"Okay, how do I do that?" Michael asked.

"Quite simple" the AI replied. "Just say or think Status with the intention of viewing your Status screen." The AI at least had the decency to look embarrassed over almost forgetting to introduce the Status. How a featureless white sphere managed to look embarrassed, no one knew. The fact was undeniable though.

"Okay, Status" Immediately a blue box appeared in his vision, floating a foot away from his face. Whilst it looked solid, it was about as real as a ghost. His hand just phased through it when he tried to touch it.

Status

Name Michael Volker Age 32 Level 1 Experience 0 / 100 Class None Profession None Path Boundless Adventure Race Human Health 80 / 80 Mana 40 / 40 Health Regen 4 per min Mana Regen 2 per min

Attributes

Unassigned Attribute points : 0

Strength 7 Agility 6 Vitality 8 Dexterity 7 Perception 5 Magic 4 Skills General Class Profession Affinities Nature 47% Water 28% Light 23% Earth 19% Fire 11% Metal 9% You have pending Notifications.

"Woah." There was a lot to unpack there and he didn't even know where to start.

"Let me give a quick explanation of what you're seeing." The AI immediately got Michaels attention. "Your name and age should be obvious, no explanation needed there. Your level is currently 1 and will stay that level until you leave as no experience can be obtained during the Tutorial."

"Experience can be gained by killing, either monsters or other Systemised beings, or by completing tasks such as crafting or harvesting resources.

"Classes can only be gained once you reach level ten. Once you reach level 10 you will have the opportunity to visit the Pavilion of Choice to choose your Class and Profession. Each potential Class or Profession will have requirements that you must meet before choosing."

"As you can see, your skills are split up into three categories. General, Class and Profession. General skills are skills that can be learnt by anyone. The Class and Profession skills are those which only someone with a corresponding Class or Profession can learn."

"Your Affinities are the elements which you have some connection with. For instance, Since your body is largely made of water and it is needed for your survival, you will likely have a water affinity above 15%. Any Affinity below 5% won't be displayed so do not be surprised if some appear to be missing. These Affinities have multiple uses. Beyond influencing your class choices, a high affinity will make skills of that element easier to use and have more power. Be warned though, if an affinity goes over 50% then you will take more damage from it's inverse affinity. For instance, if you were to have a Fire affinity of 60% then you would take 10% more damage from Water affinity spells."

"Lastly, we have your base attributes. There are others that you can unlock through various ways but I will leave those for you to discover on your own."

"Strength is simply how physically strong you are, increasing your Strength will directly increase your muscle mass. It gives a major boost to any action that requires strength and gives a minor boost to movement speed and durability."

"Agility condenses your muscles and increases the strength and suppleness of your tendons. It gives a major boost to your movement speed, a medium boost to flexibility and a minor boost to balance."

"Vitality is related to the state of your body. Vitality is directly related to Health at a 1:100 ratio and Health regen at a 1:1 ratio. It also gives a major boost to your body density, with focus on bones and skin, and a minor boost to stamina. Simply put, a high Vitality makes you that much harder to kill."

"Dexterity is an interesting attribute as it has effects that are both physical and magical. Simply put, Dexterity increases your ability to complete complicated tasks. It has medium boosts to both physical coordination and Magical coordination. What this means is that physical maneuvers and techniques such as feints are easier to complete and control. Magically it means that higher level spells and multi-casting becomes much easier to complete.

"Perception is very similar to Dexterity in that it also has physical and magical components. It gives medium boosts to both visual perception and magical perception.

"Magic, on the other hand, is a much simpler Attribute. Similar to Vitality, it gives a hundred Mana per attribute point and 1 Mana per minute Regen for every 2 attribute points."

"That is all the Attributes that you currently have. There are other Attributes that you can unlock through various means but I won't be going into those for now. Do you have any questions?"

Michael looked over his Status sheet with new eyes, understanding the information presented much better. Wait, the AI had missed something.

"You uh, you missed something. The Path section."

"Ah, you needn't worry about that. Paths are unique aspects that are exceedingly difficult to get. Most never see that section filled. You needn't worry about that until you're well into your hundreds or two hundreds."

"But mine is filled?"

"Beg your pardon? It's filled? Are you sure?" For the first time the AI's voice wasn't monotone. The disbelief in it's tone was heavy.

"Uh, yeah? Wait, you were keeping your voice monotone on purpose?"

"Nevermind that! Are you absolutely sure that it's filled? What does it say?" The disbelief had now gotten a frantic edge.

"Boundless Adventure. My Status also says that there's pending notifications if that helps?" As entertaining as the AI's meltdown was, Michael was starting to get really worried.

...

...

After a few moments of silence Michael couldn't take it anymore. "Hello? Mr. AI? Is everything okay?"

"Apologies." The monotone was back. "That was quite unexpected and I needed to check on some things. It would seem that you humans are quite special, quite special indeed."

"Good to know, always thought so. Uh, why? I mean, I know why I think humans are special but why do you think so? I'm guessing there's something 'special' about having a Path, isn't there?"

"In general? Not really. They aren't exactly common but they aren't impossible to obtain. An Intrinsic Path before you've even gained a single level? The odd's of that happening are infinitesimal. I have spoken to Gaia and it has informed me that in the history of the universe it has happened only twice. Now? Now we're up to seven. In case your wondering where the other four come from, they are all other humans. Five! In one species? How is this possible? Maybe it has something to do with Living in a Manaless environment? But the universe is supposed to be filled with Mana. A Manaless environment should make it harder!"

Michael stared at the sphere, a worried expression of his face. Still, he didn't interrupt. He'd seen this sort of thing happen a few times before. Best to just let it play out, Eventually the AI would tire itself out. He wondered over to the table to examine the clothes the AI had mentioned. they seemed decent enough overall, but they were quite plain and somewhat course. Still, Michael had never turned down clothes that were magically created by an AI in a tutorial at the end of the world before, and he wasn't going to start now.

The shirt was black, the pants brown. Won't mention the underwear, though Michael was at least glad they weren't Tighty Whities. He was always up for an adventure, but not that much. The boots were easily the best item of the group. Made from some sort of supple yet thick leather with a sole that looked like rubber but didn't quite feel the same. Whatever it was made from, it was the most comfortable pair of boots he'd ever worn.

After putting the clothes on he checked back with the AI.

"... but the eddies created when Mana interacts with Plutonium would ..."

Nope, still deep in the rabbit hole. 'Okay, let's see if I can figure out the notifications. Maybe i should just say it, like with the Status?'. A few attempts later left Michael with a nope. Thinking to how he would deal with Notifications normally he pulled his Status back up and tried to press on the message about the notifications. after a few moments of trying to press the screen, and failing quite amusingly, Michael tried to focus on the message and mentally 'click' on it. the next instant a slew of blue boxes filled his vision and Michael, after a brief pause to feel smug, started to read.

System Initialising...

System Initialised

Tutorial initialising ...

Tutorial started

"Oh great, Thanks. Really helpful. Not late and completely useless at all." The fact that no-one was around to hear his sarcasm did nothing to diminish the joy he gained from it. Sometimes when the world is collapsing all around you the best thing is just to relax and say something sarcastic. Like chicken soup for the soul.

Congratulations!

To celebrate your species' induction into the System you have been granted the System Languages Skill!

System Languages

Tier Max, Level Max, Utility

Able to understand and speak, read and write any language under the System.

Michael's eyebrows shot up, the skill would be exceedingly useful for the future.

Congratulations!

You have discovered your Intrinsic Path, The Path of Boundless Adventure!

Follow your Path and become a true Champion!

"Okay, I see semi-useless boxes are a theme. What next? A box telling me I'm good at sarcasm?" The boxes were nice but they didn't tell him anything that he didn't already know.

Path of Boundless Adventure

You are a being on an endless quest for new Adventures. This quest knows no Bounds, and neither do you. Go, find your Adventure.

Well, that is more interesting. Unfortunately it gave more questions than information. He had no idea what a Path did, whether it was a good thing or not. It seemed like it was a good thing, but then again so did Triple Bacon Cheeseburgers but apparently they weren't. Michael was still a little broken up about that one.

Intermediate Milestone Achieved!

Dungeon Diver

You are a truly courageous Adventurer. A tier 5 Dungeon is the kind of Dungeon few find and even fewer dare tread. Where most hesitate you dive in head first.

Milestone rewards:

Experienced Diver - Experience gain increased by 100% when in a Dungeon.

I can Dungeon all Day! - Mana and Health Regen increased by 100% when in a Dungeon. Food and Sleep is no longer required whilst in a Dungeon.

'Um, What?' When had he entered a tier 5 Dungeon? For a moment, Michael thought that there must be something wrong with the System. Then it clicked, the Tutorial! The system must classify the Tutorial as a tier 5 Dungeon.

Minor Milestone Achieved!

Customized Dungeoneer

You have discovered a Dungeon that has been customized by another being. A rare find indeed.

Milestone reward:

+10 unassigned Attribute points.

Apparently a customized tier 5 Dungeon. Whilst Michael did feel a little guilty about the Milestones. Afterall, he didn't discover the Dungeon, he was chucked in here by a planet. Then again, who was he to say no to some free points? Even if he had no idea whether or not ten was a large amount, he knew it was ten more than he had. Now came the question of how to distribute them. He pulled up his Status sheet, this time with a bit of focus and by thinking 'Status'.

Status

Name Michael Volker Age 32 Level 1 Experience 0 / 100 Combat Class None Utility Class None Path Boundless Adventure Race Human Health 80 / 80 Mana 40 / 40 Health Regen 4 per min Mana Regen 2 per min

Attributes

Unassigned Attribute points : 10

Strength 7+ Agility 6+ Vitality 8+ Dexterity 7+ Perception 5+ Magic 4+ Skills General System Languages lvl Max Combat Utility Affinities Nature 47% Water 28% Light 23% Earth 19% Fire 11% Metal 9%

Let's see, obviously Michael was going to add a few points to Magic. It may be next to useless right now since he didn't have a single spell or magic based skill but come on, Magic! Who could resist? Still, he couldn't put too many points in. From the sounds of it the wilderness was a hundred times more dangerous and if he was plopped back to where he was taken from, which seemed likely, then that's exactly where he'd be. Still, Magic. In the end he decided to put 3 points into Magic and bring the other Attributes up to 8. With that decided he started making the changes. He found that he could add or retrieve points as he liked, though he couldn't go below the original value, so no accidental increases. As soon as he added the first point the sentence "Confirm Changes" appeared where the pending notifications used to be. After adding all the Attribute points, and one final check, Michael mentally clicked Confirm Changes.

This, this was not what you would call a good idea. In fact, Michael would later label this as his third worst idea he had ever had. The mushroom was undoubtedly the second. As for his first? That involved superglue, a blow torch, a girl named Zoey Christalli and his 3rd grade teacher Mrs. Daniels. Michael was never going to talk about that one though, for both moral and legal reasons. Zoey never did lose her fear of Gerbils though.

In Michael's defence, he had no way of knowing why the idea was so bad until he had done it. As previously stated, he didn't know if ten Attribute points was a lot, which it was. Before level 10 the average human would get 2 points per level, so ten points were equivalent to five levels. He also had no idea that, especially at the early stages, each Attribute point had a drastic effect on the body. Most Systemised beings, when applying points to any Attribute below ten, prepare themselves for the pain of their bodies being forcibly altered by Mana and even then, they only do so one point at a time. Two at most.

What Michael did was essentially the same as running half a Dozen marathons, tearing through several strength training workouts that would make a marine vomit and undergoing the sort of mental stimulation that would be labeled as a war crime by The Hague. Twice.

Unsurprisingly, after 0.2 seconds of torture that felt like 2 years, Michael collapsed to the floor unconscious. Fortunately, the sudden increase of his Attributes and his subsequent collapse was enough to break the AI from his spiralling.

"Oh dear God in heaven above, What was that?" Michael groaned as he sat up. Or, at least, tried to.

"That, was exactly the sort of reaction you would expect from someone that had just increased his Attributes by at least 5 points." The AI was back to his former monotone self.

"Oh good, your back. Hooray. It was 10 points by the way. So, not that much." Michael felt the situation warranted the use of sarcasm and he certainly made use of it.

"Ah yes, my sincerest apologies for my behaviour." How the AI managed to make the blank white sphere look apologetic was beyond Michael. Nevertheless.

By this point the echoes of pain had mostly faded and Michael was able to sit up and take stock of the changes. And boy, were there changes. The first thing Michael noticed was just how much he could notice. He felt like a layer of film had been removed from his eyes and for the first time, he could see. The AI still looked blank and featureless but the walls looked completely different. Michael could now see the faint etchings inscribed on the surface, shapes and lines that almost seemed to glow. It wasn't just his eyes, his other senses were heightened as well. The feel of the cloth on his skin, the smell of his own sweat, even the taste of his mouth. he could even hear his heartbeat. He was surprised that it wasn't all overwhelming him, but it was like it had always been this way. After the novelty faded he found he could mostly ignore the new sensations, much like he did before.

The second thing he noticed was his smaller muscles. They weren't weaker, the opposite in fact. that being said, Michael could finally scratch that one spot on his back that he couldn't before. He could also move a lot faster then before. Like with the perception it felt natural, like he'd always been this fast and just hadn't noticed before.

"It would appear that, in my mental absence as it were, you have managed to gain some rewards from your Path. You need not tell me anything about them but please don't do something so drastic for the rest of the Tutorial. Make no mistake, there is a very real possibility of death within this place. Gaia may believe in giving everyone a 'fair shot' as you humans like to say, but it also believes in survival of the fittest. If you were to fall unconscious in the third phase you would most assuredly die in a very horrible and visceral way."

"Don't worry, I won't be doing that again any time soon. Or ever. That was horrible. Does that happen every time?"

"Yes and no. Every time you add an Attribute point your body, or mind, is forcibly altered by Mana. That is, in fact, how Experience works. When you kill a monster, or anything with Mana in it, the Mana within the monster dissipates into the environment with some of it being captured by your Soul and stored. Once you gain enough of it you 'Level up'. During the Levelling up process both the Mana and your Soul are refined. This refinement increasing the quantity of Mana your soul can hold, and the refined Mana is then presented as Attribute points to be assigned as desired. The process does become less uncomfortable as your Attributes go higher though. I wouldn't advise adding more than one point to an Attribute or increasing more than two Attributes at a time before they reach twenty points."

"Great advice. Little late though. Why wasn't this in the introduction?!"

"It shouldn't have been needed! No one else, not even the other Pathers, has gained a single attribute point so far! I would have explained this to you at the end of the third phase but you decided to break the realms of possibility!"

Silence settled in the room in the wake of that outburst.

After a few moments the Ai broke the silence. "Apologies. I was literally not designed to handle this kind of deviation from the expected norm. It has been ... trying." The AI seemed to have aged a few years in the span of a sentence. It was really quite surprising how much emotion an emotionless tone could convey.

"It's okay. I could have handled that better myself. Tell you what, unless there is anything else, I'll go on to the first phase and get back onto the 'Expected Norm'. Would that be okay?"

"Yes, I believe it would. Thank you."

"Great!" And with that, Michael walked over through the doorway and into the first phase of the Tutorial.