The end of the world began at 11:37 PM Pacific Standard Time on a Tuesday night, and Will was still stuck at the office.

Three minutes earlier, it’d been an entirely normal day.

11:34 PM, Tuesday

Will sighed, rubbing his eyes as he tapped on the vending machine. 3—3—1. His “coffee” drink—the same mess of artificial sweeteners and fake milk he always had past eight at night—clinked down into the compartment below. He grabbed it, popped the tab open, and tried not to think too hard on what consuming so much sugar and caffeine this late would do to his body.

Not for the first time, he considered just tapping out and going home. What was the point, anyway? It wasn’t like the company was paying him more to stay at the office later, and he could get the work done later. He’d had barely four hours of sleep last night—maybe today was a good time to head home early.

Samuel’s words came floating back to his mind. In his sleep-deprived state, his mind was addled enough to simulate the sounds of his shouts.

“If you fuck this up, you’re done!” Will’s boss had screamed, flecks of spittle bursting across his face with each exclamation. “One minute past deadline and you dumbasses are looking for a job at the nearest McDonald’s, you hear me?”

Sure, he could take tonight off, but he’d pay for that later, and the local card shop was holding back-to-back Yugioh and Magic tournaments this weekend. He looked longingly at the closed deckboxes on his deck, then looked away. If he wanted to have time to attend it, he couldn’t waste any waking hours.

Will could barely even remember which of his several ongoing tasks was supposed to be complete the soonest. He took a swig of his coffee, slowly trudging back to his cubicle. The office was devoid of life other than him.

Outside, a crow cawed, the sound barely piercing the open third-floor windows.

Maybe, Will had thought about declaring, maybe if you didn’t cut my team from ten people to three, we wouldn’t have this problem.

But he valued his job, and he knew how easy it was to set Samuel off. He’d stayed silent.

Idly, he found himself looking at the wrong spreadsheet—not the “classified” one he’d been forced to doctor and display to the company’s latest angry client to prove that profits were surely on the way, but a personal one.

He stared numbly at the numbers, crushing despair overwhelming him once again. After taxes, rent, food, and other minor expenses, he could finally risk leaving this company for a better but lower-paying one in… nine years.

Nine. Years.

And that was in the best case scenario. Will knew he wasn’t the most responsible spender, no matter how much he tried, so the real number was definitely higher.

Will tabbed back to the impossible project proposal Samuel had left him, trying and failing to shove the melancholy away. If he fudged a few numbers here, cut some corners there, this might be doable if his entire team pulled a few all-nighters.

[System integration initating.]

He blinked, and the text box disappeared.

“I need more coffee,” Will grumbled, wincing as he took another sip of sickly sweet “coffee” beverage. “Must be seeing things.”

Just as he returned his attention to his desktop, the entire building shook.

And then things stopped making sense.

Before Will could so much as begin to duck and cover as per standard earthquake procedure, the air simply tore apart like paper, revealing a vast white emptiness behind. He stared deep into it even as a tremor knocked him off his feet.

I should move, he thought distantly, but he couldn’t tear his eyes from the empty space, no matter how hard he tried.

The air ripped around him again. Again. It was like someone was taking an eraser to the world, scrubbing everything away and replacing it with a simple, blank white.

As more of the world was replaced by simple nothingness, the process grew faster and faster. No matter which way Will turned, his eyes always flew straight to an ever-expanding flat expanse.

“Am I dreaming?” Will wondered aloud.

As the world around him continued to shift, Will pinched himself.

Not a dream.

[System integration complete.]

The ground stopped shaking as the last flecks of the real world were painted over.

[Those not eligible for integration have been shunted off-world. Your planet has expanded. Further information will be disseminated during your Tutorial.]

[Tutorial initiating…]

[Note: You have been selected for special class selection during your Tutorial. You are one in a thousand, which means there are roughly 4,000,000 others of your kind. You may opt out of special class selection. This does not preclude future special class selection.]

Before he could even think of a question to ask the void he found himself floating in, a tile floor materialized under him, and he realized he was sitting.

Will blinked, and then someone was standing in front of him. It was shaped like a human being, kind of, but it was completely faceless. Its skin was smooth and pure white, as if it was a mannequin at a Target.

“Welcome,” it said, its voice pleasantly neutral.

“Uh, hi,” Will replied, monotone. “What can I do for you today?”

It tilted its head. “Your species tends to react more violently to my appearance. Would you prefer I take a more human visage?”

“If I miss the deadline on this project, I’m blaming you,” Will said. “Do what you’d like.”

A robotic buzzing rang out throughout the odd, empty space, and it took a few seconds for Will to realize where it was coming from.

The thing was laughing.

“Apologies,” it said, straightening. “Welcome, human, to the System. Your world has been chosen to undergo an Uplift, and as such, all eligible members of its dominant race are currently in Tutorials much like this one.”

Will was starting to get the idea that he wasn’t going to be making it to that tournament. God damn it. The one thing I was looking forward to.

“During an Uplift, you will experience a series of Events, during which you will be pushed to your absolute limits and beyond through the power of the System. Events will be broken down into Main, Hidden, or Personal Events, as well as Sub-Events for each larger one. These individually grant different rewards for completion.”

Will took that in, the pieces quickly starting to come into place.

“Oh, cool,” he said. “Is this like one of those terrible webnovels with a system apo—“

“That is forbidden terminology,” the faceless being replied, cutting him off.

He tried to finish his sentence, but no words emerged from his throat.

“You may ask questions later,” it said. “Allow me to complete my explanation.

“Worlds that have already been Uplifted will be permitted to observe your experience. Viewers may provide gifts to Integrated such as yourself depending on your actions, but this is by no means a guarantee.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

“In order to survive the Uplift, you must advance. This can be done by increasing your level through combat, training, and Events, which will eventually allow you to increase your Tier of existence.

“As you appear to have consumed the forms of media seeded to prepare subsets of your population for an Uplift, an extensive explanation has been deemed unnecessary. Further information will be disseminated as necessary.

“The final piece of information that you may not yet be familiar with is the existence of coins. Coins can be obtained by completing Events or by receiving them from viewers, and they will play a critical role in your advancement, allowing you to purchase skill points, stat points, items, and much, much more.”

Will suddenly found himself able to speak again. “Sure. Sounds fine. Anything else important?”

“You have been selected by a lottery system to try a previously-unused class,” the faceless figure said. “It is your choice as to whether you use it.”

Despite the less-than-real feeling this place gave off—or maybe because of it—Will couldn’t help but feel detached from this whole situation.

“You may begin class selection—“

“Hold on,” he said. “I still have a few more questions to ask. The message, which I assume came from the System, said that I’m one in a thousand, which means there’s four million people like me. Shouldn’t that be eight?”

“As stated, the System has sent those ineligible for Uplift to another world,” the faceless entity said.

“Huh. Weird, but okay. Half the world didn’t qualify? Wow. Also, how do I see my stat menu? I have one of those, right?” Will wasn’t sure what the faceless thing meant when it said a more complete explanation was “unnecessary,” but he’d read his fair share of this type of thing while on the train to and from work. Stat menus were a mainstay, weren’t they?

“You must first select a class. Do you have more questions?”

Even though the being kept its carefully pleasant, neutral tone, Will got the impression that it was getting annoyed.

“Nothing important,” he said eventually. “Let’s get a move on.”

[Class selection initiated. Time until selection automatically completes: 5 minutes.]

Will blinked again, and a series of text boxes appeared before his eyes. They came out painfully slow, appearing line by line.

Brawler [F]

+5 to Strength. +5 to Constitution. +5 to Dexterity. -1 to Intelligence. -1 to Charisma.

Passive skills granted: Unarmed Combat

Base class. Focuses primarily on shrugging aside damage and delivering devastating close-range blows. Eschews weapon attacks for sheer survivability and unarmed strength.

“No,” Will said immediately, and the text faded from sight. He’d tried watching an MMA fight once at his then-girlfriend’s behest, but he’d never seen the appeal. If this truly was reality, and he was about to be thrown against monsters that wanted to eat him alive, he wasn’t going to punch them. That just sounded gross.

“You do not have to verbalize your choice,” the now-unmoving entity said. “Please advise—“

“Oh, fuck off,” Will said, the events of the day finally catching up to him. He was tired, irritated, and alone. Normally, that would’ve all coalesced into a big ol’ pile of “not giving a shit,” but when he was doing something that actually seemed important, the last thing he needed was another person telling him what to do.

The faceless not-a-person fell silent, and Will realized what he’d just mouthed off to. He sighed, leaning back into nothingness. Figures I’d go out in a stupid way.

Nothing changed.

He… was alive. The being hadn’t even talked back.

For the first time, Will felt a spark of something that wasn’t exhaustion, confusion, or just plain annoyance.

It was gone quickly, replaced by further irritation. How much time had he just wasted?

[Time until selection automatically completes: 3 minutes, 57 seconds.]

He looked at the next choices.

Warrior [F]

+1 to all stats. +2 in addition to Strength and Dexterity.

Passive skills granted: Armed Combat

Base class. An all-around fighter, utilizing both close-quarters and long-range weapons. A very balanced martial class with many potential evolutions.

Somehow, the lines seemed to print slower this time.

Interesting, but once again, he wasn’t sure how much he wanted to get up close and personal with any potential enemies. Also, wasn’t there supposed to be a special class?

“Patience, human,” the other being said.

He ignored it, clicking the next option. This one paused before it started loading. Will glared at the tutorial guide. It was doing this on purpose, wasn’t it?

Archer [F]

+5 to Dexterity. +2 to Constitution. +2 to Charisma.

Passive skills granted: Ranged Combat

Base class. Specializes in long-distance fighting.

Sparse, but it got the message across. Will was faintly reminded of a novel that had been his favorite ages ago, back when he’d been in university, devouring every book that came across his site. He couldn’t remember the name.

Next.

Mage [F]

+5 to Intelligence. +5 to Will. +3 to Charisma.

Passive skills granted: Unattuned Magic

Active skills granted: Mana Regeneration

Base class. Focuses on magical combat, but is non-specialized. A class with high potential when it evolves, but it carries a high risk. Picking this class means eschewing most defensive options.

Magic existing should’ve surprised him, but Will felt nothing. He was having a surprisingly easy go of integrating what was happening into his existing worldview.

Maybe having his soul ground down by a decade of office work really had stunted his emotions.

[Time until selection automatically completes: 2 minutes, 2 seconds.]

He’d wasted more time than he’d hoped. Oh well. Couldn’t be helped.

The last box, unlike the rest, was brightly colored, clearly marked off as different from the other classes.

Saving the best for last? This was clearly the “special class” in his selection. Will wondered if he was getting scammed.

Tarot Mage [F]

+5 to Intelligence. +2 to Dexterity. +5 to Will.

Passive skills granted: Card Seal, Deck Box

Active skills granted: Draw, Shuffle, Invert, Discard

Titles granted: Trial Runner

Allows for the creation of a deck. Instead of gaining discrete spells, you may convert spells into cards for your deck. When in combat, you may randomly draw cards to activate spell effects.  Has the potential to be one of the strongest classes or the least useful, depending on the draws. You are attuned to all spells.

That… was a lot more text than any of the other classes had. Will spent some time looking at it, thinking over it.

“You will be granted starting items necessary for your class,” the entity said. “You have two minutes remaining to make your decision. If you have not made a decision when the time is up, a class will be randomly selected for you.”

One minute? Then again, he’d wasted quite some time by arguing.

“What happens if I pick something other than the special class?”

“Nothing,” the entity replied. “You simply give up an opportunity.”

Will thought about it for a second. The reason why the System had chosen to grant this to him was pretty obvious, in his mind—he was an avid TCG player, after all, though why it had selected him and one of the no-lifes who didn’t even have jobs, he didn’t know.

Eh. The choice was pretty obvious.

You have gained the Tarot Mage class.

Will… didn’t feel any different. Then again, it wasn’t like he could test his brain or his fine motor skills out in this expansive void.

The faceless guide stood, and Will suddenly noticed the table between them. Had that always been there?

Sitting on the table were three scrolls that Will couldn’t read. He squinted.

Universal Skill Acquired: [Identify (Basic)] - Gain basic information about objects or creatures with this skill. Required to survive in an Uplifted world.

“Good,” the guide said. “My assessment was not mistaken. You understand the first steps. You have one minute remaining. Any items not acquired from the Tutorial space will be reclaimed.”

He looked at the scrolls, reaching within himself. Somehow, using the Identify skill was as natural as breathing—a contrivance by the System, no doubt.

[Spell Scroll - Magic Missile (Basic)]

Grants the Magic Missile spell.

Cost: 5 mana

Level: 1

Summons a bolt of force.

[Spell Scroll - Shield (Basic)]

Grants the Shield spell.

Cost: 5 mana

Level: 1

Summons a circular forcefield, four feet in radius. Lasts 30 seconds + 15 seconds for each level of spell.

[Spell Scroll - Chill (Basic)]

Grants the Chill spell.

Cost: 6 mana

Level: 1

Quickly lowers the temperature of a designated space. Can flash-freeze water.

“Thirty seconds remaining.”

Will grabbed the scrolls hastily, hoping for some kind of inventory skill, but they disappeared as his hands closed over them.

Deck created!

Magic Missile, Shield, and Chill added to deck.

The sensation of the deck forming was odd. His heart felt warmer now, as if something else had snaked its way around it and provided him its strength.

“The second stage of the Tutorial begins now.”

He didn’t even have time to ask what that meant before the void abruptly faded away, replaced by the office once again.

Will sighed, looking back towards his coffee. Was that a dream? Did someone spike my—

[Vending Machine “Coffee”] - One part coffee, two parts water, and four parts sugar. Grants wakefulness in exchange for an overall health decrease.

No, definitely not a dream. The text appeared in front of his eyes just like it had in the void.

A beat passed as Will looked at his hands, thinking about what had just happened.

Deep within him, a spark stirred amongst embers that had died alongside his dreams. An emotion that he hadn’t thought he could still feel rose with that spark. Just a hint of it, but that was more than anything he’d felt during his years at his job.

“This… this is real,” he told himself, almost shaking as he said it. “I can… I can do magic. Magic is real.”

His hands started shaking worse.

He couldn’t help it.

A synthesized voice spoke into his mind as text appeared in front of his eyes once more.

[Main Event 0 — “Tutorial”]

[Reward: 1,000 coins]

[Survive for 24 hours as the first stage populates. Further instructions will be disseminated.]

He really, really couldn’t help shaking.

Will was, for the first time in ages, truly excited.

Something hissed, and he stood to identify the origin of the sound, his coffee long forgotten.

Soon enough, he found it. A spider the size of his torso was crawling out of Samuel’s office, eight beady black eyes glimmering as it crawled closer towards him.

[Giant Spider [F] - lvl 1]

He loosened his tie.

“I think I just got off work,” he told the spider, grinning like a madman. “Forever.”