Chapter 5

With the items on the ground, we stood around in a circle in order to try and figure out who got what.

With the potion being used by me, there was both a sword and the rune from the hobgoblin left, and both of these items were enough to inspire greed.

Steel Sword

-Crafted by an amateur blacksmith, this sword is not especially sharp or durable, but is more than capable of getting the job done.

-Increases Strength by +2

-Increases Dexterity by +1

Not even considering the rune, this sword alone was enough to greatly strengthen any one of us. In comparison to our current weapons that didn’t even have a status screen, the plain looking sword gave a boost to both strength and dexterity.

Even though I had already used up the potion I still couldn’t help but want this weapon, any sane person would.

“Alrighty since me and James are the only people using a sword, and James used the potion does anyone disagree with me taking this bad boy?”

Gabe made a solid case, albeit being a brief time we had fought multiple battles using our weapons giving us a shallow understanding. It wouldn’t be a big deal if we were to switch weapons out especially this early, but considering our lives were at stake it seemed no one wanted to risk that.

With the vehement support from Rebecca, Gabe triumphally picked the sword back up with a clear look that he had been expecting this outcome.

Now only the rune was left.

“Anyone want to make a case?”

As much as I wanted it, taking two of our precious loot items just didn’t seem conceivable, and between the other three it was a hard choice.

If we wanted to, we could also just give the rune to Gabe and keep one member as strong as possible, but this previous fight alone showed that we all needed to be strong if we wanted to survive this.

This left Richard, Rebecca, and Ellie, and between the three the choice wasn’t simple.

Rebecca seemed the least compatible with the stats offered as she stayed in the backline.

On the other hand, both Ellie and Richard could equally make use of the given stats. Ellie would benefit from being more well rounded across the board, and although I didn’t know Richard’s stats his fighting style clearly focused on strength, so this rune was a perfect fit for him.

Personally, I was happy with either of them taking it as any of us getting stronger meant odds of survival went higher, but truthfully, I preferred Ellie taking the rune.

Despite my secret wishes, Gabe once again took charge of the conversation.

“Rebecca is fine with giving this up so that leaves just Ellie and Richard. I propose we give this one to Richard to support his current fighting style, is that alright with you Ellie?”

Despite us all risking our lives together, Ellie was still slightly hung up on talking in a group situation like this so naturally she had no choice but to agree. Maybe if it benefitted her more than she would’ve spoken up, but this time she chose not to.

With the rune’s new owner decided Richard picked up his new loot as his eyes moved about, clearly reading something invisible to the rest of us. After a couple of seconds, the rune flashed in a bright light before dissipating into bright particles that flew directly through Richard’s chest.

Like a man that had received a shock, Richard checked his physical condition as we watched on.

“Come on let’s get out of here. I’m sick of this shithole.”

With a newfound confidence Richard lead the way towards the large doors which opened up towards us as we got closer.

Revealing a completely new scenery, it seemed like we had truly beaten the first floor of this Tutorial.

Walking past the doors we were all welcomed with the warm feeling of sunlight lighting up our faces. Although I think we had all been wishing to see the sun again after being stuck in those gloomy tunnels, now that we were under it everything seemed just a tad bit too bright for my sensitive eyes. It was an unpleasant feeling, but it still beat out the stifling smells of goblins any day of the week.

Under the bright sun we were currently located at the top of a hill, overlooking a large valley. Surrounded by steep looking mountains, the land in front us us was massive and it would clearly take days to reach from one side to the other.

Covering a large portion of the valley was a flat looking plain covered with various landmarks. Movement could be seen but as if there was some sort of barrier preventing view, no details of it could be made out.

Separated from the plains by a wide river was a large portion of dense looking forest. The trees at the edge were as normal as anywhere on Earth, but they grew increasingly large until one tree in the middle reached an impossible height and clearly pierced the crowds. That one sight made the whole scenery in front of us that much more magical.

“Ahem.”

Brought out of our collected reverie, a cough brought our attention over towards the same large counter that we had seen previously. Now sat in the open, the counter was covered with a gently flowing tarp which covered it. And seated with his legs dangling over the counter, was our dear friend Grizz.

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“I see you have all survived your battles with those nasty creatures. Congratulations to you all.”

All though he had admitted to being of the same race as goblins earlier, his contempt against his fellow goblins was palpable. Not like I was about to question the little goblin with magical powers though, I’d rather not get killed for pissing him off.

“Welcome to the second floor of the Tutorial, now that you have an understanding of the situation, this is where your real test begins.”

Jumping down from his ledge, Grizz sauntered over past our group and onto the edge of the hill.

“For this next floor you will all need to be hit a quota by various means. Kill monsters, find treasures, idle away and do nothing, the choice is yours. You have three days to reach the quota or die. With me so far?”

Well, that’s a bit of a surprise.

Based on the first floor I was under the assumption that each floor would be the same, apparently, I was wrong though.

It seemed like everyone else was saving their questions for after his whole explanation, seeing this, Grizz happily continued.

“Over the course of the three days you are free to act as you wish if it is within bounds of this floor. Additionally, the points you earn towards your quota may also be used to purchase items from me, these points are still added to your result so no worries about spending too much.”

The little goblin seemed most excited about that last point, did he have something to gain from selling us stuff or was he just happy to give out loot?

“Also, if you look over to the side you will see a points board. Use this as reference to reaching your quota, oh yes, you’re all aiming for a total of 1000.”

Pointing to the side of the counter with his crooked finger, our attention was focused on the large board covered with printouts of various items.

It was too far away to see what exactly the items were but there were dozens to pick from.

“Hmmm. Hmmmmmmm….. I swear I’m forgetting somethinggggg…”

With clenched fists our little green guide rubbed his head in hopes of jogging his memory.

With a eureka the goblin did a little jump on the spot.

This guy could almost be seen as cute if you just took away his rows of terrifying teeth.

“Ah one last thing! This floor will also be completed solo, but don’t worry, each floor is identical so no worries about one of you having it easier than others. Exciting isn’t it.”

I take it back; this little shithead wasn’t cute at all.

Instantly going up in arms, Gabe and Rebecca strongly opposed this, seeing them act out, Richard also used this opportunity to lose his temper yet again.

Although I was remaining idle my emotions weren’t far from theirs. It wasn’t a long time but fighting with these strangers had developed a quick camaraderie, and now that was being taken away.

With Gabe and Rebecca strongly protesting his declaration, Grizz seemed completely unperturbed by this turn of events. It was clear that he was expecting some backlash.

“Enough.”

With a calm voice Grizz let out just one word, and with that all sound was drained from the area. Still with a smile on his face, Grizz continued his speech.

“Each floor is specifically designed to instil lessons within you, now that you have had a taste of what your new world will be like, it is time to survive it solo. In the end the only person you can truly rely on, is yourself. Survival of the fittest.”

With a sharp glare that shot from person to person, Grizz was clearly trying to get us to pay attention to his words.

“Now, any other questions?”

With that it felt like a weight had been lifted as we were able to speak again. It seemed that this was just another of the goblin’s mystery powers. I really, really, reaaalllyyy did not want to get on his bad side.

“So, if we don’t reach the quota, we die?”

“Yes Richard, instantaneous death meted out by the system themselves. It’ll be painless but certainly won’t be pretty.”

Okay so three days to hit a goal or die, simple enough. Right?

Honestly speaking I was confident, it didn’t feel like this Tutorial was designed to outright kill us, so this floor would likely be possible with a bit of effort. I was more concerned about Ellie in truth, not only had she not received any of the loot from the previous floor, but her stats were still lacking. Would she be alright?

Not caring about my internal worries, Grizz moved back to the counter and quickly jumped behind it with superhuman grace.

“Well then I will now be separating you all.”

With that one simple statement he closed his eyes as a vertigo-like feeling overcame me.

Around me Gabe and Rebecca hugged each other as they said their goodbyes.

Richard seemed a bit stressed out and was rubbing his hair. Sorry, his lack of hair would be more accurate.

Ellie was also clearly quite nervous, as she roughly clenched her oversized jumper she turned, and we made eye contact one last time.

‘Good luck’

Just after mouthing those two words in a silent farewell, everyone disappeared from my vision. It felt like I hadn’t moved at all but suddenly no one was around me.

“Welcome to the Second Floor James, care to buy something? Oh, you were all given a set number of points for clearing the First Floor.”

Hearing a voice, I wasn’t expecting so soon, Grizz remained behind the counter. With only his large top hat and half of his face above the counter, the little goblin stared at me waiting for an answer.

Clearly seeing the confusion evident on my face, a quick explanation came.

“Ah this form is just a clone designed for this floor, everyone else will also be receiving the same treatment so no worries there.”

Well that explains things. Kind of.

Beckoning me over with his clawed hands, I felt like I was left with no option as he pushed over a tablet towards me.

“Any points you earn may be spent using this. Your points will accrue over the floors, and you will be given multiple chances to buy items so choose carefully!”

“Uh yeah, thanks Grizz.”

Hopefully the goblin liked polite people, even if this was a clone I needed to try and get on it’s good side as much as possible. It was clear by this point that Grizz could kill me at any point if he truly wanted to.

Focusing on the tablet in front of me, it operated exactly like any other digital device would from Earth. Selecting the ‘Start’ option I was welcomed with a greetings message and a page full of categories to pick from.

Up the top a points balance was shown, by the looks of it I currently had 50 points to spend.

There were six categories to pick from with a seventh completely blacked out, the options were Essentials, Armour, Weapons, Skills, Runes, Potions.

It really did seem like almost anything could be bought here. Starting from the top I searched the Essentials category which consisted of toiletries, food, water and a variety of other everyday items. Most of the items here costed only a few points at most but as I continued to scroll the costs got ridiculous with some type of mystery meat costing thousands of points.

Working under a time constraint I wanted to secure points as fast as possible so I skipped the others and dove straight into the weapons category. Yet again the prices varied greatly but I could pick up a decent sword similar to the one from the previous floor for just 30 points.

Saving that item in my memory I also quickly scanned the other categories in case anything special popped out.

The armour, while worth it and something I needed eventually, wasn’t a large concern for the moment. The skills and runes were both absurdly expensive at even the cheapest items siting at a couple of hundred points. It would be fun to go through the list but for now my eyes were constantly glancing to a big timer sitting on the counter.

A big screen had started a countdown.

Seeing my time trickle down, I purchased the sword and bid a quick farewell to Grizz who had made a sword appear from thin air before giving it to me.

Steel Sword (Common)

- A sword crafted from one of the most common metals in the universe, mass manufactured for use by the system.

- Increases Strength by +1

- Increases Dexterity by +1

- Increases Endurance by +1

Ripping some papers off the points board I made my way down the hill and followed the path which eventually split. Between the forest and the plains, I chose to start with the plains, walking along the dark, claustrophobic forest could wait until I’ve had my fair share of sunlight.

With a new weapon in my hands and a positive can-do attitude, how could I ever fail. These thoughts circled my head instilling a false confidence as I made my way to my new hunting grounds.

Here’s to hoping I survive the next few days.