Crimson wha—
Nate barely had time to form his next thoughts before a voice echoed in his head, the words on the screen rearranging themselves.
Level Up!
The screen vanished, leaving Nathan to collapse on the floor, panting heavily, too tired to even celebrate his win against the imp or the notion of leveling up. He was way too tired and injured to be bothered about things like that.
Not a second after becoming a felled log on the floor, he felt refreshed a wave of euphoria going through him. His breathing started to stabilize, and his wounds which felt like they were on fire seemed to suddenly cool down.
Nathan couldn't see the wounds inflicted by the imp, but he could tell they'd probably closed up, or something had happened to them entirely, or they'd gone completely numb—something that Nathan couldn't explain.
The most noticeable change was his energy levels; he'd gone from being drained to becoming pumped up like he'd juiced up on something.
Literally jumping to his feet, he flexed his fingers and then his muscles. It had been so long since he'd felt so... alive. He couldn't see it, but a mad grin spread across his face.
He turned back to see the body of the imp—it was terrible. Nate puked at the sight that was in front of him. He'd crushed the head of the imp into pudding. Just thinking about it made his stomach squirm.
Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he looked around the clearing. The place was still eerily quiet.
A blue screen popped up.
Name: Nathan Orion
Moniker: N/A
Level: 2
Archetype: N/A
Class: N/A
Imprint: Balls of Steel
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 7
Vitality: 6
Constitution: 7
Perception: 4
Dao: N/A/A
Ra'hal Coins: 50
Free Points: 2
What in the hells was this?
Nathan couldn't believe his eyes. How, why—this had to be some kind of a cruel joke. A FOUR! in perception. He knew he wasn't the most observant person, but come on, a four was a terrible score.
If this was a game, then he'd have called the character with such a low perception a dummy, but he couldn't now because it was him with terrible stats. Raking through the rest of the thing, he let out a sigh.
Pitiful.
No wonder he'd struggled against a level-one imp. His stats were nothing to write home about, although his dexterity and Constitution being the highest kind of made sense considering what he did as a job—constantly standing at a corner throughout the day flipping a sign.
Let's see.
Ahan, coins. He'd gotten 50 Ra-something coins for the little bugger; at least he hadn't done that for free.
Now what exactly was he supposed to do? He didn't think the system would take pity on him and teach him how to use it after skipping the tutorial.
"Hey, show me what to do!" Nathan said to no one in particular, crossing his arms as he anticipated a response.
All he was met with, however, was silence—deafening silence.
Well, shit!
He'd just screwed himself over. Nice.
He almost facepalmed but stopped himself at the last moment. What if the system only responded to mental commands like in the books?
And so he asked again, but this time he just let the question occupy his mind.
The system responds to both mental and voice commands. Whoever skips the tutorial is not eligible for further guidance.
A cold, detached voice echoed in Nathan's ear or was it his head?
"I've certainly outdone myself this time."
Okay, seems like he was going to have to wing it. What to begin with?
Free points to spend—where to put them? Constitution? Probably. Or maybe strength, since he preferred to go head-to-head with monsters in games. That would seem like the best course of action. Then there was his perception and vitality to consider.
Dexterity would be nice if he had something to swing, but he didn't, so that left him with very few options: strength, vitality, and perception.
Considering the fact that he'd barely noticed the imp earlier, it would be foolhardy to leave the perception stat as it was and go for the other two.
Best to sort out that perception stat; the rest could wait.
He simply thought about moving the free points into perception, and boom. The number immediately updated itself.
Name: Nathan Orion
Moniker: N/A
Level: 2
Archetype: N/A
Class: N/A
Imprint: Balls of Steel
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 7
Vitality: 6
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Constitution: 7
Perception: 6
Dao: N/A
Ra'hal Coins: 50
Free Points: 0
Free points successfully utilized. 2 Free points are allocated to you for each level gained. Use them wisely.
Congratulations on successfully interacting with the system. Now pick an Archetype. Be careful with your choice as it will be the foundation for which you will build yourself.
Archetypes Available:
Priest: Support-focused role. This role mainly entails healing and buffing up allies. Priests may obtain divine powers from good and malevolent entities.
Choosing this classes grants an additional stat: faith.
Berserker: Charge headfirst into battle. Berserkers live for the thrill of the battle, going toe-to-toe with their opponents; these are the front-liners in battles.
Mage: Primarily casters at heart. Mages tap into the power of the universe, throwing spells about. They are capable of great offense and defense, making them formidable opponents.
Choosing this Archetype grant's three additional stats; Mana, Mana regeneration and Intelligence.
Ranger: Also known as scouts for their high perception and keen tracker instincts. This archetype is perfect for those who prefer to take out enemies from afar.
Rogue: An archetype for those who wish to stick to the shadows. Nicknamed the vultures, these are opportunists seeking to take advantage of terrible chaos and moments of vulnerability. Optimal archetype for soloists.
You have three minutes to make a decision before Ra'hal chooses for you.
Timer: 2:59
Of course, there had to be a countdown.
The system seemed to thrive on chaos, and what better way to enjoy itself than by giving people a short amount of time to make a crucial decision?
"Definitely not Priest!" Nathan murmured, crossing that option off his mind. He glanced at the other options he had available.
Mages looked good, but he'd learned a long time ago that everyone had a weakness, and theirs would no doubt be the time it took to cast their spell if the games he played were anything to go by. So nope, no mage archetype for him then.
"Seems intentionally disturbing," Nathan uttered as his eyes reread the description of the rogue archetype. It seemed like something a coward would prefer, and Nathan wasn't a coward—or a vulture either. The thought of the archetype made him squirm uncomfortably. His entire being felt repulsed at the archetype. That's that one down.
Two to go.
Nathan spared a quick glance at the timer and let out a sigh.
Timer: 0:57
He could've sworn that he'd just spent at most a couple of seconds going through his options, but the timer claimed that he'd already used up a little over two minutes.
Terrific.
Nathan's eyes returned to the archetypes he'd been offered, his eyes pivoting between the two archetypes that he'd yet to analyze—Berserker and Ranger.
Berserkers seemed to resonate with him deeply; he loved going headfirst into frays even in the online games he played. However, this wasn't a game, and logic was pointing towards Ranger as his safest bet.
Taking out enemies from afar was surely a lot better than having them up in your face—or back, as was the case with the imp.
Thus the question hung over his head: to choose safety in distance or the thrill of up-close combat?
Berserkers made sense for games, an easy choice. The only difference now was the feeling that he wasn't sure there was going to be a respawn option if he chose poorly and died because of it. Of course, if the ranger archetype was similar to the ones he'd used in online games, it'd mean he'd be at a serious disadvantage in close-quarter situations as compared to a berserker who'd probably excel in such a scenario.
Options, options, options...
You have five seconds to pick an Archetype, or else the system will randomly assign you one.
Nathan hurriedly glanced at the timer and gasped in horror.
Timer: 0:05
"You have four seconds to decide," the cold, detached voice continued, oblivious to Nathan's conundrum.
Shit, shit, shit. Which is the better op—
Three seconds remaining.
—tion. Okay, Ranger logic, Berserker heart.
Heart or mind, Heart o—
Two seconds remaining.
—r Mind. Pfft. Nate, come on, it has to be Ranger. Okay, all I have to do is ju—
One second remaining.
—st... Oh, to hell with it. I pick Berserker!
Nathan closed his eyes as the thought solidified in his mind. He hoped he hadn't been too late.
Time elapsed, Archetype chosen - Berserker.
Congratulations Nathan Orion on your Archetype selection. To help you on your path, the system offers you and the 12,692 other humans who have survived skipping the tutorial your pick of weapons.
12 thousand? Weren't we around 3 million on the first count? What had happened to the res—
As you have selected the Berserker Archetype, the following weapons have been tailored to suit that Archetype.
Important: All weapons are common grade and are not soul-bound. If you leave your weapon behind, it will NOT return to you.
Weapons Available:
Sword [Common (F-grade)]
Axe [Common (F-grade)]
Scythe [Common (F-grade)]
Warhammer [Common (F-grade)]
Chains [Common (F-grade)]
Nathan didn't even have to waste time to know which weapon he was going to take; it had to be the sword. As soon as the words appeared in his mind, the sword manifested, sunken halfway into the dirt before him.
Cool.
Nathan looked up to see the words on the blue screen rearranging themselves. Soon, a new message hung in the air.
Name: Nathan Orion
Moniker: N/A
Level: 2
Archetype: Berserker
Class: N/A
Imprint: Balls of Steel
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 7
Vitality: 6
Constitution: 7
Perception: 6
Dao: N/A
Ra'hal Coins: 50
Free Points: 0
Reach Level Five to unlock access to the class options.
As soon as Nathan went through the last words, the screen winked out, returning Nathan to the gloomy atmosphere of the forest. He hadn't even gotten an explanation of what the stats meant.
Well, that was eventful.
He thought as he pulled the sword out of the dirt, marveling at its appearance. It wasn't all fancy, but it was a sword—a freaking sword!
It had a good grip, but it was the blade itself that caught Nathan's eyes. It was sleek and slender.
He slashed upward.
Swoosh.
Then downwards.
Swoosh.
And then sideways.
Swoosh.
Nathan didn't know when he let out a soft chuckle.
The sword felt off but yet right in his hands. The weight was unbalanced and its edges looked dull, but he wasn't going to complain at all. He now possessed a better means to defend himself.
"Shit, a freaking sword," Nathan said, still in awe.
The purple sky seemed to reflect on the blade, making Nathan smile.
Okay, I can work with this.
Berserker Archetype—he felt a little stupid for going with his heart rather than the logical option, but what was the point of choosing an Archetype that he wouldn't even enjoy using?
He'd probably grow bored with it, become sloppy, and get himself killed because of that. Nope, berserker had to be the right option. Seemed as though he was ill-prepared either way.
Speaking of ill-prepared, he wondered why he didn't get any sheath for the sword. What kind of messed up system would give him a sword without a sheath?
He pinched his nose to calm himself down. First things first: he had to figure out what he was supposed to do. Was there a task board or something like that?
"Task board, board, game board. Mission... mission board?" Nathan uttered, hoping that one of them would be the prompt he needed.
Nothing happened.
Well, there was one phrase that Nathan hadn't tried because it sounded way too silly to actually be the actual prompt.
"Quest board," Nathan said.
A blue screen appeared in front of him, and Nathan couldn't help but smile triumphantly, the words already starting to position themselves.
Active Quests:
1. Slay 35 imps (1/35)
2. Slay 5 Master Imps (0/5)
3. Conquer a dungeon (0/1)
Special Quests: N/A
Locked till level 50.
Fan-fucking-tastic.
Just where was he supposed to find that many imps or even a dungeon to begin with? Again and again, it seemed as though the system just wanted to take the piss.
Nathan raised the sword to his face, looking at his reflection in the blade as he considered his options. Suddenly a pinprick of red appeared on the blade, and another, and then another—so many that Nathan struggled to keep count.
Nathan sincerely hoped that he was right about what those pinpricks meant. Turning back, he discovered the corpse of the imp he'd killed was gone. Nathan looked around for the pinpricks of red he'd seen on the blade, but he didn't see anything.
Letting out a disappointed sigh, he began to turn away when he caught a flash of red in the corner of his eyes. He faced the direction and focused intently. It was dark, but he could make out a couple of shapes inching towards him, and almost as if knowing that the jig was up, multiple pairs of red orbs appeared from nowhere.
Nathan's lips morphed into a grin.
Yes… I can most definitely work with this.
Nathan readied himself for what was sure to come.