Broken bones didn't hurt as much as they did in real life, but that didn't mean it wasn't onerous.

Broken nose and cheekbone, missing teeth, fractured elbow, shattered kneecap, dislocated shoulder, ruptured spleen, punctured lung, thirteen cracked ribs, just a few of many injuries - it was a miracle that Gram managed to dig through the shells before the internal bleeding procs killed the thief.

"You look awful," Gram remarked. It was as if he uncovered a zombie.

"Just get me out."

It was quite a struggle to extract the injured player. Gram could only pull with one arm, and most basic movements were impossible for John. He rolled out onto the sea of shells and stuffed himself with food.

"It's not too far," John said after a while. "Should be about an hour. We can only hope the Surge scares off any mobs tonight."

At least the Surge itself was gone. The shrooms seemed to have chased after the explosion that occurred in the distance. The only thing left was the hill of shells.

It took them a bit more than an hour to return to Gyead. John could only rely on Gram because of his busted knee. Their trek was further inhibited by the dark terrain which they had to slow down to navigate.

They could only be thankful that the land was calm. They only encountered a couple of nocturnal mobs which were easily circumvented. Every living being was instinctively wary of the nearby outbreak and didn't bother pursuing the two wounded players.

In the distance, the familiar Bulwark was a bastion of light. With residual acid dripping off the wall, it made quite the sight. Guards dotted its surface and shone magical spotlights down at anything that approached. They seemed to also be aware of the nearby Shroom Surge.

The beams converged on the tired users the moment the entered the range. They looked really awful: a warrior with his armor unequipped, an arm dangling at his side; pulling along a thief even worse off with his leg dragging at an odd angle, and his face bloodied beyond recognition.

"Adventurers," a captain called out from atop the humungous structure. "Let them in," he ordered.

Most explorers were expected to return before sunset or camp outside for the night. Especially during such a tense situation, the guards had stored the lift. It took them a few minutes for them to release it. Finally, The Cage could be seen through the openings in the butte, descending.

…

"The tutorial was longer than expected," an archer dressed in starter gear grumbled.

"It was important," Lupe replied. "There was a lot to learn."

The two were part of the hundreds of players who started at Gyead. The archer Kain and the skirmisher Infinite Lupe were part of the Thunder Guild, one of the giants of the competitive community. As star players of their guild, there were sent as part of the pre-release to pioneer the city of Gyead.

John had always thought that Lupe's playful username was a poor fit for his composed nature. Lupe hadn't made it to the top of the swordsman rankings because of outstanding mechanical skill, but rather a calculated approach and excellent adaptability. The swordsman ranking was more prestigious than most rankings too: it measured all users of the ubiquitous weapon rather than users of a certain class.

The tutorial concluded back in the first room at the peak of Gyead's metallic madness. The flow of players exiting the tutorial spread out, descending various paths to explore the city.

"So what do we do?" Kain asked. "There might have been a lot to learn, but I have no idea what to do now. Quests are locked and it's night time."

"It's an acclimatization period, but there are no mobs to hunt. They probably want us to move around and get our bearings. Or they want us to fight each other."

"You want to find someone to PVP?"

"I'd rather explore. You can fight wherever, but the city is first come, first serve."

The two first went towards the market, a huge section of the city which included a considerable chunk of the 15th to the 21st floor. The place was a maze, jammed full of vendors selling various goods. It perfectly represented Gyead with its claustrophobically low ceilings, tight corridors, and a constant dripping even if no water was visible.

"You looking for something in particular?" Kain asked. He was distracted by the bright lights and colorful products. A bow caught his eye.

"Just scanning. Most are rip-offs. But there's definitely a gem or two in here." Lupe answered, moving along. "Though we should buy some medicine." The importance of potions had been highlighted in the tutorial.

Kain put the bow down and caught up. "We've got ten coopers combined; a few potions should be fine. I'm not sure if there's any gem we can afford."

"Who knows?"

On the nineteenth floor, the room opened up into a huge spiral staircase that was wide enough to fit ten people abreast and ran the entire height of the market. Most of the larger vendors put up their stalls around the railing. Some of them were large enough to be considered more of a store than a stand. NPC hawkers barked nonstop, advertising prices.

Security was higher too. Armed guards patrolled the area. More rushed down the stairs, causing the customers to stand aside.

Lupe approached one of the smaller stands, an alchemy shop that sold low-grade potions. "Mister, six A-Grade health potions, please," he told the shopkeeper.

"Isn't that half our money?" Kain whispered, objecting. Each potion was a copper.

"There's nothing else to really buy. The weapons here aren't worth the price." Lupe whispered back.

"Six coppers," the quaint man told him.

Lupe dug out the coins. "And mister, is something going on? The guards seem to be quite active."

"It must be the earlier rainfall."

"Mister, certainly the guards cannot be summoned each time it rains, even if it's not that often."

The shopkeeper gave a Lupe a look. "You're right... It's probably another mushroom outbreak. I'd expect the general to be quite frantic right about now."

Kain and Lupe left with their merchandise and spent another two coppers on small useful items. They headed down the central market stairs after giving the area another scan.

"Let's go to the walls. This mushroom outbreak should be serious." Kain said.

"I think we should keep looking around. The general should be in barracks. It'll be more worthwhile to see what he'll do."

Their tour of the city took them out through the southern market exit on the 17th floor. This district was the largest open area of Gyead, the upper central square. The plaza went from the fifteen floor to the top, open to the sky. The air was a bit damp and there were a couple of puddles amongst the metal plate flooring and bustling crowd.

They took the stairs down to the floor level of the square. "Barracks should be opposite us," Kain said, inspecting a city map they had bought earlier for a copper.

…

The barracks were part of the southern wall of the plaza. In the infirmary, on the twentieth floor, a military priest was busy tending to John and Gram's numerous wounds.

A neat row of beds ran along the room's length; various medicines and tools were placed on trolleys. It may seem unnecessary for most injuries as priests could cure them within minutes, but in the tainted lands, poison was a constant risk. Bedrest was required if victims didn't purify it soon after exposure: most healing spells couldn't rapidly cleanse them if the toxin was given time to set in.

The lighting was soft, but the clinical feeling of the hospital and the absence of any other patients made it uncomfortable. The priest patched up Gram first, mending the clavicle fracture.

Jodie showed up at the infirmary soon after. "You made it." she greeted with a smile.

Gram had sent Jodie many messages during their sundown stroll. But in a game as realistic as RISE, it was different when meeting in person.

"Yeah..." Gram said awkwardly. "Sorry, we couldn't save you."

"It's not a big deal. Equipment drop rates are essentially zero at this level. Assimilation has its advantages."

"I mean you died."

"It's a game, death doesn't matter." Jodie laughed.

"I guess it looked a lot worse for us." Gram remembered the huge waves of tainted fungal spawn.

"I can't recall anything after I cast that fireball."

"Well, the flash was effective. We tried to carry you for a bit before the weight forced us to leave you. Someone fired some high-tier magic in the distance and most of the Surge went after them. We managed to make it out but fell down a hill and I broke every bone in my body." It was John that answered in a flurry of words. He was in a bed by the window, unable to move with the priest tending his wounds. However, he could tell Gram was still distraught by the previous situation.

"Wow, what an adventure!" Jodie exclaimed. "It's too bad I missed it."

"It's just some experience and monster drops."

In RISE, when a mob was damaged by a player but killed by an NPC, they gained partial XP based on contribution. Party XP was split amongst members equally. This was all true unless a player died.

Over the course of their trek, John and Gram had received a continuous flow of XP. The magician in the distance must have killed the mobs flashed by Jodie, giving numerous slight trickles of points. Now, with the flow of XP concluded, the two had both reached level three, 36%, breaking the second Assimilation barrier.

Level three players received their first stat point to distribute. Level four players would receive two and so on, until capping at five per level. John had already invested into dexterity. Generally, pistol-wielding thieves would need more agility, but for the early levels, it was more important to get dexterity.

This level of Assimilation also removed the minor movement assist feature. In the earlier levels, projectiles and spells were corrected slightly by the system to help users adapt to VR movement. It gradually decreased in potency over the earlier levels, but at level three it was completely removed.

As for the item drops, Gram had obtained a huge amount of shells when he dug through the mountain of dead tainted fungal spawn. John had also stuffed his inventory with the drops until he reached the weight limit. Any more and the two wouldn't have been able to return.

Gram and Jodie talked a bit more, while John allowed the priest to finish his work. The medic finished cleaning up the missing teeth and set the nose, working on John's arm now. John gazed out the window, watching the people pass by. The guards were frantically racing around the square, but in the lines of armor, he noticed the common leather equipment of a skirmisher and the clothes of an archer.

He checked his pocket watch. 'It's about time, isn't it? The tutorial should have just ended.'

"Turn this way, please," the priest requested. He was a kindly middle-aged man, with a soft voice that didn't belong in such a frontier.

John obliged, allowing the man to apply the healing magic to his ribs. Priests could heal health with a swish of their staff, but only high tier healing could restore functionality instantly.

"You've suffered quite the injuries," the priest commented.

"I fell down a hill and got buried by little fungal crabs."

"The mushroom outbreak, right?"

"Yeah, we got caught in it as we were heading back."

"Nasty stuff. But you should know, the general is looking for information concerning the recent outbreak," the priest advised. "It might be valuable to tell him about your experience."

John's eyes lit up. These were textbook lines before a quest.

[Essential Information]

A – Grade Difficulty

You have survived a traumatic incident; the mushroom outbreak has devastated your party. It is close, dangerously close to Gyead. The general would like to hear about your intel.

Rewards: (Variable based on information delivered)

Guaranteed: 5 coppers, 5 Gyead Reputation, 500 XP | Maximum: 8 coppers, 10 Gyead Reputation, 1000XP, a weapon of choice from the recruit armory

'Oh, the rewards are not bad.' Typically, A-Grade quests only gave a small amount of money. A recruit weapon wouldn't be great, probably weaker than the Basic Dagger (Lightly Modified) but would definitely outclass a starter weapon.

"Alright you're all done," the priest announced. He ate a dried apricot to restore his health. Such low-level injuries barely cost any HP for the C-Grade healer. "You can find the general at the highest level of the barracks. But you'll need to pay for the medical fees. At the front desk downstairs, please." He had them a paper detailing the applied procedure with his signature attached.

John nodded. He knew the desk was on the fifteenth floor, right by the exit from the square. It would be a popular location to get quests when the main player base broke through that part of Assimilation.

"You both got the quest too?" Gram asked as they left the infirmary.

"Yeah," Jodie nodded.

"I triggered the quest. Of course, I would receive it," John answered. "Let's go to the general after the payment."

The front desk was full of activity. Soldiers were rushing around. A large amount of them disappeared into the depths of barracks, heading towards wall level.

John waited in line before handing over the slip and a pair of coins. The fee was only a copper each. "The payment," he said.

The officer manning the station seemed to be strained. Papers covered his desk as he dealt with a mountain of logistics. He barely glanced at the slip before stamping it and stowing the coins. He gave a quick wave of his hand, calling for the solider in line behind John.

"Let's go meet the general," John said, returning to the party who had been waiting to the side.

"There are other players here," Gram remarked. He gestured towards an archer and skirmisher in another line. Players had a different style of nametag from NPCs.

"It's just other players. The tutorial's over and they should be spread out in the city by now," John dismissed, uninterested. He didn't bother giving the players a look.

Gram and Jodie shrugged, and they climbed back the stairs to hand in the quest.