Archie was fifty meters away from the arched door, currently hiding in the shrubbery beside a tree looking at the only threat in sight; the tortoise sleeping in front of the mysterious door.
Looking at the five-meter-tall tortoise, Archie did not want to be the cause of making it awaken from its slumber, due to its high level. Curious as to why he couldn’t see its level, he looked at his Identify skill’s description.
Identify (Initiate):
A basic identification skill, given to all the myriad races within the multiverse. The skill allows you to see the history of items and identify creatures. Limited to your racial grade.
“Ah, the tortoise is a higher racial grade than I am,” Archie whispered…Shit.
Archie continued to creep around the tortoise using both the trees and shrubbery until he reached the door in the boulder. Finally getting a closer look at the door, it looked like a dark oak arched door with what looked like an iron door pull handle on its right side.
Still not able to identify the door, Archie kept moving toward the door, the only other thing Archie failed to identify was the Dire Wolf Dungeon. So, he had hopes that the door led to another dungeon providing him an opportunity to receive levels and get better loot.
Finally able to touch the door Archie was shown a prompt:
Profession Challenge Dungeon
Objective: ?
Reward: Shaman Profession, ? & ?
Requirements: Tutorial Participant & Must not have a Profession
Would you like to enter?
“Profession Challenge Dungeon? Wait, I can get a profession from this?” Archie whispered to himself, before opening his status.
Archie Gracefield
Race: Human F-Grade Lv 18
Class: Warrior Lv 23
Profession: *Empty*
Health: 861/861
Mana: 250/250
Stamina: 420/420
Stats:
Vitality: 82(86)
Strength: 92(96)
Endurance: 42
Agility: 64
Intelligence: 36
Wisdom: 25
Willpower: 26(27)
Perception: 25
Free Points: 13
Skills:
Basic One-Handed Weapon Mastery (Common)
Basic Light-Shield Mastery (Common)
Identify (Initiate)
Savage Charge (Rare)
Adrenaline Rush (Rare)
Warrior's Resilience (Rare)
Bloodline:
Adrenaline Junkie (Unique) [+5% to Strength and +5% to Willpower]
Titles Collected:
Bloodline Progenitor [+10 Vitality and +5% Vitality]
Tutorial Points:
1,306
“What do shamans even do?” Archie asked himself with a confused expression painting his face. “Aren’t shamans just like cracked-up psychos?”
THUD!
Goosebumps grew across Archie’s back at the loud sound coming from behind him, he slowly turned his head to see a giant turtle head looking directly at him fully awake.
The Tortoise raised its clawed paw and swung it at Archie in an attempt to squash him. Archie shouted, “I WANT TO ENTER THE DUNGEON!”
Just as Archie shouted the last few words, the clawed paw of the giant tortoise crashed onto his chest, ripping into his plated chain-mail and tearing into his chest.
As the tortoise’s clawed paw was lodged halfway into his chest, Archie’s body vanished from where he currently stood.
----------------------------------------
Waking up with a gasp, Archie’s eyes, unfocused and hazy, found himself staring at a cave ceiling, unable to move any of his limbs.
He laid on the cold stone ground, body drenched in sweat, every breath that came out was a rasping shallow imitation of a true breath. His chest piece in tatters, blood congealed across the chest piece.
He mentally called his status page to read:
Archie Gracefield
Race: Human F-Grade Lv 18
Class: Warrior Lv 23
Profession: *Empty*
Health: 54/861
Mana: 250/250
Stamina: 48/420
Stats:
Vitality: 82(86)
Strength: 92(96)
Endurance: 42
Agility: 64
Intelligence: 36
Wisdom: 25
Willpower: 26(27)
Perception: 25
Free Points: 13
Skills:
Basic One-Handed Weapon Mastery (Common)
Basic Light-Shield Mastery (Common)
Identify (Initiate)
Savage Charge (Rare)
Adrenaline Rush (Rare)
Warrior's Resilience (Rare)
Bloodline:
Adrenaline Junkie (Unique) [+5% to Strength and +5% to Willpower]
Titles Collected:
Bloodline Progenitor [+10 Vitality and +5% Vitality]
Tutorial Points:
1,306
“Fuck…” Archie groaned, his voice barely audible.
Knowing he needed to drink his stamina and health potion, Archie needed to use his remaining strength to flip himself to reach for his potions.
With a faint groan, he gathered what little strength remained, pushing against the ground with his trembling arms. Every fiber of his body screamed in protest as he willed his limbs in motion. His arms, limp and heavy, refusing to obey at first, but the adrenaline weakly pulsating through his being gave his arms enough energy to push himself on his side.
Shakily reaching into his potion pouch, Archie pulled out both his stamina and health potions. Archie brought the health potion to his mouth as he tore the cork from the bottle, some of the liquid spilled onto the floor as he downed the potion.
After finishing the potion, Archie dropped the empty potion bottle on the ground, ripped the cork from the stamina potion, and downed the stamina potion.
Archie opened his status page to see:
Archie Gracefield
Race: Human F-Grade Lv 18
Class: Warrior Lv 23
Profession: *Empty*
Health: 554/861
Mana: 250/250
Stamina: 420/420
Stats:
Vitality: 82(86)
Strength: 92(96)
Endurance: 42
Agility: 64
Intelligence: 36
Wisdom: 25
Willpower: 26(27)
Perception: 25
Free Points: 13
Skills:
Basic One-Handed Weapon Mastery (Common)
Basic Light-Shield Mastery (Common)
Identify (Initiate)
Savage Charge (Rare)
Adrenaline Rush (Rare)
Warrior's Resilience (Rare)
Bloodline:
Adrenaline Junkie (Unique) [+5% to Strength and +5% to Willpower]
Titles Collected:
Bloodline Progenitor [+10 Vitality and +5% Vitality]
Tutorial Points:
1,306
Looking at his health he saw it was over 60% full and stamina fully replenished, Archie closed his eyes exhausted from overexerting himself.
----------------------------------------
Archie’s eyes snapped open, his head slightly throbbing, as he remembered what happened before he passed out. He slowly got up from the ground pushing aside the empty potion bottles next to him.
Looking down at his chest, he saw his chestpiece ripped apart, allowing him to see his torso. Archie’s already scarred torso now bore four new large gashes that had partially healed and scabbed over. No doubt this would be added to his growing collection of scars on his body.
“I lived,” Archie chuckled with a stupid smile on his face. “My bloodline gave me enough health to live and gave me the boost to grab my potions”
Looking at his notification he read:
Profession Challenge Dungeon
Objective 1: Connect with the spirits around you.
Reward: Shaman Profession
Confused, Archie asked himself, “How does one connect with spirits?”
“I knew this was some bullshit hippie…shit,” Archie said, shaking his head.
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Looking around the cave he saw that the cave was large, easily ten times the size of his first cave. Scattered across the ground and ceiling were glowing crystals, they produced soft hues of blue, green, and violets casting enough light to make the entire cave visible.
In the center of the cave, stood a dark oak cabin – something seemingly utterly out of place yet perfectly in place. The cabin’s wood was aged and weathered; the dark oak looked almost ebony-colored. Its walls were rough-hewn, with intricate carvings of serpents, ravens, and many strange symbols etched deeply into the wood.
Visible through the windows of the cabin, the light produced a yellow-orange hue. Walking towards the cabin, Archie walked up to the door and pushed the door open allowing him to see what the cabin kept hidden.
The interior of the cabin was sparse, yet every element within exuded an air of deep purpose. At the center of the space stood a single desk, weathered and worn, its surface covered in strange symbols similar to those on the cabin’s exterior. ‘Some magic symbols probably’ Archie thought
Atop the desk lay two worn books with the titles, Connecting with the Spirits and A Guide to Shamanism both by the same author, Myrddin Oaken. Beside the books was a single silver knife, its handle similarly covered in symbols, looking unsettlingly sharp.
Beside the desk was a lone chair, symbols covering the chair, intricately designed as though it belonged to royalty.
In the far corner, a bed rested against the wall, its frame polished and beautifully designed with symbols carved across the sides and the headboard. The mattress and sheets looked to be softer than anything he had ever seen.
Opening Connecting with the Spirits symbols glowed before transforming to English. Slightly bewildered, Archie spoke aloud the first few words, eyes widening as he read, “I am Myrddin Oaken a B-Grade Elf, born during the 13th cycle.”
Continuing he read, ‘This dungeon was created to spread druidism to newly initiated worlds, with the initial aspect being Shamanism. I understand that what I might be speaking about Shamanism might seem to be hogwash, you might think of spirits as fiction. But a close friend of mine grew up during the time of his universe’s integration, and he spoke about how during his world’s history magic was a fictional concept.’
Archie nodded at what he read. ‘Connecting with the spirits is a very personalized and intimate action. By infusing mana in your surroundings and trying to commune with the echoes of the spirits around you. An easy way to connect with the echoes of the spirits is to infuse your mana into the area around you and directly into one of the crystals scattered across the cave surrounding the cabin.’
“Oh, ok. Now I just have to figure out how to use mana.” Archie said finally glad he found out how to complete the dungeon objective.
Continuing on he read, ‘After connecting with the spirits for the first time, you should unlock the Shaman Profession which grants you the passive ability to connect with the spirits around you when channeling your mana into your environment without the need of the crystal.’
After the final sentence, Archie turned the page only to find no more sheets.
“The hell? That was short. I guess these symbols etched into the leather of the book were designed to prolong the lifespan of the notebook.” Archie reasoned
Placing the book down, Archie left the cabin and walked a good few meters away before sitting down. As he sat in a meditative position, According to both game and fantasy lore, you access mana for the first time by meditation.
Archie closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind from the thoughts that came to him. His breathing deepened and slowed, imagining himself becoming one with the environment around him.
----------------------------------------
“I knew that this meditation thing was fake,” Archie complained, annoyed that he spent what felt like hours doing nothing.
Feeling bored, he opened the Tutorial page, to see:
Solo Tutorial
The 72nd cycle has begun; thus, a tutorial is needed to increase the survivability of the newly integrated myriad races. The Hoarfrost Highlands is filled with various creatures from across the universe, each providing Tutorial Points upon their death to their killer. After the Solo Tutorial is completed, all Solo Tutorial Participants will be teleported into random Group Tutorials. Tutorial Points will be used to gain rewards after the full tutorial is completed.
Completion Criteria: Survive for 30 days.
Time remaining: 19 days & 16:04:54
“Five days! I slept for five days?” Archie shouted, astonished at how much he slept.
“I wasted five days just sleeping, I can’t be wasting time screwing around anymore.” Archie said as he stood from his ‘meditative form’.
Archie opened his status page trying to figure out how to channel his mana, reading each skill description one skill stood out.
Adrenaline Rush (Rare):
For a period of time, you experience a surge of adrenaline, enhancing all physical attributes by 25%. However, the intense exertion puts a strain on the body, leading to temporary exhaustion once the effect wears off. Heavily Touched by the records of Adrenaline Junkie.
Activating Adrenaline Rush, Archie watched as the steam emitted from his body—a visible sign that his skill activated and caused him to check his mana reserves to confirm that his mana had indeed drained slightly. His heart raced as a new idea formed in his mind. What if he could feel how the mana moved within him? Determined, he began to rapidly toggle Adrenaline Rush on and off, focusing on the strange, intangible energy that powered his skill.
With each activation, a pulse of heat surged through his core, fleeting and elusive, as if the mana itself was alive—dancing through his veins like a gust of wind slipping through his fingers. He concentrated harder, trying to feel the flow of the energy inside him. When he deactivated the skill, he caught a glimpse of it—a sliver of warmth, a delicate thread within his body that he hadn’t noticed before.
Archie inhaled deeply and focused on that warmth, his mind reaching for it. He imagined grasping the thread, pulling it toward him, guiding it—but just as quickly as he felt it, the warmth vanished, slipping from his mental hold like sand through his fingers.
“Damn it,” he muttered, clicking his tongue in frustration. His breath came out in short huffs, but he wasn’t ready to give up. His senses heightened, his body still thrumming with adrenaline, Archie steeled himself for another attempt. This time, he promised himself, he would not let it slip away.
The next attempt Archie made was met with a similar failure, but not disparaging Archie soldiered on; his mind focused on trying to control his mana for the first time.
***
Slightly tired and mana reserves almost empty, Archie tried once more to sense mana, activating Adrenaline Rush once more. He felt the sliver of mana travel from his navel and spread across his body, deactivating the skill, he held on to the mana strings that spread throughout his body and slowly allowed them all to return to his navel except for one.
Successfully retaining the singular mana string, he decided to extend the string out from his body and into the air. As a result, two dings echoed within his head, making Archie smile.
Looking at the notifications, he saw:
Skill Gained: [Meditation (Uncommon)]
Meditation (Uncommon):
By clearing your mind of the outside world and silencing all stray thoughts, you achieve meditation. While in meditation, Health, Stamina, and Mana regeneration are enhanced.
Skill Gained: [Mana Manipulation (Common)]
Mana Manipulation (Common):
You have gained the ability to tap into the raw energy of mana. As a novice, your control is still unrefined, allowing you to clumsily manage your own mana flow. This skill provides foundational knowledge, enabling you to progressively enhance your ability to channel, control, and shape mana.
Upon reading the new skill descriptions, Archie gritted his teeth as unfamiliar knowledge poured into his head.
After a couple of minutes, his headache faded, allowing him to properly assess what just happened. Slowly, bits and pieces of new knowledge filtered through, such as better ways to control his mana strings as well as how to exude his own mana.
Feeling confident now with his newly gained mana manipulation skill, Archie created a mana string with surprising ease and connected the mana string with his newly Uncommon rarity shield. Testing his theory he had mulled over when trying to control his mana, ‘Maybe mana is needed to activate the self-repair.’
As he connected the mana string to the shield, he felt the shield drain his mana reserves, he identified his shield.
Iron Heater Shield (Common):
An iron-rimmed light-shield with a wooden base, provided to those who have chosen the Warrior starting class. Effect: Soul-bound & Self-repair. Status: Moderately beaten & slashed. Requirements: Humanoid Race.
Archie smiled once more remembering the previous status of the shield. Finally glad on both figuring out how to control his mana and repair his shield.
All that’s left is to grab a crystal, and imbue mana inside it and into my surroundings. I should probably fill my mana reserves and increase my mana reserves before imbuing the crystal. Archie thought before placing ten points into Intelligence.
Archie Gracefield
Race: Human F-Grade Lv 18
Class: Warrior Lv 23
Profession: *Empty*
Health: 554/861
Mana: 28/250
Stamina: 420/420
Stats:
Vitality: 82(86)
Strength: 92(96)
Endurance: 42
Agility: 64
Intelligence: 46
Wisdom: 25
Willpower: 26(27)
Perception: 25
Free Points: 3
Skills:
Basic One-Handed Weapon Mastery (Common)
Basic Light-Shield Mastery (Common)
Identify (Initiate)
Savage Charge (Rare)
Adrenaline Rush (Rare)
Warrior's Resilience (Rare)
Bloodline:
Adrenaline Junkie (Unique) [+5% to Strength and +5% to Willpower]
Titles Collected:
Bloodline Progenitor [+10 Vitality and +5% Vitality]
Tutorial Points:
1,306
Archie took out a mana potion and downed it in one go before tossing it to the ground. Archie then decided to walk towards a violet crystal that produced a hue of violet light.