There was a flash of light that blinded Dante for a moment. When his eyes adjusted he could see he was in a large open space. The ground beneath his feet was lush green grass and soft dirt. Off to his left about a few dozen feet away was a sizable lake, ringed by dozens of large trees. Oddly, yet unsurprisingly he supposed, he couldn't tell what kind of trees they were.

Though they reminded him of pine tree's, they most certainly were not.

Their bark was white though occasionally there were different colors mixed in. The needles of the tree were yellow, almost golden in the way the needles reflected light.

They were the color of sunshine.

It was then that he noticed someone standing beneath one of those trees, his mother.

Dante was wildly confused. Dante rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times. After a few seconds his eye's readjusted, but his expression became one of even greater confusion and disbelief. There standing less than 2 dozen feet from him looking just as shocked as him, was his dad.

"Dad?" he called out.

"Dante?" Frank responded. It took his father's eye's a little bit to adjust. In that time his mother had spotted them and jogged the hundred or so feet to them.

Dante called out, "System Guide!"

That feeling returned, the feeling of something stirring within him, and then the feeling of something flowing out and away from him. However, this time the feeling was a bit more substantial. What came forth was the shining, golden, androgynous figure that he had seen on the Tv only about 3 minutes ago.

"Please state the nature of your inquiry, Dante." the shining figure said, surprising him.

Shaking off the shock after a moment Dante looked to his left and right to see his parents, he then faced forward and addressed the Guide he had summoned.

"Why the fuck are we all in the same place? We all chose different difficulties." Dante asked, his voice tinged with confusion and a bit of anger.

"All participants begin in the Normal tutorial zones. The choice is a test to see how high you are willing to reach in those first moments." Spoke the guide.

Dante held his mother as he took deep breaths considering the guide's words. He turned and watched as his dad jogged over to embrace them as well.

"So what's the next step?" Dante asked his guide.

Step 3

"Roads"

Dante embraced his parents before they broke away from one another. He showed his parents the blue box and then he spoke.

"Roads."

Roads, Rp: 7

Road of Wizards I, 1/10

Road of Beginnings, 0/5

Road of the Downtrodden I, 0/10

Road of New Beginnings, 0/20

Dante looked over the roads that were his first steps into this unknown system.

The Road of Wizards definitely sounded like it’d give him his start in magic. But he didn’t know what magic would look like under this system. Would it be a chained being like under The Script? Would it be bound by ancient law to ban the higher reaches of spellcasting like in D&D?

Dante shook his head, he was getting distracted already.

The Road of Beginnings… this one might just be a road everyone gets when they start using the system but that doesn’t mean it won’t have something good at its end.

The Road of New Beginnings seems more to be aimed towards people that lived lives before the system was around… But Dante felt a different kind of idea creep into him as he looked over that road. He’d been going to college before today, he didn’t even know what he wanted to do with his life yet. He was just doing his general classes hoping that he’d figure something out before he needed to actually decide on majors and minors. Would it even matter when he got out of the Tutorial? Hell he wasn’t even sure his college would still be standing by the time he managed to get back to it.

So closes the ending of one chapter for Humanity and the beginning of another…

He could probably take that as a very pointed sign that his life was going to change from what he’d expected it to be.

It was also something to note that New Beginnings took 4 times as many points to complete. Perhaps it’s simply harder to start anew rather than starting from scratch.

Then there was… that one. The Road of the Downtrodden. So the system really did know his past.

Not wanting to get sucked into trying to figure out why it knew of those dark moments in his life he glanced up at the “Rp.”

"Why do I have..." but before he could finish that question the answer came to him.

You're awarded 5 Rp by the system towards the completion of your first Road...

He smiled at the kind gesture of the system, though he suspected it gave this to everyone.

Looking at his guide who simply smiled back at him, he then turned back to the screens in front of him. Glancing over to his parents as they were inspecting their own blue boxes.

“Five points to Gryffindor..." Not really, there’s only one road that needs five points, let’s go with that one.

After a moment of thought he tapped the small plus sign for the Road of Beginnings.

The hardest step is often the first, +1 Strength...

The second step brings you farther from where you started, or is it closer?, +1 Dexterity...

The third step, you are halfway there. +1 Intellect...

The fourth step, you are almost there. You can see the end of this road and the beginnings of many others. +1 Perception...

The fifth step. You have chosen to tread forth. Both for yourself and those you love. +1 Endurance...

Congratulations! You have completed the Road of Beginnings! +1 to all stats! +0.5 to all regens! +10 to all resource pools...

Your first road of, hopefully, many has been completed. There shall always be a road for you and should one not be open you may tread forth into the unknown and carve out your own...

Dante felt his feet moving though he remained standing still. With each step, each point, he felt something stretch out before him. It was the feeling you got when you played a grand and expansive game. It reminded him of good times with his friends. "My friends..." Dante turned to his guide and stopped himself.

"Can I share these with my parents?" He asked his guide.

"Please elaborate, there are a few ways I could answer the question as is, and some are contradictory." The guide said in his usual androgynous voice,

"Can I give them copies of these notices for them to read?" Dante asked with more specific wording.

A small smile crossed the figure's golden face, "Yes you can. Simply think about the boxes multiplying to the number you need, then hand the extras to those you wish to share them with."

'Seems simple enough.' Dante thought, and each blue box became 2 and then 3.

+1 Wis...

He smiled at the notice as he mentally moved the extras into groups, grabbing them and handing each to one of his parents.

"I see you are a perceptive and wise individual. Those are good qualities that will surely help you in the times to come." The guide stated with the same smile. Pausing for a moment, Dante then asked his first of several questions.

"Guide, why are we all together in the same place?" He asked the guide.

"You are together due to the fact that you are a family. Individuals in relative proximity to one another are kept together during the tutorial as to avoid certain issues from arising." The guide stated in a reassuring manner. Pausing for a moment to await any possible questions, it continued when none came.

"Those that select the higher difficulties like you and your father..." It said whilst placing his hand upon Dante's back pushing him closer to his parents. "The purpose of the tutorial is not to be a cruel death trap where you are thrown into the thick of it immediately. As those like you and your father advance through and complete the normal tutorial zone the road to the next will open to you. If you choose to walk it. The tutorials are meant to give you all at least a chance against what is to come."

Dante pondered those words for a moment, before his father chimed in. "What exactly is coming?" The guide's smile faded and became grim, he turned to Dante, "May I access your mana pool?"

Dante was thrown, "Sure?" he responded hesitantly. It felt like his stomach had dropped, he felt almost hollow and his mind became fuzzy. He was surprised when the notices popped up.

Your summoned guide has been granted access to your mana pool.

Warning! Your mana pool has been exhausted! Please rest and allow it to replenish.

Your skill, "Summon Guide", has grown stronger.

New possibilities have become accessible.

Your skill, "Mana Manipulation" has gained experience.

The air shimmered forming a moderately sized greyish translucent dome around them.

"What's... happening?" Dante asked as he sat down on the grass, the guide sitting down in front of him. "I'm sorry for how you are feeling right now. Mana exhaustion is never fun. But please know this was necessary, so please bear with it."

He grimaced in annoyance and exhaustion as he turned his head to the left and right to see his mom and dad each holding onto one of his shoulders.

Dante felt terrible. To him it felt how his friends had described a hangover. A pounding head, alongside the sweat that was starting to accumulate on his skin.

"Before we get started can I call you something other than a guide?" he questioned the guide.

To a small degree the golden figure's warm smile returned, "I would be grateful for such an honor."

Dante smiled through the pain, because he knew the perfect name, "I’ll call you Virgil, may you guide the way."

The guide now known as Virgil smiled ever brighter, "My name is Virgil." Spoke the guide, something was different in his voice.

Something was greater than it had been before.

A notice.

You have chosen a kind name by which to address your guide.

Your influence with the system has increased somewhat.

Your skill, Summon Guide, has begun to evolve. Will you allow it?

Before he could respond the air seemed to shift. Many could sense something was happening but no one knew quite what it was.

Then Dante's father spoke, "Virgil it is then? You best take care of my son. I'll raise hell if you don't!" he said whilst raising his index finger and pointing it to the sky.

"Oh Frank calm down. You don't have to be so mean to him..." Dante's mother said and then turned to Virgil and asked, "Please take care of us."

After a few seconds of silence Laura elbowed Frank and begrudgingly he said, "Please take care of us."

Virgil looked wide eyed at the people before him and then he smiled as what you could almost call tears gathered in his eyes.

He turned to Dante and asked, "Will you allow these things to come to pass?"

"Yes." Dante confirmed much to Virgil's joy. Dante was greeted by another notice.

Your skill, Summon Guide, has become, Virgil (Unc/Rank. 2).

"Virgil"

Much like the story of your name sake...

You invoke the name of a poet long dead...

Virgil acts to help guide you along your journey. Variable mana cost / duration

You have earned 5 RP for your actions.

Notices appeared in Dante's vision as Virgil's golden visage began to shift.

Error!...

Reca...

Er...

The notices blared in his head as he felt something powerful wash over him, nearly causing him to pass out.

Skill, Virgil, has become a shared skill!...

Congratulations! You're the first people of your world to obtain a shared skill!...

Gained exp will be divided among those who participated in the achievement...

+4,000 exp to you!...

You have leveled up!...

Skill, Virgil, has ranked up...

Skill Virgil, has its rarity increased to Rare...

Recalculating...

Congratulations! You are the first person on the earth, since the system's arrival, to increase a skill's rank from common to rare!...

You have accomplished this feat in under 5 minutes from obtaining the initial skill, experience will be added...

Congratulations you have earned 1,200 exp for your accomplishments!...

You have earned the title "Overachiever!"

All stats are worth ever so slightly more…

“Does this make me a main protagonist? Is it gonna be a harem story? That’d be a logistical nightmare! Did I get any amazing skills…Not that you aren’t amazing Virgil." he said after a pause, still holding his pounding head.

As the notices blared in the heads of Dante and his parents Virgil was changing.

---------------------

The newly named Virgil found himself in a beautiful place.

Everything about this place was...perfect.

From the grass to the sky everything was just...perfect.

Virgil felt a hand upon his shoulder and upon turning around he saw that he and a man were standing in the shade of a large tree.

The moment he laid eyes upon him he knew who this man was.

"You are Virgil, the poet?" he asked, eliciting a smile and a laugh from the man.

"I am, and the Father has told me that you're very important for what's to come. So..."

Once more the man reached out and placed his hand upon the shining Virgil's shoulder. This time he accepted the gesture.

Virgil smiled as he spoke.

"Let's work together..."

----------------------

Dante ignored the blaring notifications going off in his head but did spare a glance towards his parents to see the vacant look they had going on to show they were getting them to. Virgil, even without anyone's real notice, was changing.

Back in the normal tutorial zone Virgil blinked as he felt this vessel of his changing, as he felt himself changing.

His visage became more defined. His appearance was definitely male now. The glow of his body faded somewhat to reveal someone who appeared to be in his mid to late 20’s.

“Ah! Thank the gods above! I am young once more!” Virgil exclaimed.

Upon his head he now had raven black hair that dropped past his shoulders. He was cloaked now in what seemed to be a mix of fine black cloth and beautiful gold embroidery.

He was more attractive now than he had been a moment prior.

He was simply more now than he had been a moment prior.

"So what's coming and why was this..." He paused, motioning to the dome that surrounded them, "...necessary?" Dante asked as he tried to get his mind straight.

Virgil's head snapped to Dante as he heard the question. His eyes flashed dimly gold around his now green iris'. He received the information required to answer the young man's question and so he spoke.

"It was necessary to help prevent mass panic.” Came the almost automatic reply. After a pause he continued.

“For you see, monsters are coming, sooner or later. Those beings deemed too evil in nature for the gods or this “System” to accept into the standard “player system” were deemed to be monsters. They were instead placed into a system created for those like them. The monster system." Virgil spoke, noticing that even his voice had changed. So many of these words felt foreign to him and yet they were the words some piece of the current him mandated as the words to use.

'Who am I? Am I the man born of flesh or the thing of light and wonder made by a greater force than even the gods? Or am I neither anymore??' Virgil thought to himself while awaiting Dante's questions or responses.

"When the System arrived, there was a notice that said something about preparing for what’s to come. What's to come is monsters?" Dante asked as he rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"Yes, but only in part. Monsters are beginning to spawn upon your world due to the presence of mana. Within several days on Earth, gates to other worlds will begin to appear. Some of the places they will connect to, will be worlds overrun by monsters."

Dante’s mind was clouded with so many thoughts fighting for his attention, but he’d started to put them aside for now.

"So what, is there going to be a monster in my parent’s house when we get back?" His voice tinged with agitation.

"Doubtful but not impossible. Allow me to correct a possible misunderstanding. Most monsters do not come from mana alone. Certainly very few in a world so new to the system. Though with your population..." Virgil paused for a moment, placing a hand upon his chin as information about the current state of the world poured into him, only to be somewhat sad not to find any facial hair to stroke while he mused. Could he grow it out in this body?

"...Most monsters you will encounter were once animals that have become monsters in the presence of mana." Virgil quickly spoke after a moment of thought.

Dante thought about that prospect for a moment, "Does that mean people's pets will be monsterizing?"

"It is a sad thing to know that the gifts the gods saw fit to bestow upon us in the form of companion animals can be so contaminated as to become a monster, but that is an unlikely outcome. One's pets often accompany them into these tutorials from the records I am able to look upon in this new state I find myself in."

"Why is it not likely?" he asked Virgil.

"Monsterization requires more than just mana in most cases. Usually it is animals that tend towards aggression that monsterize first. Predator beasts in other words. Animals that have tendencies to protect and the like are far less likely to monsterize on their own." Virgil said.

As he finished speaking the dome around them began to dissipate. His father touched him on his shoulder before he pointed into the distance.

"Look at that..." Frank said.

Dante followed where he was pointing and in the distance he saw what appeared to be a large stone wall, with small figures upon them that he assumed were the men manning it.

Dante nodded to his father.

There was a flash in front of them.

A few seconds of blinking revealed a man standing there where none had been before.

Dante looked around.

How had he not noticed it until now.

Looking to his left and right, in front and behind them he saw hundreds, thousands of other people around them, many walking towards those walls. Another notice appeared.

Normal tutorial zone #A7550B has reached its capacity of 10,000 participants.

This tutorial zone will now close to new arrivals from Earth.

Time dilation Initiating. Time differential has been set to 1000:1

Initiating!

Dante felt as the world seemed to shift. He felt as if the world fell out from under him. He felt as the darkness creeped into his vision and the only thing he could hear was the voice of Virgil. "Sleep well and enjoy what you have earned." Dante heard the ding of a notification, but could not read it before the embrace of sleep took him.

Due to your increased conductivity to mana, and your entrance into an area of high time dilation you have acquired the following skills.

Mana Sense (Unc) Lvl. 1

You sense the mana within you and in the environment that surrounds you.

Time sense (R) Lvl. 1

You have experienced an abrupt change in the flow of time and have recognized it. Slightly increase proficiency with time related skills and magic.

Warning!

You have exceeded the skill capacity of your spirit! Please input points into the spirit stat to alleviate soul strain. For more information please consult your system guide.

Frank and Laura felt something wash over them but we were not as affected as Dante had been. They held their son before asking Virgil, "What happened to him Virgil?"

"It's nothing to worry about. It would seem that he was more affected by the transition to accelerated time than most due to having little mana left. I sense several others have experienced this as well in this zone. In addition to a small bit of soul strain it has proven too much for him at the moment and caused him to pass out. He will be fine in a few hours." He said whilst silently firing off a few messages to the people manning the walls that they needed to go find those people and make sure they got inside the walls. "He simply needs rest. He will awaken when his mana replenishes itself in about...36 and a half minutes. But for now I recommend you work together to carry him. He might wake before we even arrive at the walls."

Frank looked to Laura who simply smiled before throwing her son's left arm over her shoulder. "Coming dear?" she asked in a somewhat mocking tone.

Frank swung Dante's right arm over his shoulder as they began to lift him.

"Yes dear. So Virgil, while we're walking, run us through the tutorial please." He said

"Certainly. We'll begin on step 2 however, since your achievements have auto completed the first step." Virgil replied.

----------------------------

Dante dreamed a dreamless sleep.

When he awoke the first thing he found was a notice greeting him.

For your rapid expenditure of mana your ability to hold it has increased, +25 mana…

The more mana you wield the greater your body's ability to hold and wield it becomes...

1 point has been inputted into the Road of the Wizards I...

Many seek out magic to gain power over others. You seek magic for you love it and it loves you. +15 mana...

He awoke to find he was in a comfortable bed, in a very outdated looking and yet lovely, single person room.

On each side of his bed next to the wall he saw a night stand. Upon both of them were identical lamps. They both looked very much like oil lamps. Except instead of a flame there were thumb sized pieces of yellowish crystal. Other than that they gave off a similar amount of light to a normal oil lamp.

There was a similar item embedded into the ceiling with two yellow pieces of crystal pointing in opposite directions. However, they were dull, seemingly inactive.

It looked like the room of an Inn you might visit if you and your friends were playing DND. Which is to say, it looked like it was from the middle ages. Aside from the magical item of course.

Dante sat up and noticed he was not wearing any shoes or socks.

"That's right, I wasn't wearing any when I got brought in here." Dante said as he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth in frustration. He moved and placed his feet onto the floor expecting it to be cold. He was pleasantly surprised to find it was actually warm.

"Heated flooring, nice." Dante's face took an expression of admiration for a moment before becoming one of pondering.

Dante thought about it for a moment. He remembered that a system store had been mentioned at some point.

"Store"

A large window popped up before him. It was much like one of the stores you would find in a MMO game.

System tutorial step 4 has been passed...

'Cool.' He thought as a smile formed on his face.

He examined the store page for a moment. At the top of the page he found a symbol of a magnifying glass, 'There is the search function.' Beneath it there were tabs. Seven tabs, bordered by arrows on either side. Out of curiosity he pressed the arrow leading right, causing the seven tabs to zoom off to the left, only to be replaced by seven new tabs.

He saw a prominent listing for a "Notebook of Experience" but when he clicked on it, he was informed that the limited supply had been exhausted already.

'Well shit... Ok, so there are electronic items, magical items, books, abilities? Skills, information, and medicine." Dante pondered each of them carefully, "How do you have this?”

Upon integration of a sufficiently technologically advanced race all media is assimilated to better aid the race and the system…

“Let’s try a few things… Search: The lost episodes of Doctor Who…”

Searching…

Information found! 97 episodes found.

Would you like to purchase these episodes?

“No, just curious. How about… Search: The Devil’s Bible”

Searching…

Error…

Recalcu…

Unknown divine influence detected, quarantining.

These items are temporarily unavailable...

Please do not attempt this search again...

“Ok…looks like he really did write that one.”

-----

In Stockholm, for but a moment, under glass and alarm a massive tome glowed and illuminated its prison. Its pages and spine mended under the glow that came from within it. On a wall, out from around a corner that had been cast into shadow, a shadow stood upon the wall and seemed to look at the book unconcerned by the light that shone out from it. The Devil smiled for a moment before something strangled the light into nothingness and the room was once more dark. A final laugh echoed out.

-----------

Dante took a moment to think, he had tried two things that were vague and that he wasn’t sure the System would be able to interpret. But he did remember Wikipedia had an article about the lost episodes. Was it scraping the info off his mind or the internet?

“Huh, I wonder if it knows the name of that one video I watched on Por…” He paused looking back at his parents whose eyes were still distant, then the notice appeared.

Searching…

“Cancel request!” He exclaimed, not truly having meant to make that request.

Search request canceled...

“...That’s a definite maybe…” He said looking at his parents, ‘Still out of it.’

“Time to go deep. Search: The Tor Network.”

Calculating…

Connection established!...

Would you like to purchase the Tor system application?...

“Why do I need to buy Tor? It’s supposed to be free.” He asked, his brows furrowing together.

With the purchase of this application you also are granted one year of system internet…

“...Damn you microtransactions! How much does it cost in any case? Are there levels of service?”

1 small platinum piece minimum purchase price for 1 year of service…

Dante stared for a long moment at his 1 small platinum piece and decided against it.

“No…I think I’ll pass for now. But I'll come back to this later." Dante took a breath and steadied himself before he began rubbing his hands together.

“Ok! We'll play with that more later. So... Status!" Dante exclaimed in excitement after a second of thought.

Why had he not thought of this sooner? 'Probably the shock and then the fuzzy mind due to mana exhaustion.' Dante thought for a moment.

Dante A. Stone

Race: Human

Class: N/A

Lvl. 22

EXP: 2,165/4,500

1 small platinum

Strength

17

Resources

Total

Regen.

Constitution/Vitality

25

Health

347

(13.7/min)

Endurance

19

Mana

478

(11.7/min)

Dexterity

19

Stamina

304

(15.7/min)

Willpower

15

Road Points

11

Intellect

21

Stat Points

7

Wisdom

17

Charisma

16

Luck

10

Perception

16

Spirit

8

Soul capacity 11/8

"Skills"

Skills

Mana Manipulation (C) Lvl. 1

Mana Sense (Unc) Lvl. 1

Summon Virgil, Rank 3

Time sense (R) Lvl. 1

Step 5 has been cleared...

"Hey Virgil?" Dante asked aloud wondering if it would work.

Once more he felt something stir within him and leave him.

This time however he knew it was mana.

He could sense it vaguely as his mana was shaped by the skill, as it came together and formed the robed body of Virgil.

Mana sense has leveled up! Lvl. 2...

"It's good to see you're awake Dante." Virgil said with a warming smile.

Dante took a chance, "Hello friend."

Virgil's expression dulled somewhat. Dante felt that perhaps he had overstepped, but that feeling was quickly alleviated when Virgil's smile returned brighter than previously.

"Friend, I like that word. So few have called me such from what little experience I can recall. I will gladly be your friend." Dante smiled, truly happy that he had not negatively impacted his relationship with Virgil. 'Back on task.' Dante thought, "Virgil, can you help me find some shoes and socks in the store and then explain some more of the system to me?" He asked Virgil.

"Certainly, a moment please. I must say I am glad you seem to be feeling fine. You were out longer than was expected."

"How long was I out?"

"About 6 days..." Virgil said nonchalantly as he moved his hands in the air upon blue boxes that flashed rapidly in and out of existence.

"SIX DAYS!" Dante exclaimed his eyes wide with shock.

"Relax Dante I'm...what's the term...fucking with you..." Virgil said with an expression of, 'Oh shit'.

Dante took a deep breath and shut his eyes for a moment, then reopened them.

"Ok... sorry I yelled. I just wasn't expecting that. How long was I out for real?" He asked calmly.

"About an hour and a half."

"Ok then...Where am I?" Dante asked, motioning to the nice room around him. A look of mild annoyance on his face.

"This is your room in an Inn that the system assigned to you. Every participant in the tutorial is given one week of free food and board at an Inn within the city walls. Your parents are down stairs eating some lunch so you know. Also there is a small bit of information that wasn't in the tutorial but you should see." Virgil said as he produced a large blue box, handing it over to Dante.

Stat Information

Strength

The measure of your carrying weight, and capability for physical power exertion.

Endurance

The measure of how long you can perform actions before becoming physically exhausted.

Constitution

The measure of your health, resistance to harm, disease, poisons, and other like things.

Dexterity

Measures ease of movement, flexibility, hand eye coordination, and reflexes.

Willpower

Measures internal motivation, mental resistance, and the force of your will.

Intellect

The measure of your memory, mental capacity, comprehension, known knowledge, and total mana pool.

Wisdom

The measure of your critical thinking abilities, and application of knowledge.

Charisma

The measure of your likeability, persuasion, and ability to haggle.

Luck

The measure of how fortunate you are, money found, odds in your favor, and chance of rare events.

Perception

The measure of your senses, awareness, and ability to detect information.

Spirit

The measure of the capabilities of one's soul condensed into numerical form. Measures number of attunable items, soul space size, conductivity to mana, capacity for skills, and the capacity of some forms of system inventory.

It's advised that you not invest too heavily into any one stat, with possible exceptions being Charisma and Luck. When the difference between almost any two given stats grows too large negative side effects can and will emerge. These side effects can wildly vary in severity. From mild fatigue to bursting into magical flame.

"Good to know." Dante said as he put his 7 points into spirit. He felt a weight lifted off his shoulders. He suspected this was the feeling of having gone over the soul capacity limit.

"Hey Virgil what's soul capacity?" Dante asked furrowing his brow, not entertained by the feeling of going over that "capacity".

Virgil smiled and with a flick of his wrist a blue box appeared.

Soul Capacity Common: 1 pps Uncommon: 2 pps Rare: 4 pps Very Rare: 8 pps Legendary: 16 pps

"Soul Capacity is the measure of how many skills and or attuned magical items one can possess. While Magic items can vary wildly in how much of this capacity they take up making simple examples like this difficult, skills weigh against the capacity based on their rarity." Virgil explained indicating towards the blue box.

"Pps?" Dante asked with a measure of embarrassment.

"Points per skill is what the abbreviation means. Now let us move on to something else shall we?" Virgil asked as he motioned towards some of the blue boxes he had summoned earlier. After a moment Virgil grasped the screen he had been working on and held it out for Dante, "Tell me what you think of these. I think they will suit you very well." He said whilst holding his other hand behind his back.

Dante reached out grasping the next blue box while dismissing the old one, and then proceeded to examine the displayed item.

The item displayed was a comically large set of ruby red clown shoes with rainbow striped socks.

Dante looked down whilst restraining a small laugh. "I think the shoe's are a bit too big but I like the socks." Dante said before finally looking back up toward Virgil with a smile.

Virgil removed his other hand from behind his back revealing another blue box. Once more the smiling Virgil reached out, but this time he tapped the screen he held against the one held by Dante.

The clown shoe's flicked down and were replaced by a sturdy looking pair of brown work boots. Like something a person in the military might wear.

"I recommend these. They are the most well suited to your current needs and are well within your current price range." Dante nodded a small smile still lingering upon his face.

"Very well I would like to purchase these boots along with the socks." A smaller screen appeared before him stating the price of the selected items, 15 small gold. The boots being 10 and the socks 5.

Dante weighed that price in his mind for a moment bringing up the blue boxes from earlier only then did he realize how expensive the items were.

"1,500 dollars?! Why is this stuff so expensive?" Dante asked, confused. He almost wanted to say the system was trying to rip him off.

"It's is understandable that you would be confused allow me to explain the price. The boot's are 10 small gold as they have minor enchantments for increased durability and comfort. I recommended it as I knew you could readily afford it. As for the socks, they are woven from mana thread. This grants several small advantages, and one major that is conferred to the user, over the kind of socks you're used to. Would you like to hear a few?" Virgil asked like a true showman displaying his wear.

"Let's start with the major benefit please Virgil." Stated Dante still sitting comfy on the side of the bed.

"Of course. That benefit would be fall damage mitigation. Mana thread when it is flooded with mana acts as an excellent shock absorber to a certain extent. I would say with your current mana pool you could be unharmed from a fall of 20 to 25 feet. So long as you landed on your feet and spent sufficient mana. Though there is a limit to how much mana you can pump into them before they begin to degrade." Virgil paused awaiting feedback.

"Nice, so no free jumping off buildings just yet, that's alright." He stated, Virgil's smile became somewhat strained, "I am aware that is a joke. However, I still would not recommend that you attempt such actions." Virgil said in a worried tone.

"Duly noted Virgil. Now the minor benefits?" Dante asked with a small smile.

It was good to have someone to make jokes with.

"Aw yes. The socks are very breathable and help to keep you feeling cool or warm depending upon the situation. They are even magically reinforced to help them last. However all this comes with a small downside, as it imposes a slight penalty to your mana regen for these effects." Virgil said with a smile, a small golden glow emanating from him.

'Trying really hard to sell the socks.' Dante thought as he looked back over to his still open status. "How much is the penalty?" he asked, "Oh for someone of your size only 5 mana per minute." Said Virgil.

He thought for a moment before continuing, "I can just put some points into wisdom to help counter that right?" Dante asked the deciding question.

"Of course." Virgil said, his voice hopeful.

"In that case I will accept the purchase." No sooner had he said it than a notice popped up stating his items had been delivered to his inventory. 'Inventory' Dante thought. The familiar blue box appeared. He began positioning the screen between his legs and towards the floor to make it easier to equip his foot wear. He pulled on the socks one at a time feeling as they began warming his feet.

Turning to his status page, he watched as his mana regen ticked downward. He started testing out the socks by placing his feet on the heated flooring again. To his surprise the socks went from warming his feet to keeping them cool against the warm flooring. Dante nodded in approval and donned the army boots.

Dante smiled as Virgil continued, "Please note that these won't negate fall damage if you fall on something other than your feet. They also will allow you a small amount of propulsion per point of mana spent. Thus you can adjust your positioning even in mid air. This effect can be used regardless of if you are wearing shoes or not. You just have to wear the socks." Virgil concluded his more or less thorough explanation of the socks.

"Now that we have that out of the way, allow me to introduce you to inspect your Roads." Virgil stated as he snapped his fingers. A small blue box appeared before him as he closed his inventory.

Road of the Wizard I

2/10

Road of the Downtrodden

0/10

Road of New Beginnings

0/20

"So these roads reflect who I am or something like that?" He asked, curious as to the answer.

"Yes. In a manner of speaking at least. As you have a few points to spend I would suggest that you complete the Road of Wizards I." Virgil stated, and seeing not the need he did not argue. He inputted the eight points and got a few notices, along with that feeling again.

Notices seemed to come every second point he put in.

You tread this path in search of things already known to you. +2 Wisdom, +1 Intellect...

You feel yourself growing closer to a breakthrough. +3 Intellect...

The words are coming to you but there are still pieces missing. +2 Wisdom...

The words are on the tip of your tongue. You already know your first spell. Speak it...

Once more felt his feet walking. A longer Road than the one before, stretching out before him. It wanted him to speak a spell? Dante looked at Virgil still smiling his warm smile.

It truly felt good to have friends. He thought of his college friends and D&D.

Dante thought of his parents. Of the love they had for each other as well as him. He remembered all they had given him. He was grateful, and with those pleasant memories, and joy in his heart.

It was then that he found, he did know the words.

"And on the first day, the lord saw fit to say, "Let there be LIGHT!"

As Dante spoke he reached down to touch his new socks. This spell gave him a different feeling than when he summoned Virgil. He knew why. Where summoning Virgil required his own mana, this was different. Light is a cantrip that requires no mana from the user. Instead it drew its mana from the environment.

Dante watched as his socks seemed to soak in the light emanating from his hands. The socks began to glow, but oddly each strip of color on the socks glowed emanating a light of its own color. "Very interesting." He stated as he observed the effect for a moment. More notices came.

Congratulations! You have completed the Road of the Wizard I!...

+2 Int, +1 Wis, +50 Mana...

Congratulations! Your mana has surpassed 500!...

You will be awarded a random common mana related skill...

Congratulations you have been awarded the common passive skill, Student of Magic, Lvl. 1...

Student of Magic- As one learning the arcane arts you have begun to learn new ways in which to use both spells and skills that rely upon magic. Slightly increases the probability to realize or discover methods, not previously known to you while working with magic. Effects slightly increase per level of the skill...

"Fuck yeah, thank you very much." He said his smile fading somewhat as he felt that weight upon his shoulders increase once more if only a little. "Status".

Dante A. Stone

Race: Human

Class: N/A

Lvl. 22

EXP:2,944/4,500

Currency: 85 small gold

Stats

Resources

Total

Regen.

Strength

17

Health

347

(13.7/min)

Constitution

25

Mana

711

(15.5/min)

Endurance

19

Stamina

304

(15.7/min)

Dexterity

19

Road Points

5

Willpower

15

Stat Points

8

Intellect

27

Luck

10

Wisdom

22

Perception

16

Soul Capacity

Charisma

16

Spirit

15

12/15

Upon reviewing it, he decided to should probably invest some points into his stats. 6 into luck, 2 into spirit.

'Don't think you can train luck, and and I'm not certain about spirit so yeah. Most everything else I think I can train without the points... hopefully.' he thought as his smile faltered for a moment before he smiled just a bit for himself.

"Hey Virgil can you lead me to my parents?" He asked curiously.

"Since the three of you share me as a skill, yes I can." Spoke Virgil, his own joy clear and abundant for all to see.

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