Groaning in pain from his fight with the Juvenile Gorilla, Archie awoke, his body bruised, and his left arm dislocated. Looking at his notifications, Archie rolled his eyes.
Looking to his right, he saw the dead gorilla. “That’s a baby gorilla? I can’t imagine how strong an adult one is,” Archie said, chuckling at the thought of a giant roided-up gorilla being considered as a baby. What else does this system have in store for me?
Glancing outside the cave, he noticed it was no longer noon, and the moon was beginning to appear.
“I wonder how much time has passed since the tutorial began,” Archie mumbled, staring at the moon.
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: 24:20:37
“I was asleep for 2 days?” Archie shouted, his voice echoing within the cave.
“Was I that exhausted after the fight?” he mumbled to himself, still looking at the dead gorilla. Remembering his notifications just before he passed out, he opened his status to see:
Archie Gracefield
Race: Human F-Grade Lv 13
Class: Warrior Lv 15
Profession: *Empty*
Health: 178/640
Mana: 100/200
Stamina: 80/270
Stats:
Vitality: 61(64)
Strength: 51(53)
Endurance: 27
Agility: 36
Intelligence: 21
Wisdom: 20
Willpower: 21(22)
Perception: 20
Free Points: 20
Skills:
Basic One-Handed Weapon Mastery (Common)
Basic Light-Shield Mastery (Common)
Identify (Initiate)
Savage Charge (Rare)
Adrenaline Rush (Rare)
Bloodline:
Adrenaline Junkie (Unique) [+5% to Strength and +5% to Willpower]
Titles Collected:
Bloodline Progenitor [+10 Vitality and +5% Vitality]
Tutorial Points:
380
Checking his health and stamina, Archie took out the potions he had received from the system aspect before entering the Solo Tutorial. Upon reaching into his pouch, he noticed the potions undamaged from the fight before. “Huh…Are they unbreakable or something?” Archie wondered, looking at the undamaged glass bottles, he was sure that he was tossed around like a rag. While he was grateful they hadn’t cracked, shouldn't at least one of them have broken?
Identifying the three different bottle types he saw:
Potion of Health (Common):
A potion provided from the System to a new initiate Warrior class. This potion when drunk fully restores a total of 500 Health. Adverse effects will occur if one drinks another Potion of Health before the cooldown expires. Indestructible to anyone below E-Grade. Cooldown duration: 1 hour.
Potion of Stamina (Common):
A potion provided from the System to a new initiate Warrior class. This potion when drunk fully restores a total of 500 Stamina. Adverse effects will occur if one drinks another Potion of Stamina before the cooldown expires. Indestructible to anyone below E-Grade. Cooldown duration: 1 hour.
Potion of Mana (Common):
A potion provided from the System to a new initiate Warrior class. This potion when drunk fully restores a total of 500 Mana. Adverse effects will occur if one drinks another Potion of Mana before the cooldown expires. Indestructible to anyone below E-Grade. Cooldown duration: 1 hour.
Drinking both the Health and Stamina potions, he saw that both his health and stamina pools were now fully restored. Satisfied, he placed the two empty potion bottles back into his pouch and decided to look at his skill notifications.
Skill Gained: [Power Boost (Uncommon)]
Power Boost (Uncommon):
By channeling your inner strength, temporarily boost all physical stats by 10%. After use, you will feel temporary physical and mental exhaustion.
Skill Evolution: [Power Boost (Uncommon) → Adrenaline Rush (Rare)]
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. The records of the skill have been heavily touched by the records of Adrenaline Junkie.
Skill Evolution: [Warrior’s Charge (Common) → Savage Charge (Rare)]
Savage Charge (Rare):
You charge forward with explosive speed, crashing into a single target with devastating force. Upon impact, the strike deals significant damage the following attacks deal increased damage. Maximum distance is calculated by half of your Agility stat. The records of the skill have been heavily touched by the records of Adrenaline Junkie.
“Nice! Two rare skills!” Archie smiled. "Hmm... they both were enhanced by my bloodline...I wonder how that works."
Looking away from the system notifications, he glanced again at the dead gorilla, still smiling. But his brow furrowed, and his smile faded into a frown.
“Wait, why am I happy? I almost died in that fight,” Archie said, confused. “Last time I had a fight to the death, I broke down afterward... but now I’m happy. Why? Is the system turning me into some kind of killing machine who gets pleasure from killing?” he muttered, pacing around the cave, trying to make sense of what caused him to act like this.
“Ah,” he said, suddenly stopping. “My bloodline...I got two rare skills because of my bloodline. Who's to say it can't change the way I think? Or if it hasn't already?”
As the thought settled, he recalled what his bloodline entailed. Voice dropping to a murmur, he muttered, “Adrenaline is constantly coursing through my body. Adrenaline kicks in during threatening or exciting situations... and my bloodline tells me I’m addicted to it. Meaning I’ll instinctually be throwing myself into dangerous situations to do…my next fix...”
Archie stared at the moon, as if hoping for an answer on what to do next.
----------------------------------------
Slapping both sides of his face, Archie shook his head and said, “It is what it is. I can’t change my bloodline; the best I can do is work with it and turn it into a strength. I get stronger in intense, dangerous situations—remember the first couple of days in this tutorial? Remember falling off that cliff and surviving!” He pumped himself up, snapping out of his earlier gloom.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Looking at his status page again, Archie allocated ten points each to Strength and Endurance.
Donning his sword and shield, he headed into the forest, glancing at the rising sun as he gathered firewood to cook some gorilla meat before exploring the tunnel in the cave.
----------------------------------------
“A bit chewy, but edible,” Archie muttered, sitting next to the glowing embers of his small campfire, tossing a large bone aside.
With his belly full of gorilla meat and snow water, Archie grabbed a large stick and stuck one end in the fire. Now holding a makeshift torch, he turned toward the tunnel, ready to explore.
As he entered, he realized the tunnel was much deeper than he had initially thought. He had already walked over 10 meters and still hadn’t seen anything but rock and tufts of snow-colored moss.
A few more meters of walking revealed something glowing dull brown in the shape of a door. Archie tried to identify it but failed.
“Looks like a brown portal, like the one the system aspect made,” he thought.
Curious, Archie reached out and touched the strange brown portal and was immediately met with a system message.
Dire Wolf Dungeon
Objective: Purge all wolves from within the dungeon
Reward: ? & ?
Requirements: Below Level 25
Would you like to enter?
“Wolves huh… I never thought I would have to face them again so soon after my first night… I should fight them, if nothing else to get over any phobia I could have gotten from that wolf.” Archie mumbled to himself, tightening his grip on both his shield and sword with a determined look on his face.
“Yes, I would like to enter the Dire Wolf Dungeon” Archie confirmed.
Not a second later, the dull glowing from the dungeon entrance disappeared, Archie, taking the hint, decided to pass through.
Entering the dungeon, Archie was greeted with the stench of wet dog fur. Slightly taken aback, he shook his head once more in an attempt to shake the effects of the smell, besides, the monkey cave he was in smelt almost as bad.
Looking around he saw a not unsimilar sight from the monkey den, fur matted the floor with brown stains dotting the floor and a doorway across from him. The doorway looked to be sealed as a light blue hue blocked his view inside the doorway.
Aside from the Dungeon’s interior, Archie saw many dark grey wolves staring at him with their large teeth barred. The wolves stood at a height of two and a half feet but looked thin; like they hadn’t eaten in days, and he was going to be their next meal.
Steeling himself, he Identified both the sealed doorway and one of the wolves.
Sealed Dungeon Doorway:
Objective 1: Slay all wolves within the cave 0/13
[Dire Wolf Lv 19]
“With this amount of them, my shield is useless; even if I do block one, the other wolves would pounce on me. I should just focus on kiting them with both my hatchet and sword: charge at one, attack, jump back, and repeat.” Archie said while analyzing how to kill the wolves.
Placing his shield on the ground and taking out his hatchet, Archie stared at the thirteen hungry-looking wolves with a hatchet in one hand and a sword in the other. Archie felt his adrenaline move from the lull it previously flowed at and start to ramp up, vanishing his worries and filling him with confidence.
“Time for some grinding,” Archie said before running towards the wolves and activating Savage Charge once he was fifteen meters away from the wolf pack.
Seemingly turning into a blur, Archie appeared in front of the pack, hatchet easily slicing through the wolf’s neck and his sword stabbed in another’s eye socket. Archie pulled his sword from the wolf’s skull and towards the nearest wolf that lunged at his face, while his hatchet found itself slicing through the maw of another one.
Archie jumped backward from the wolf pack, preventing himself from being piled on.
Archie decided to use Savage Charge once more into the right side of the pack, crashing into another wolf and lopping its head off, he sliced his sword into another wolf’s neck. “I’m liking this new skill already,” Archie smiled.
----------------------------------------
“That was fun”, Archie said breathlessly, taking both his hatchet and sword out of dire wolf corpses.
Looking at his system notifications he saw:
*[Dire Wolf Lv 19] has been slain – XP has been given. 38 Tutorial Points given*
***
*[Dire Wolf Lv 19] has been slain – XP has been given. 38 Tutorial Points given*
*Your Class has reached Lv 16 – Points allocated, +1 Free Point*
***
*Your Class has reached Lv 18 – Points allocated, +1 Free Point*
*Your Race has reached Lv 14 – Points allocated, +1 Free Point*
*Your Race has reached Lv 15 – Points allocated, +1 Free Point*
Opening his status page, Archie saw:
Archie Gracefield
Race: Human F-Grade Lv 15
Class: Warrior Lv 18
Profession: *Empty*
Health: 724/724
Mana: 220/220
Stamina: 260/390
Stats:
Vitality: 69(72)
Strength: 69(72)
Endurance: 39
Agility: 41
Intelligence: 23
Wisdom: 22
Willpower: 23(24)
Perception: 22
Free Points: 5
Skills:
Basic One-Handed Weapon Mastery (Common)
Basic Light-Shield Mastery (Common)
Identify (Initiate)
Savage Charge (Rare)
Adrenaline Rush (Rare)
Bloodline:
Adrenaline Junkie (Unique) [+5% to Strength and +5% to Willpower]
Titles Collected:
Bloodline Progenitor [+10 Vitality and +5% Vitality]
Tutorial Points:
874
Archie smiled at his stats and looked at the sealed doorway, which now disappeared, and in its place was an entrance to the next part of the dungeon.
Archie placed his hatchet into the straps of his pouch and walked to where he placed his shield on the ground. After properly equipping his shield, he made his way into the next area of the dungeon.
After entering the next section of the dungeon Archie noticed two similar things, a sealed door and another pack of wolves.
The sealed door had a similar light blue hue preventing Archie from passing through. The wolves stood three feet tall, with lean physiques and dull matted coats.
Sealed Dungeon Doorway:
To break the seal, all the Guardian Wolves within this room must be killed 0/4
[Guardian Wolf Lv 26]
These wolves were two levels higher than the Juvenile Gorilla, but Archie felt confident as he tightened his grip on his sword and shield. Kicking off the ground, he charged at the four Guardian Wolves. After all, he was now collectively eleven levels stronger than when he had faced the Juvenile Gorilla.
When Archie was twenty meters away from the nearest wolf, he activated Savage Charge. Smashing his shield upwards into its neck, the wolf’s head snapped up to face the sky, allowing his sword purchase into its neck.
Before Archie could pull his sword out, a wolf on his right side snapped its jaws onto his arm. In response, Archie smashed the crown of his shield into the skull of the wolf, causing the wolf to jerk its head back and release Archie’s arm from its maw.
Jumping back before the other two wolves pounced on him, Archie unslung his hatchet, aiming for the discombobulated wolf, and used Savage Charge once more. Upon reaching the wolf, he cracked its skull with the hatchet producing a ding, raising his shield to block another wolf’s lunge, pulled his sword from the first wolf, and stabbed it into a wolf trying to jump on him from above.
Deciding to try something for the first time, Archie activated Savage Charge into the wolf that he blocked. The Savage Charge into a point-blank foe caused the wolf to fly four meters away from where it previously stood.
The wolf that tried to pounce on him was on the ground sword now fully ran through him with the tip protruding through its back. Hearing the ding, Archie grabbed his hatchet and walked toward the dazed wolf, before chopping its head off hearing the fourth ding.
The seal blocking the next doorway now released, Archie looked at his notifications:
*[Guardian Wolf Lv 26] has been slain – XP has been given. 78 Tutorial Points given*
***
*[Guardian Wolf Lv 26] has been slain – XP has been given. 78 Tutorial Points given*
*Your Class has reached Lv 19 – Points allocated, +1 Free Point*
*Your Class has reached Lv 20 – Points allocated, +1 Free Point*
*Your Race has reached Lv 16 – Points allocated, +1 Free Point*
*Warrior class skills available. Choose one of the options*