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Cultivating Pain
chapter 3: new me, new pain

chapter 3: new me, new pain

I ran. And ran. And ran.

I looked down at my hands. They were shaking. I was hyperventilating, I am not ok. How, why, do people kill when it make you feel like this? I didn't want to die or kill, of course, I would have to, but not now, just please whatever being governs this world, let me have a break.

I... I just need to get away from all this. I thought I was getting used to this but I'm not.

I fall to the ground, having tripped on my own foot

'ow'... I needed to clear my mind. Makes me wish I had a meditation skill. I looked at the buildings in the distance, maybe I would need to kill. Maybe.

I layed down and just thought for a bit.

i can do this. Not for people I know but for me. I need to stop coming up with abituarty reasons to move on, that can't be a good mindset. I may never get used to this, but at least I can try. I looked at my hands again, they had blood on them. I would have died, but I didn't, killing someone in self defence doesn't make me a bad person, it never did, i just made it out to be like that because nobody told me otherwise. I will need to kill, and I need to accept that, but not now. I sighed in relief, it was like a weight was removed from me.

You have gained skill: introspection (active) improves quality of introspection and makes gaining new skills and leveling up old ones easier while thinking about your choices

wow, That's a skill? well, I guess I'm glad I got it, will help next time I need to unwind like that. I got up and walked back to the buildings, it was getting late, and I didn't want to be outside during the night

as I walked back I thought about stats, my titles brought them up, so I decided to try to find out what they are, well I guess I already have an idea but better to know for sure 'STATS' i screamed out in my mind

opening stats... ERROR. STATS LOCKED DURING STAGE 1. DETECTED 'PIONEER' TITLE, ERROR OVERRIGHTED, HERE ARE YOUR STATS PIONEER

well that can not be a good sign

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name: David, age: 20, class: {placeholder_class_here} physical stats: strength: 8 (+1), agility 7 (+1), toughness 9 (+1), vitality 6 (+1)

mental stats: will 3 (+1), intelligence 9 (+1), charm 1 (+1)

average: 10 (human) skills: Calm lv1, Introspection lv1 titles: pioneer, weak

ouch, 1 base charisma, maybe that's why I had trouble making friends, and keeping them... anyway, all my stats were below 10? sad. Though i guess that's why I got sent here, i wish i hit the gym more, this place sucks, the beds are lust wood, the only reason i was able to sleep the first time was because of how exhausted I was, i'm going to have to run a MILE to get that tired again! Uh, where was I? Oh, right, walking to town.

the sand was grainy, man i wish I brought shoes, guess I was too panicked, maybe it would be better if they game us at least an hour to prepare, whoever made this tutorial must have had a vendetta against the weak. Maybe that's why there are errors, just no care for the tutorial, like why would you lock it only to give a title that allows you to access it? My guess is that only the normal tutorial goers were supposed to get it, they are so lucky. And- oh im back, just in time for bed too!

I lazily walked into the welcoming, albeit bloody double doors of the forced communal housing and got on the wood i called a bed on the first night

'I guess I can deal with this place for a few days' I thought as I thought as i finally got a not uncomfortable space on the wood, and right on que to ruin my day a ding arrives

welcome to the second stage of stage 1!

'well, fu-' was all I managed to think before I was teleported to a new place, this time with 100% less sand!

welcome to the ice arena! in a test of friendship, you will have to team up with your friends and fight other teams, careful though, people can be killed now!

you may have noticed that it hasn't been 7 days, this is because 1/4th of people have died!

that many people died already? And wasn't killing already enabled? AND I dont have anyone to team up with, you know what? I'm too tired to deal with this, {calm}, i know we've had our differences but its time for you to take control.