Seeing that the door had been locked and the 17 year old was not answering his own father's voice the man became furious. If this were first time behaviour he would have left the teenager alone, however, this had been the third time this week and John Highlander had had enough of it.

"I swear young man if you don't open the door this instant I'll have your phone taken and I'll give that computer of yours away to some responsible kid which actually listens to their parents! Come and talk with me and your mother already!"

As John continued molesting the door with knocks and slaps Silvia Highlander sighed to herself, head lowered with her hands around her knees.

"What did we do wrong..? Why Shepherd?"

The door finally gave way to the abuse revealing the tidy blue walled room of the boy, adorned by a single bed, a desk and a drawer configured in perfect geometric alignmet.

The room had few to no decorations, its blue walls covered exclusively with architectural sketches and prints of building models, even the desk bore a fresh sketch atop it's beige wooden surface. Everything was in place as it always had been, except for an open window and and a box covered in red paper and a bowtie on top.

Approaching the box John noticed a note by the bowtie but didn't care to read, opening the box his palms twitched in irritation.

"This brat!"

***

Walking through a path surrounded by shrubbery a youth in black tank top and short held onto a old Nokia 3310 next to his ear.

"So, you're saying that you're using one of those old junk phones now? What happened to your smartphone? "

"This one's indestructible Tim I've told you already, there are no greater perks a phone needs! Ah, I gifted it to a poor kid."

Squinting his eyes, Tim chose to change the topic, they'd been talking for 15 minutes straight without a single honest word coming out of Shepherd's mouth. He knew this as a best friend would that for whatever reason the guy he was talking to was only this talkative and cheerful when something bad had happened. And right now he sounded very cheerful and talkative.

"The sunset sure is beautiful huh Tim?"

"Ah, lemme go to a window first... It's a normal sunset from what I can see, dude."

Smirking Shepherd looked up through the bare autumn tree branches, reddened clouds and orange sunlight, he felt like a stone in his chest had melted into warm water washing through his body.

"Ah but it isn't, Tim, every sunset is a different sunset."

The two stood in silence for a while, a long while, a really long while, a long time,a very long time, thirty seconds. Thirty seconds and Shepherd finally noticed his phone had died.

'I swear I'd charged it...'

He pressed on the phones 'on' button a few times without success, but hey being alone in the mountain at dusk with no way to contact anyone wasn't such a bad experience. There were plenty of dirt roads to keep company.

Sitting down on something of a medium sized stone he began observing an anthill. Black little critters would go out of the mound empty handed, or empty mandibled? while others approached and entered the hill carrying freshly severed bug parts to to feast on inside, yum.

As time passed it quickly became apparent that further watching of the the ants would become impossible so Shepherd decided to finally start heading home. He took a step, then another then mid third stride he froze still.

'Ah, I forgot I won't be going home tonight.'

He turned and peered his eyes towards a cave in the distance, this would be tonight's resting place. As he climbed up the steep boulders above he suddenly heard a voice coming from no obvious source or direction, being mid climb to the cave he decided to attend to the voice later, when he was up and inside the cave.

Having reached his destination he felt a deep satisfaction fed by years of melamcholy, he'd finnaly have something of a place of his own. For the night at the very least.

Suddenly, the voice returned his attention being sucked in immediately

The voice proclaimed as a strange light appeared into view on the nearest wall of the cave.

'It says 58 57 56 55... Wait... WAIT!'

'I'm tripping, right? I must've breathed in some mushroom fumes or something right? Yeah that must be it.'

Having found a reasonable explanation Shepherd placed a cloth on the dirty ground below and sat chugging his water bottle for a sip. He'd had some sleep paralysis once where he had a demon voice speak to him about death and destruction but it had passed no sweat, right, so this should pass just as well! He was in hope that it wouldn't though.

10, he gulped the water down his dry throat,

7, his face turned red,

5, sweat began rolling down the side of his face,

3, his breath quickened,

1 full adrenaline mode!

"No"

"... Eh, uh um Benevolent yes? What would said proposition entail if I were to accept?"

His heart still beating a hundred miles an hour, Shepherd drew a deep breath in and said accept.

Suddenly the surroundings took on a bluish tint and the trees grass and flow wind stilled in movement. Not a single one of the thousands of tree leaves and blades of grass dared to move, a deathly quiet and presence pressing on Shepherd's perception. He wasn't that deep in the cave, not that it went that deep anyway, now in particular he was near the edge of the entrance,what laid beyond the said edge? Just a 50 foot drop, nothing to sweat too much over...

Needless to say, if he was going to fight against a monster or two he'd need to avoid falling to his death, picking up the cloth he'd been laying on Shepherd began walking deeper into the cave. Ten large strides and he was turned with his back to the deepest point of the cave. Readying a stone he'd found on the ground he grit his teeth, adrenaline overtaking his body and mind.

"READY!"

The moment he said "ready" a white cloud of a bipedal haze began materialising in front of him. Slowly the haze began condensing, and in no time a brown rodent like humanoid appeared standing at about three and a half feet tall.

It was pretty much unarmed with but a loin cloth covering it's business sector and it didn't look particularly muscular. But being adrenaline fueled with nowhere to run, size shape or equipment didn't matter to Shepherd and he would fight anything that dared come his way right now, he immediately charged at the beast!

The moment Benevolent said -Battle- the rat also began charging forward, however the Shepherd had already began charging the moment the rat had materialised it's form and the difference in momentum was clear! Seeming to have been struck by realization the rodent squeaked and attempted to change course but to no avail, inertia was merciless. A front kick to the rodent's sternum, CRACK, and the beast was sent tumbling through the cave entrance to it's death.

He didn’t have information on classes or their implications yet and he didn’t have the time or focus to ask either

“Can I unlearn and relearn skills? And what’s the difference between the martial arts I’ve learnt already and the skill category ones?”

Since it was striking and blocking it was universally applicable to almost any kind of battle situation, nodding his head Shepherd accepted the skills.

Soon a second haze began forming, unexpectedly though, the creature materializing was half a foot shorter than the last at only three feet tall. Again, the moment it began condensing its form quickened into being, and so a scorpion like creature appeared. It may have stood on six legs but its torso was upright and it had something of a head going with its strange morphology.

Just as before, Shepherd was already mid charge when Benevolent gave his command, but unlike before the creature didn’t charge at him but moved to the side. A better look of the thing revealed a long stinger ended tail on its behind, one thing was for sure Shepherd didn’t want the stinger anywhere close to him.

Using the momentum he’d built up instead of just stopping and have his energy wasted he threw the large stone in his hand toward the creature which much to his dismay it dodged easily. The creature squirmed out some strange noise and after lifting its large black pincers it charged at him.

‘Well shit!’

He thought to himself as he narrowly dodged a pincer clamp followed by a sting jab, ‘fast’! Until then fight mode had been on, but now with his adversary showing unexpected prowess inklings of fear began seeding themselves in Shepherds mind. He attempted to strike the creature with a side kick but was met with a grapple instead of the expected impact, as well as a sting to the calf.

‘FUCK’

“Status!”

He yelled out as he flung the creature away from his leg which was now pulsing in pain. The pain was a sign he hadn’t taken this fight truly seriously, this could be a life and death situation so what were his adrenal glands slacking off for?! As he readied himself with some kick box footwork and shadowboxing he saw something projecting itself on the wall just as the initial countdown timer had.

Hit points: 190/220

Mana: 100/100

Free stat points: 10

Name

Shepherd Highlander

Strength

Str

15

(+0)

Level

1

Constitution

Con

12

(+0)

Class

/

Dexterity

Dex

12

(+0)

Race

Human

Agility

Agi

13

(+0)

Titles

/

Energy Flow

EnF

10

(+0)

Status

Poisoned(-10 hp/min)

Energy Capacity

EnC

10

(+0)

Taking a glance to check if the monster was charging, he stared at the table to his side intently. What path should he take? What stats were desirable at low levels? What about higher levels? Class? He’d always wanted to be a rogue type warrior, so maybe Dex? But his strength was his highest stat, warrior? Questions filled his mind but he quickly brought himself back into reality.

What was happening now had only been a funny thought he’d have once in a while after playing MMORPGs or RPG, what if this was how life was haha?, a funny thought which turned out to be a painful reality. And with the monster beginning another charge it would become even more painful.

“5 points in dexterity, 3 in strength, 2 in agility”

The table on the wall updated accordingly

Hit points: 189/220

Mana: 100/100

Free stat points: /

Name

Shepherd Highlander

Strength

Str

18

(+0)

Level

2

Constitution

Con

12

(+0)

Class

/

Dexterity

Dex

17

(+0)

Race

Human

Agility

Agi

15

(+0)

Titles

/

Energy Flow

EnF

10

(+0)

Status

Poisoned(-10 hp/min)

Energy Capacity

EnC

10

(+0)

Having trained a number of martial arts since he was a kid, first Karate then Muay Thai Taekwondo etc. so he was used to using his body as a weapon, and if only moments ago this weapon were as if a simple rusted short sword good only for cutting wheat now it had become a sharpened long sword ready to lop someone’s head off.

Seeing that the critter continued in its charge Shepherd felt in alignment, alignment between where his left foot was soon to be and where the creature before him would arrive to in a few seconds!

Paying little heed to Benevolent’s declaration Shepherd raised his left foot slighty forward for a spin to his right and so the critter moved to his left in anticipation. It squealed victoriously and charged to pierce the humans back, what it didn’t anticipate however was the roundhouse kick that shot towards it from the humans but a second after.

CRACK

With a force akin to a sledgehammer the impact left the creature rolling towards the dead end in the cave, its body cracked and its right pincer deformed it twitched on the ground and slowly attempted to stand. An attempt which didn't go beyond that, its middle torso crushed by a stomp and its tail grabbed a hold of from behind.

Arthropods’ Menace

Deathly Kicker

Prince

“What are the perks of each?”

“Judging from what the reasonable choice would've given me last time, Prince it is”

Not having a clue of what any of this meant Shepherd couldn't help but sigh, he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't excited and this certainly seemed beneficient but in attentionwhich way? Remembering Benevolent’s words he focused on –Orb of Creation- and immediately a star like orb of red light appeared in front of him.

“Description”

benefits...>

“Benefits?”

Whatever these benefits the ommited information made Shepherd worry, it could be amazing just as the rest of the perks but situations like these always had their downsides even with all the perks. Being immortal but clinically depressed? Have fun with your eternal suffering! Saving your loved ones from a grenade by laying on it? Here comes eternal darkness! Getting married? Hah, now you're married!

As all sorts of hellish horrors were passing through Shepherds mind when Benevolents notification finally snapped him out of his nightmare. Whatever the case, he couldn’t afford to pass away any advantage he was offered. Right now survival was relatively easy due to the controlled tournament environment by Benevolent, but if webnovels and manga had tought Shepherd anything, this world would certainly be thrown into utter chaos… And strength would be everything!

“I absorb this Orb of Creation!”