on an uncommon finger, or something.

Finally, I came to the shoes, which were basically the same as the rest of my clothes cheap homespun crap.

So, that was the left-hand side sorted, I moved on to the grid of 25 squares on the right. The first three squares had some kind of test-tube looking containers each of a different color. I focused on the first, red, one and it said:

Potion of Minor Healing: Drinking this Potion Heals the USER for 10 LIFE

Well, that’s nifty. I thought. Basically one of those would heal a BEGINNER like me almost completely. Next I moved to the blue one:

Potion of Minor Mana: Drinking this Potion Restores 10 Mana to the USER

Nice.

Potion of Minor Stamina: Drinking this Potion Restores 10 Stamina to the USER

Next, was the partially opened candy bar one. Now that I looked at it a little more closely, instead of a paper wrapper, it looked like it was wrapped in some kind of leaf:

Travel Ration: This Travel Ration is Concentrated to Supply 100% of a USER’s Daily Nutrition

Huh. I concentrated on the square, but nothing happened. Then, I though “Travel Ration” and it appeared in my hand. Sure enough, it was a hard rectangle more the size of a protein bar than candy, and wrapped in a leaf. I smelled it, and it smelled kind of earthy; I was probably just smelling the leaf. I started to unwrap it when SCHEMA interrupted

[SCHEMA]: WARNING! It is not recommended that you consume any of your supplies during the BEGINNER TUTORIAL! These are your BEGINNER supplies and have been judged to be essential to survival. You will not be able to replace them unless you find them in a container, dropped by a creature, or if you find a Store or another USER to trade with.

Okay. I hope they feed us something during this TUTORIAL, because judging by the sun, it’s already about noon, and I haven’t eaten anything all day.

Still, I thought about putting it back in my inventory, and it disappeared from my hand.

“What if I have something that’s bigger than one of these squares, I asked SCHEMA, “will it take up more than one, or will I not be able to store it in my inventory? And, where does it go when I store it, anyway?”

[SCHEMA]: USER inventory is in a pocket dimension soulbound to the USER. Each item you store takes up one square, regardless of size, as long as it does not mass more than the USER. So, you may store a staff which may be 6 feet long, but as long as it does not have more mass than you, it will store as any other item. WARNING! You may only store inanimate objects in your inventory! If you try to store a living item, it will not survive. Additionally, items stored in your inventory may not be stolen, and only you can know what your inventory contains. WARNING! If you are captured or arrested, there are items or spells that may be used that will prevent you from accessing your inventory. All items stored in your inventory undergo a 98% weight reduction allowing you to carry more weight than your STRENGTH would normally allow. You may purchase additional slots for your inventory at the Store, or inventory expansions may be awarded by quests or in rare cases when a USER attains certain levels.

That was helpful information. It will be really nice not to have to worry about pickpockets or muggers.

That finished out my INVENTORY section, so I mentally selected CRAFTING. Another grid popped up, the same size as the INVENTORY, but with no picture on the left-hand side. This grid was completely empty.

[SCHEMA]: This is your CRAFTING INVENTORY. It will hold all items that are specifically for crafting purposes. USERS do not have to separate items between the two, it will sort them automatically each time you store something in your INVENTORY. Examples include plant materials for use by Alchemists, ore for Smiths, cloth and animal hides for Tailors, and so on. Depending on your class, you will be instructed on how to prepare each item for proper storage. Items stored in your CRAFTING INVENTORY undergo a 98% weight reduction, cannot be stolen or lost, and nobody but the USER will know the contents. Additionally, items stored in your INVENTORY will not age or spoil, so if you store raw meat for use in Cooking, it will retain its freshness indefinitely.

“Wow! That’s really great! No more grungy brown water in the bottom of the salad bag!” I don’t know why, but this feature excited me more than the others.Though the weight reduction was probably the most miraculous feature, it hadn’t excited me as much as no spoiled food.

“Can I store prepared food in there too?” I asked.

[SCHEMA]: Once an item has been crafted, it is no longer an ingredient, but a finished product. You may still store it, and it will still retain its freshness—and even its temperature—but it will take up a slot in your main INVENTORY rather than your CRAFTING INVENTORY.

Okay, that still meant I didn’t need a fridge anymore, as long as I had room, anyway. I might have to check the prices of inventory expansion slots, because I could fill up 25 slots with fresh or prepared food, alone!

The next section was labeled JOURNAL, and when it opened, it looked like a page in a book. To the side, there were four tabs:

JOURNAL:

ACTIVE COMPLETED RECORD NOTES

The JOURNAL had opened to the ACTIVE tab:

Complete the BEGINNER TUTORIAL.

REWARD: 100 EXPERIENCE POINTS, 10 GOLD, BEGINNER EQUIPMENT, CLASS SUPPLIES

BONUS: Varies

SCHEMA anticipated that I’d want to know everything, and began the explanations without my having to ask.

[SCHEMA]: The first section is for active, or uncompleted quests. It will describe the quest requirements, and the reward for completion. Every quest granted through the system will award experience points, at a minimum. Most quests will also have a monetary award, and some quests will also include items that vary depending on the individual quest, but are usually related to the quest in some way. The BONUS section is for early or exemplary completion of the quest. Not all quests will have a BONUS.

Í notice that the cash value is listed in gold, is that 10 ounces of gold, or what, exactly? And what is the rate of exchange?

[SCHEMA]: The monetary value as listed is in coinage. All official currencies must go thorough the SCHEMA system so that the coinage will be uniform across all areas of the planets, and planets in the Greater Galactic Civilization. The rate of exchange is as follows:

100 Copper = 1 Silver

100 Silver = 1 Gold

100 Gold = 1 Platinum

Amounts will be listed as, for example, 1 Copper, or 1 c. 1 Silver or 1 s, 1 Gold or 1 g, 1 Platinum or 1p

What if I barter with someone or work out the price instead of buying it with coins. How will that work?

[SCHEMA]: Barter and payment in kind is allowed. Additionally, planets new to the SCHEMA system often retain all or part of their familiar currencies until enough wealth is built up for a government to have a treasury in system coinage. WARNING! While alternative currencies are allowed, only SCHEMA system currencies may be stored in a USER’s INVENTORY. Addtionally, only SYSTEM recognized items may be stored in a USER’s inventory with the exception of crafting ingredients matched to the CLASS of the USER.

“So, let me see if I understand you correctly, if I go to a town and they’re still using dollars, I can buy and sell with them, but I can’t store them in my INVENTORY?”

[SCHEMA]: Correct

“And lets say I’m a carpenter, and I pick some apples off a tree. Those apples aren’t related to carpentry, so I wouldn’t be able to store them in my INVENTORY?”

[SCHEMA]: Most USERS have the cooking SKLL, even though the USER may not be a cook by CLASS. As such, food items are recognized by the SCEMA system as related to a CLASS, or in this case, a SKILL that the system has recognized. But to answer the intent of your question, if a carpenter found a lump of copper ore, but had no mining or smithing or other related system-recognized SKILLs that required copper ore, that USER would have to carry it in a pocket or unslotted bag, or container.

Huh. I recognize that currencies are generally issued by governments as a means of control of their population, but it seems the SCHEMA system has expanded that level of control to include, well, everything. I’m not sure how I feel about that. Sure, the weight reduction and all that is convenient—in some ways, perhaps invaluable, but I don’t know how I feel about SCHEMA controlling literally every product in the galaxy. I’ll have to think about that one, some, when I have the time.

“Okay, let’s let that go, for now. I think I understand how the coinage and storage works. I touched the COMPLETED tab, and it turned to a blank page, just like a book. I might have been impressed, but I’d had a long day of being impressed, and it was barely noon.

[SCHEMA]: The next section is for COMPLETED quests. Once you complete a quest, it moves from ACTIVE to COMPLETED automatically, and is retained there as a permanent record. WARNING! Other USERS and SCEMA system ADMINISTRATORS may be able to view the contents of your JOURNAL! This may be accomplished by innate ability, as in the case of ADMINISTRATORS, or as a result of a spell, scroll, item, or in some cases SKILL or ABILITY.

Huh, pretty intrusive. I guess it makes sense that SCHEMA and system ADMINs can see whatever’s in your stuff, but having other people know exactly what I’m up to, or what I’ve been doing just seemed wrong, somehow. I was used to having more privacy than that, though I couldn’t remember how my previous life had been, it felt like it was more intrusive than I was used to.

I selected RECORD without comment. The page turned to a page completely filled with writing with a picture of me standing by a tree in a box at the bottom. Then it turned again and kept turning past several more pages. When it finally settled on the last page, I saw it was an abbreviated version of everything that had happened to me since I woke up. Also, each page had a picture of me in a box at the bottom, but now that the pages had stopped turning, I saw that it was actually a selectable video; I could see the arrow in the middle of the picture, like on a computer. I reached up and pushed it, and it played a video of my conversation about my JOURNAL with SCHEMA.

Now, I was angry. Since anyone might be able to see in my journal, it didn’t give me any kind of privacy at all.

“What the hell is this shit!” I shouted, “This gives anyone with the skill the ability to spy on my entire life! That’s some fucked up shit, there!”

[SCHEMA]: Do not worry. Only SCHEMA system ADMINISTRATORS and the USER to whom the record belongs can view the RECORD page of a USER’s JOURNAL unless that USER gives permission. There are no spells, items, or skills that will allow an unauthorized USER to view your RECORDs. While this may still seem intrusive to you, this feature makes justice a guarantee. If a USER is accused of a crime that he did not commit, all that USER has to do is allow the court or the SCHEMA system to share the relevant part of the RECORD to prove his innocence. Additionally, if a USER refuses to allow the court to view his RECORD, the court may appeal to a SCHEMA system ADMINISTRATOR who will view the relevant section and confirm or deny the USER’s guilt.

“Why would a USER not let the court see his RECORD if it would prove his innocence?”

[SCHEMA]: There may be other people or actions visible in the RECORD of the time in question about which the USER does not wish to share. The SCHEMA system is committed to ensuring the privacy of every USER.

Except from itself. I thought to myself, though I knew SCHEMA heard me, anyway. Appearances, I suppose. I touched on NOTES:

A blank page appeared and SCHEMA explained:

[SCHEMA]: The NOTES section is exactly as it says. You may dictate anything into your JOURNAL by thinking specifically about making a note, and it will be automatically transcribed into your JOURNAL. The NOTES section, like the RECORD section, is private and only the USER and those with whom he shares it may know its contents.

This concludes the informational portion of the BEGINNER TUTORIAL