It didn’t take long until I was forcefully awaken by a head-splitting migraine. I tried standing up and check my surroundings, only to fall back on my ass once the world started spinning with me at its center. I was forced to my knees, throwing up because of the horrible sensation.

[New player recognized! Scanning for biometric signs… Registered! Unique player number 53 on the new server 78103, welcome to the tutorial! Be advised that the first time after teleporting, you might experience a feeling of slight sickness!]

“Now it tells me… and how is this ‘slight’!?”

I couldn’t help but swear under my breath while looking around for the sound of the voice. I was not able to find anyone… however, there was something else that caught my eyes: green plains!

I was in my apartment on the balcony just a second ago and now, I am in the middle of some plains, filled with lush vegetation. If the strangely appealing voice is not messing with me, I really must have been teleported here.

Grinding my teeth and struggling to stay on my feet, I took in my surroundings. I couldn’t afford staying on the ground as there were already another 52 other people participating in the tutorial. I need to get a move on!

“What do I need to do? Hello!? Can you tell me what’s next?”

[Tutorial initialized! Phase 1: Status page! Please use vocal command ‘Character’ in order to bring up your status page as a new player! Reward: +10 to all base stats!]

I spaced out for a bit when I heard what the first phase requires of me to do, but then I just sighed and decided to go for it. After all, since it is a game, it makes sense to have game mechanics…

“Character!”

Power: 60.5 ATK Rating: 53 Survival Rating: 68 Base Stats Total ATK: 8 Total HP: 13 Total Pierce: 3 Total DEF: 6 Total Hit: 5 Total Dodge: 9 Total Crit: 7 Total Firm: 7 Superb Stats Damage Add: 0% Damage Dec: 0% Malice Rate: 0% Malice Resist: 0%

[Congratulations! You have completed Phase 1 and have been awarded +10 to all base stats.

Do keep in mind, that your general Power is only an indicator to show your prowess in comparison with other monsters or players, but it might be inaccurate in certain scenarios.

The formulae for calculating the Power is (ATK Rating + Survival Rating/2).

Additionally, the formulae for ATK Rating is (Total ATK*3 + Total Pierce*2 + Total Hit*2.5 + Total Crit*1.5), while the formulae for Survival Rating is (Total HP*2 + Total DEF*3 + Total Dodge*1.5 + Total Firm*1.5)… ]

[Initializing Phase 2: Mana! Use vocal command ‘Mana’ to access the sub-menu for Mana display in the Character interface. Reward: +25% skill experience!]

“Power is not an accurate indicator… I guess it makes sense as this is not an actual game, but real life with game mechanics. Even if your DEF stat is over 9000, all it takes it’s a blade to the heart and you’re done... Hmm? What sub-menu!?”

I did a double-take on the words sub-menu and started glancing above the stats page… There were indeed seven icons, but four of them were grayed out.

Starting from the left to the right there was ‘Echelon’, ‘Decoration’, ‘Shape’, ‘Title’, ‘Skill’, ‘Mana’ and ‘Badge’. Only the Title, Skill and Mana were available to me at this point. Ignoring all others, the fact that titles existed, meant that there would be achievements. That means I need to hurry up! Maybe if I complete it first…

“Mana!” – I mumbled softly

Unlike before, this time a new window opened that had few words thrown on it. It looked cryptic and it sounded… vague. Nevertheless, I took comfort in the fact that I was right about the mana being added to our world at least.

Mana

A primordial energy that exists everywhere and nowhere.

Its purpose is to enhance all forms of life.

To use mana you must feel it by meditating, followed by condensing it into a core.

Different mana colors represent different attributes and different core colors represent different ranks of mana purity.

Skill proficiency: LVL 0 (0%)

“…”

I stared dumbly at the brief and not very helpful message. Meditation was needed in order to ‘feel’ mana and then condense it into a core… For a person that has no experience with online novels, it might sound strange, but in my case, it made total sense. I have read countless such stories where the main character had to follow this process in order to feel the energy and then condense a core in order to use actual spells or skills. You can look at it as if there would be pieces of it inside your body and you need to bring them together in one point.

“At least that’s how it was in wuxia novels. But that also was ki or internal energy and not mana… I wonder if there are differences?”

Once formed, the core will have different ranks as well based on how you refine it further. They are usually separated by using a color system, starting from light-based colors when at the beginning, to dark based-colors while advancing, or the other way around.

“Given that the ‘quest’ is not completed just yet, it means that it will only be done once I actually either ‘sense’ mana or create my core. Better get started then…

Acting according to the knowledge gathered so far through reading, I sat on the grass with my legs crossed and focused on emptying my mind of useless thoughts. That was… difficult considering my circumstances. I mean, really! Not only did the world get transported into another universe where we need to compete with alien civilizations and freaking monsters, but I was also teleported into God-knows-where for a tutorial where I need to sense a mystical energy I encountered so far only in games and novels, while my head is still pounding and I’m about to throw up again. So yeah… just a bit difficult…

“Phew…”

I took deep breaths and exhaled heavily. I tried imagining only the form of my body and focus on feeling the flow of everything in it. I started with the air going through my nose, in my lungs and out of my mouth, followed by the sound of my heartbeat, imagined the flow of blood from my heart through arteries going all over and then returning in the same place through the veins… everything felt normal and I calmed down considerably.

I went over and over again through the same process, until something felt off. It was barely perceptible in the beginning, but after a couple more ‘rotations’, I could feel something else besides the air itself in my lungs. At the same time, I could hear a loud sound in the outside world, however I ignored it and focused on the colorless and near-invisible gas-like substance that was slowly integrating itself in my lungs.

Excited at the discovery of the substance that I deemed to be mana, I kept searching the remaining portions of my body, only to discover in utter defeat that there was nothing of sorts anywhere else but the lungs. But then, I had this idea: if the mana is everywhere and I absorb it similar to how we absorb oxygen, can’t I pass it through my body in a similar fashion?

“…and then, I could enhance my entire body with mana!”

Therefore, I focused even more on guiding the mana to link with the air I was breathing and tried to move it towards my heart accordingly. That’s how, after what it appeared to be an eternity…

“SUCCESS!!! Ugh…”

I yelled, followed by a sudden yelp of pain and a feeling similar to having a heart attack. No, that’s not correct! It actually felt that someone reached out into my body with their bare hands and was clawing intensely at everything it could. Not only that, but I found myself unable to breathe as well, as if… as if there was no oxygen to be had.

I fell face-first on the ground, one hand clutching at my chest and one grasping my neck, while wheezing and panicking. After five minutes of ongoing torture, I realized that it wasn’t that I didn’t have enough air to breathe, but I had just enough to keep me alive… lucky me!

“…wh..at the…f… AHCK!!!”

As soon as I thought I got used to the pain and tried focusing on the mana in my lungs again, I felt my heart beat so strongly, that I was certain it would burst. Why? Because I also coughed a stupid amount of blood as well, at the same time. Nevertheless, it didn’t. No… instead, the pain continued and the lungs that felt on fire initially, transferred some of that heat to the heart as well, as I kept coughing out blood.

This process went on and on, slowly subsiding as the feeling of relief took over. With the pain now bearable, I climbed back and brought my feet under me, while my body bobbed because of the lack of blood. Taking deep breaths and trembling like a leaf in the wind, I was able to feel mana entering my body besides the air itself, reinforcing and calming down my mind.

It was then that I noticed the message in front of my eyes.

[Congratulations! You have completed the Phase 2 and have been awarded 25% of your current level in mana skill proficiency!

Please use vocal command ‘Accept!’ in order to receive the reward.

Levels in mana proficiency are separated in tiers from beginner to godly level and will improve your control over mana accordingly. The more refined your core is, the better is mana distributed across your body!]

[Initializing Phase 3: Skills! Loading…]

I sighed and shook my head while pondering. Given how much pain I went through, it would be a waste to accept the reward right now, wouldn’t it? After all, I barely moved wisps of mana in my lungs and heart. What if…

“Ugh… I can’t believe I’m actually considering this! Did my preference deviate because of the pain!?”

… what if I could move mana all around my body? After all, just this small linkage between my heart and lungs increased the proficiency so much.

Mana

A primordial energy that exists everywhere and nowhere.

Its purpose is to enhance all forms of life.

To use mana you must feel it by meditating, followed by condensing it into a core.

Different mana colors represent different attributes and different core colors represent different ranks of mana purity.

Skill proficiency: LVL 0 (32%)