We pushed forward slowly and quietly but found no more wolves. The whole situation had started to feel like a video game. As if we were in the rooms before the final boss chamber where we were supposed to do our final healing. After we had walked for another thirty minutes we entered a massive chamber. I mentally prepared myself as a deep guttural growl banished the uncomfortable silence. Across from us a wolf that would give the legendary Fenrir a run for its money appeared. It was the size of a car with jet-black fur and teeth the size of daggers.

The wolf gave off an almost palpable sense of danger that made my teeth itch. For a moment no one moved, both sides just stared at each other. I circulated my spiritual energy in tune with the cultivation method. Ram let out a roar and the wolf charged I wasn't sure which happened first and it didn't matter. The stillness was replaced with the chaos of battle. Ram charged the wolf with his spear raised while Kim attempted to circle behind it. I waited until I saw the whites of its eyes to unleash a blast of psychic energy. The blast caught the beast in the forehead only the expected sight of it collapsing to the ground didn't come. The wolf pushed through the attack as if it weren't there and then slammed into Ram like a runaway truck. The man flew back but managed to keep hold of his spear. The wolf then turned its attention to me.

It let out a howl and pointed its maw toward the ceiling. Every instinct in my body told me to move, to not let whatever it was about to do hit me. Before I could make my decision Kim dashed forward her dagger aimed at the wolf's throat. Her blade slammed into the beast's fur and shattered like it was made of glass. My eyes widened in surprise as Kim retreated. The wolf's howl ended as a sphere of utter darkness formed in its maw. The wolf unleashed its attack and a scream of danger shot through my entire body. I turned and tackled Kim to the ground just as the sphere passed over us. When the attack ended the back wall had a hole blasted straight through. I scanned the area in search of Ram but couldn't find him.

"Fuck." I got back to my feet a second later and focused on the wolf. "I don't think it can unleash another attack like that for a few minutes at least. We should attack now." I turned only to find myself alone. "What the?" It didn't take long for me to find both Kim and Ram had disappeared down the path we took to get here. They left me. The wolf only gave me a second to process the betrayal before it resumed its attack. I pushed the pair out of my mind and pushed energy into my sigil. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the wolf rushed me. All my fear faded and was replaced with a strange sensation. One I didn't understand, not really. I unleashed **Psychic Blast** as soon as the wolf had crossed half the distance to me. This time the wolf staggered slightly. I continued another attack as rapidly as I could but was forced to dodge as the wolf closed in. I narrowly avoided its jaws only for its claw to rise and slash me across the stomach.

I retreated a few feet and unleashed another Psychic Blast. This time the wolf dodged which gave me a second to catch my breath. The injury in my stomach wasn't deep enough to be life-threatening at least not right now. I unleashed another blast of psychic energy as the wolf resumed its charge. The wolf howled its jaw snapped shut nearly decapitating me as I dived beneath it. My heart pounded as we sized each other up. I was low on spiritual energy and based on how the wolf moved it wasn't doing much better. The wolf charged and I smiled. Adrenaline flowed through my veins like electricity. I pushed the last of my energy into the sigil, indigo energy formed in my palm. The wolf crossed half the distance and only seemed to get faster. Still, I refused to release the attack. I would only get one shot and there was no way that I would survive a melee with it. I felt a pop in my mind and the last of my energy streamed into the sigil as if a dam had burst. I threw my hand forward with a defiant shout.

A beam of mental energy surged forward like some kind of comic book beam. I locked eyes with the wolf just as the attack connected. The wolf's eyes turned vacant and it collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. I released the attack a second later. Exhaustion unlike anything I had ever felt washed over me and I collapsed to my knees. I fought to stay awake as a torrent of energy exploded inside me. I gained two levels immediately as my body shook with energy. "Fuck!" The surge of energy slowly faded and a part of me wished to have it again. Another part of me was worried that it might be addictive. Either way, there was nothing I could do about it. I slowly got back to my feet, my dantian mostly filled but the exhaustion I felt was something else entirely.

"So now what? System? I did it." A part of me still felt like it was crazy to talk to the air. A bit like prayer only I expected a literal response. When nothing happened I sighed and pulled my Status Screen. My six points went into Wisdom and I started to wonder when that should change. I mean the wolf was much stronger than me and its claws could tear through me like butter. My Wisdom was around twice as high as the other attributes. Should I avoid the glass cannon play style? Or should I embrace it? It wasn't important yet especially after I already spent the points. Maybe the elementals would be able to give me some tips? I turned my attention to my title page and I smiled. I had grabbed a few more.

**Prime Hunter: First to kill a boss-ranked entity solo in the world. All Attributes +5, All Attributes +10%.**

**Big Game: Solo kill enemy 10 levels or more above you. All Attributes +2.**

**Monstersbane: Solo kill enemy 5 levels or more above you. All Attributes +1.**

Huh? The System must have considered it a solo battle because the others abandoned me. I am not sure either of them had even landed a serious hit. I filed that information away for later. I gave my status screen a final review before closing it.

Name Amari Jackson Level 5 Species [1]Human Affiliation Earth Titles Big Game, Chosen, Leader of the Pack, Monstersbane, Prime Hunter Limited Titles Agility 23 Constitution 23 Intelligence 28 Luck 24 Perception 20 Strength 23 Wisdom 40 Free Points 0 System Credits 00

I was about to go and search for Kim and Ram when a familiar voice filled my mind.

Quest 1 Complete. Calculating Personal Contribution. Contribution 99%. Time Taken: Three Hours. Quest Grade: A+. Reward Distribution has begun.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

I smiled at that and rubbed my hands together. It appeared that the System liked people who helped themselves. I raised an eyebrow when I found a small brown box at my feet. I was 99% sure that wasn't there before which was creepy. Not only could the System teleport people and things but it could do so without my notice. I picked up and opened the box and found a small crystal. It wasn't quite the same as the information crystal but it was made with the same likeness. When I sent a bit of energy inside it I received a burst of information that made my grin widen.

Psychic Aegis - Create a Barrier of Mental Energy that surrounds you. The durability of the shield is based on your Wisdom Attribute.

Well, it looks like when the System says it will reward you. It rewards you, not only was a shield spell exactly what I needed but this scaled based on Wisdom. It would solve the glass cannon issue of course it didn't mean I could just dump everything into the attribute. I would need to pick a secondary one but for now, for the tutorial, this would be beyond clutch. I sent another stream of energy this time the spell's sigil passed into my body and settled in the spot on my left arm.

[1]Psychic Aegis – Proficiency: Novice The Greatest Shield Is the Mind. Upgradable.

The second message was a surprise. The upgradable part was new as well. I quickly checked my other spell and confirmed that one didn't include that. So did that mean I would have to get rid of it at some point? Or was there something else I could do with it? I was pulled from that inevitable spiral when the System's voice returned.

Teleportation Commencing

The teleportation ended and I once again found myself in the large city. It only took a moment for more people to arrive, it seemed that all the quests ended around the same time. Which was pretty nice. I searched around for Ram or Kim but couldn't find them. I wasn't sure what I would do if I had found them. On one hand, I understood why they would leave, the wolf was dangerous and survival was paramount for everyone. On the other hand, they left me to die which pissed me off. Of course, there was no way I would run in that situation and there was no way we would have escaped and I got the titles for it. I considered it for a few more moments before I gave up. As long as they don't do anything more then I won't go after them.

I was about to head for my apartment when a familiar woman appeared in the sky above us. The happiness on her face clashed with the overall somber mood. It was a bit like a ray of light pressed against a dower-heavy darkness. "Hello, you all have officially completed your first quest. Those of you who have survived have grown more powerful. You should be proud. Now you all should have noticed a new title under your limited titles area. The title will not provide any benefits for now but as you progress in the tutorial you will gain more benefits. So you should strive to reach the top and carve your name in the stars."

Ok even I had to admit she had laid it on thick just then but she was right about the new title. It was just called "Tutorial-" and based on the description it would evolve after each quest. Its evolution was based on performance so I just needed to push myself harder to get better rewards. Morbidly, the tutorial was a true meritocracy. There were no families, no way to buy advantages it was up to you and what you managed to grab. I stretched my neck as the woman started again.

"Now you all may return to your apartments for rest. Tomorrow you will return here for a lesson in cultivation and the multiverse. Please enjoy the rest of your night."

With that, the woman turned and disappeared into the sky. After a few seconds, I lost sight of her and I wasn't sure if that was because she moved out of view or if she had turned invisible. Everyone stood still for a moment before someone started to cry. The sound immediately reminded me of what the woman had said. _For those of you who survived._ Just how many of us died during the first quest? I didn't notice a change in the size of the crowd but there were so many of us here that it would have been impossible. The last embers of anger I had with Ram and Kim faded. If it were my child and I had to choose between fighting a giant wolf and running away to guarantee I made it back which would I choose? I shook my head and followed the line of people into the building. I originally planned to get some more cultivation done but I quickly gave up on that. Now that the adrenaline was gone I was tired. I chuckled to myself "Bone tired" as Ms. Sandra would say. I got undressed and was asleep within a few moments.

I woke up with a familiar but subdued hum. I got out of bed and reached for my clothes. I was half-dressed when I caught sight of myself in the mirror. The nasty cut across my stomach had become a rather nasty scar. I wondered if that was the System's work or if it was based on my Constitution attribute. It was one of many things I would have to look into or ask someone about. Once I was dressed I made my way out of the building. The crowd out here was much smaller than the previous one though it was still quite large. Probably somewhere around a sports arena on championship night. Today it was neither the lava man nor the wind woman. It was a blue-skinned androgynous person with no hair and gills on the side of their neck. I had just settled into a spot on the ground when they began to speak. Their voice sounded like they were underwater and very distant.

"Good Morning humans of earth. My name is Aina. It is good to see so many people invested in the pursuit of knowledge. Your first official lesson will be on the nature of spiritual energy. By now you all should be aware of attuned energy. That is energy with a particular resonance to it. You would recognize it as wind fire or lightning. Most of you should have a skill or a spell that takes care of the conversion for you. When you push your energy into the sigil or sigils on your body that spiritual energy is taken from its unattuned state and into a new attuned state. That energy is then manifested based on the nature of that skill or spell."

I wished I had a notebook or my phone with me. This was valuable information. I couldn't be completely sure but it sounded like it would be possible to manipulate the energy without relying on the sigil. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to do this but I figured what's the worse that could happen and raised my hand. A second later Aina's voice sounded like it was all around me. Like the weirdest surround sound in history.

"Is there something you would like to ask?" Their eyes flashed a dull blue color for a second. "Amari."

I filed that away for another time and nodded. "I wanted to know where the sigils come from. It sounds a bit like they are just training wheels for our abilities."

Aina stared at me for a second before slowly blinking. The entire thing was a bit frightening but I decided to ignore that. "Your question is good. The sigils are codified applications of the Great Tao. Though that is beyond the parameters of today's lesson."

And just like that I was back in school. I hated that, why couldn't you just tell me what I wanted to know instead of forcing me to go through a different class or speak to a new teacher? I just wanted to know the thing when I asked about it. Of course, there was no way in whatever hells existed that I was about to complain to the fish person. Especially when I still wasn't sure how the whole sky lightning thing worked.

"You may have noticed that you have other sources of energy. Spiritual energy is the core of your cultivation and is thus the most important but your physical stamina is just as important as your psychic or mental energy. All of these are some of the various energies that you may encounter in the multiverse."

I perked up at the mention of mental energy but it was clear that they had just wrapped up the lesson. I resisted the urge to ask them about it. I still had my hands full with my normal cultivation so experimenting with mental energy would have to take a back seat.

"Ah, one more thing. You all should have received a quest at the start of today's lesson. Be sure to do your best." Aina's voice interrupted my thoughts and before I had thought about it I had pulled my quest menu. I couldn't help but grin when I read it.

1. Reach your Potential: Reach level 20. Reward: Unlock Class System(5/20)

So level twenty was the target? Which means that I needed to split my time between completing my quests and cultivation. Of course, fighting was the best option but it also meant I could get eaten or sliced up. Once I was sure Aina had nothing more to say I stood up and headed home. I needed to get as much cultivation done as possible. Between today and tomorrow, I was pretty sure I could get to level 6. A dull beat of excitement started in my chest as I considered what I could do. My imagination ran wild with what I could do with a class. I stepped into my cultivation chamber and started to pull energy into my dantian.