Ding! Ding! Ding! Hooray! Both of you passed the tutorial phase with flying colors. You did so by completing a difficult optional quest, [First Bold Act Challenge], for your levels, too! John, Xanhilt, we’ve chosen to speak to you in unison since you two seem like a great party.

Xanhilt looked from the big message prompt floating in front of them to John and back.

“I find its cheery tone striking against the horrors that we’ve suffered here,” Xanhilt said.

“It’s crazy,” John said. “It, they, whatever’s running this thing has to be mental.”

“Hm, I find your theory plausible.”

Ding! Now, now, you two. Let’s not be that way. What we have to tell you is important since you’re leaving the tutorial phase and growing up to be real heroes. Besides, all of your efforts will come with rewards. And everyone loves rewards.

“I’m calling bullshit,” John grouched.

Ding! And if you don’t like rewards, shame on you! You should like them, especially you, John. Since you’re the all-star of this event, we got a few things tailor-made for your heroic display.

John grimaced.

He didn’t want to give the people behind the system an inch. He nearly died half a dozen times today. This was terrible.

But a part of him was curious about the rewards.

“Goddammit,” John growled. “What are the rewards?”

Before they got anything worthwhile, the system made hints that they should loot as much as they could now. Part of John didn’t want to listen to the system because it had been a deranged jerk, and it had been a long day that was getting closer to evening for him. But Xanhilt suggested they loot what they could regardless of the system.

“We’ve worked hard for it,” Xanhilt said. “And the fire’s getting bigger. What if it destroys our earnings?”

So, yeah, John got to looting. The two of them split off to get after the big monsters first. It almost seemed impossible for John to dig up what he could from the mauling shambler since it was buried under rubble. He gave it a go, anyway.

That thing’s gotta have some good stuff, especially since I completed the quest.

The first stone block he grabbed was a little smaller than his head. He nearly threw it into the air.

“Oh, snap!”

John lobbed the stone up and down. It still had some weight to it, but it was nowhere near as heavy as it should be.

What the hell? How strong had I gotten?

It was hard to judge. But he could tell his body felt different. His perspectives felt different, too. When he looked around him, he noticed that everything appeared sharper, even if only a little. If that was due to his small allocation of 13 points to [Perception], then his allocations to [Strength] were really significant!

“Something wrong, John?”

“Don’t you feel different?” John asked.

Xanhilt flicked his tongue at the air. “Yes, I do. I’ll need a data-pad to catalog this experience.”

“Uh, is that saurian for journal?”

Xanhilt studied him carefully. “I found our situation growing more and more bizarre.”

“Yeah, let’s get back to looting,” John said. “One problem at a time.”

John dug out the mauling shambler’s corpse. He really felt like a grave robber now, which made his skin crawl. The thing looked smashed up, burnt up, and bloodied up. The smell of it was atrocious. For a world with game-like logic, the realities of death were terrible. Pushing himself beyond his disgust, John hauled the mauling shambler out into the open.

He found a simple necklace holding four pouches around its neck. He found a large burlap bag tied to its waist. The moment John clutched the burlap bag, a jittery tingle traveled up his arms. Whatever was in the bag mattered a lot. The bag also made for a convenient loot holder. Without taking a peek, John tossed the smaller pouches into the bag.

“That’s useful,” Xanhilt said, coming over with a few pouches gathered in his arms. He tossed them into John’s new bag.

“I feel strange about this,” Xanhilt said. “Like I’ve become a primitive. Or a no-good thief.”

John gave him a small smile. “Yeah, same.”

The fire was spreading across the field. It consumed grass and bodies as it went. Seeing this, John and Xanhilt ran ahead of the fire to snatch at pouches they could reach. It was hard and tiring. John felt weariness that was deeper than having low stamina. He felt like his body was working alright, but something inside of him felt super drained.

Despite that, John found his body in working order. His mind was still sharp. Everything that needed to work worked. Whatever the deep weariness could be, it wasn’t a concern for him as he looted as much as he could until the fire became too large for both boys.

By then, the burlap bag was nearly bursting at the seams. John hauled it with one hand while he held pouches by their strings with the other. Xanhilt was just as overloaded as him. They stood at the edges of the glade as the fire consumed what remained of their fight.

Ding! Good, good. Your looting prowess is effective. You might’ve lost some, but you’ve got a good amount of what you’ll need for the journey ahead. Now, from where you are, use [Inner Compass] to feel for the direction going east.

John sighed. “Is this going to lead us to more fights, ding-dong?”

Ding! Trust me, John. Please.

“You’re supposed to earn trust,” John said, quoting his father.

“I do not trust ding-dong either,” Xanhilt said. “But we are without sufficient information that it can possible provide.”

Grimacing, John conceded. He had a good idea of what the system meant by using [Inner Compass] and gave it a go. A tugging sensation from his shoulder pointed the way. He turned and felt the sensation in his chest. Xanhilt did the same. Together, they followed the direction that pointed toward the east, John using [Brightlight Orb] to illuminate the way through the misty, shadowy forest.

After what felt like half an hour of walking without monster attacks, Xanhilt mentioned he heard the sounds of flowing water. He picked up his speed, and John followed. Minutes later, they found a creek cutting through the forest, forcing the mist and shadows to depart. The afternoon had waned further, and the sun was on the last leg of its trek across the sky. A leaping fish sprayed water that glinted in the scant afternoon rays.

“Food,” Xanhilt hissed, his mouth falling open. He dropped his pouches, leaving them in a disorganized pile. Then he started to step forward. “So, hungry. Must eat. Food.”

John dropped his loot. He caught Xanhilt by the shoulder before he plunged into the creek. “Whoa, whoa, man. Slow down. You aren’t going to get any fish that way.”

Xanhilt shuddered in his hold. Then he dropped down into a seat with his knees hugged into his chest. “I should be home by now. Father would have dinner ready. Mother would be back from work as a lead warrior of University City. What am I doing here?”

John shifted side to side, feeling queasy. He should be finishing up boxing practice right now. His mom would have food ready. Dad would either be out in the city in his food truck or home helping mom set the table. What am I doing here? How’d did this happen? Wasn’t I planning to go to college as I continue boxing?

Then John remembered Kevin Baxter and the barrel of the gun aimed at him. Bang. The heavy weariness that was deeper than his health, stamina, and magic became a greater burden. John dropped into a seat next to Xanhilt, feeling weighed down and depressed. Water and food were only inches away, but it felt like too much effort to go after it now.

Ding! There’s so much we… I… want to tell you. But I’m subjugated to a lot of policies. What you’re feeling right now is part of a byproduct of pushing beyond your mortal limits. Everything has a cost, especially at the lower ranks. Either you pay upfront, or you pay your debt.

“So, what is this, magic depression?” John groaned.

Xanhilt stuffed his face into his arms. “Make it stop. I’m already sad. But now it feels like torture.”

Ding! Your [Identify, Rank 2] can answer most of the personal interface questions you may have. When you have the opportunity, look over your attributes and attempt to identify them.

Before we move further and officially conclude the tutorial, please sift through your loot. Make use of all the essence stones you’ve found. It will be beneficial.

John didn’t think he could even lift a finger. He felt like shit. He ought to lay down and just stay down. But he’d been here before. When he lost boxing matches and felt like it was the end of the world, Coach Jackson taught him how to push through. When he first got rejected by a girl he had a crush on, his parents helped him push through. When he failed tests, when he got caught lying when he was a little kid, when he did anything that made him feel like a waste of air, he’d learned to push through.

His spirit might feel down, but he still had spirit.

“Can you move, Xanhilt?” John asked.

Xanhilt didn’t respond.

John sighed and got to work. It took forever. Sometimes, he had to stop and just sit still. When he did so, he moved over to the running fresh water and had a drink. It helped. He made Xanhilt have a drink even though he had to drag him over. Xanhilt didn’t show it, but John felt that a sip of water could help the saurian out.

Then John went back to sorting stones and coins and other things. He checked his haul and Xanhilt’s haul together. They had a lot of stuff from a day’s work.

“Alrighty,” he said. “We got ourselves 148 copper coins, 28 poor vitality stones, 21 poor stamina stones, 15 poor mana stones, 13 poor essence stones, 4 silver coins, 1 astral projection magic core, and 1 pair of good deadman’s cestuses.”

The last two items John listed had garnered some interest from him, especially the deadman’s cestuses. But the way he felt right now muted his feelings, which sucked.

“Come on, Xanhilt,” John called. “I’m not taking all of these essence stones.”

“You can have them all. I don’t care,” Xanhilt mumbled.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” John said. “I’m not the only one who fought. I’m not taking all of these stones. Either you split them with me, or I’ll throw them all away. And that’ll be a waste of effort.”

Xanhilt glared at him, which was kind of scary. His reptilian eyes seemed to dissect John and his words.

“Fine,” the saurian hissed. “It would be a terrible waste if that happened. And I don’t want to look at you as moronic.”

Xanhilt took six stones, and John got the rest.

They found that they were both strong enough to hammer the stones to pieces under their fists, John especially. It felt like one good tap shattered the stones and released their fizzling magic.

John allocated the points toward [Resilience], [Agility], and [Perception] since they had become his mid-tier attributes. [Strength] and [Stamina] reigned at the top. [Poise], [Intellect], and [Soul] fell to the bottom, although it made John wonder if he should improve any of those. He was starting to wonder if [Soul] was essential right now.

Ding! Woo! Awesome! This will be a little bad of me to say, but I got some leeway here while we close out your tutorial phase. Those poor essence stones would’ve stopped giving extra AP outside of the tutorial phase.

“What… marks the end… of the tutorial phrase?” Xanhilt struggled to say. He was so quiet, John barely heard him.

Ding! Good question. You fit two out of the three metrics right now. Reaching Rank 2, accomplishing your first quest, and making it to the nearest town. You can pass the tutorial phase by meeting any of those requirements, but doing two out of the three is excellent. Most outerpeople zip straight for relative safety and miss out on the incredible growth you can get in these initial levels.

John grimaced. So, that’s why we’ve started in an evil forest. The system’s making us power level even if it costs us our lives.

“That’s shitty, ding-dong,” John said.

Ding! Don’t blame me! I’m not totally in charge. Just doing what must be done. And look at the bright side! Now the two of you have some decent advantages going forward, and that’s before adding your tutorial quest rewards.

“Cool,” John muttered.

Xanhilt stared.

Ding! Yeesh, tough crowd. Let’s start with Xanhilt. From the moment you’ve arrived, we’ve noticed your scholarly side and decided to help you develop a new talent⁠—[Intelligent Spirit, Rank 1], granting you +1 intellect and +1 Soul with every personal level up. And to add on top of that here’s some quest experience! Xanhilt, you’ve leveled from Lvl 10 to Lvl 11. You’ve leveled up again! From Lvl 11 to Lvl 12. Huzzah!

John let out a low whistle. “So you just got 20 attribute points instead of 16 if my math’s correct.”

“Indeed, it is,” Xanhilt said. “Though I must say, I am feeling a smidge better now after allocating most of it to [Intellect] and [Soul].”

“Really?”

“Only a smidge,” Xanhilt said.

Well, at least he’s talking more. John still felt like he was at the bottom of a deep pit. I’m acting okay because I’ve been through this, but I rather not feel this crap.

Ding! Now, let’s move on to you, John.

Xanhilt of Xazcor and Hyltfyx, Lvl 12

Race: Outersaurian, Rank 2

Weapon Art:

Blessing: Lightning of the Gods, Rank 2

Total AP: 151

Resilience: 15

Stamina: 15

Strength: 15

Agility: 20

Perception: 15

Poise: 20

Intellect: 24

Soul: 27

Unspent AP: 0

Talents: [Intelligent Spirit, Rank 1], [Identify, Rank 2], [Urmatia Linguistics, Rank 1], [Inner Compass, Rank 1].

WA Skills:

Magic Cores: [Gale Stream, MCP 11], [Brightlight Orb, MCP 1].

Available MCP: 0

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