Dexter awoke with a mighty yawn, wiping at the drool running down his cheek. It had been years since he slept like a baby. In fact, as he recalled his past, he started to believe the last time he had such a good night's sleep was exactly when he was a baby.

As soon as he could walk, his parents thrust him into extracurricular activities to parade him around like a show horse. At least that's how he always saw it. Even after college, they wouldn't get off his back, comparing him to their precious doctors and engineers.

Sighing, Dexter sat up when he finally noticed he wasn't in his bedroom. There were strange walls around him that reminded him of an igloo. Fortunately, the atmosphere wasn't freezing cold, but unfortunately, there wasn't any way for him to leave the dome.

But as his vision grew sharper—much sharper than normal—and the fog of sleep was swept away, he noticed his guitar, and his memory from the past few hours returned.

Briefly checking himself over, Dexter took a deep breath, fearing the answer to his question. "Um… what exactly did you do to me, I didn't expect to be placed unconscious," his butt clenched in preparation of the response. If there was a side of anal probing on the menu, he'd find some way to get revenge on the aliens behind this strange System.

[ A thorough examination and more in-depth understanding of the User's assets were required. ]

"So you did probe me!?" Dexter looked around, feeling weary that tentacles would pop out at any moment and restrain him.

[ The attunement Iron Shroud required a complete realignment of the user's energy source. ]

A notification appeared detailing the attunement, and it was better than he had imagined.

[ Iron Shroud (Bronze): Temper your energy into a furious cloud. Crit chance: 33%, Crit Damage: 17%. Proficiency - Basic: lvl 1. ]

"Ok," Dexter said, having gained a ranked skill. "This definitely makes up for it. Just warn me next time."

The original modification he envisioned had received an entire upgrade. Rather than a static increase to his base critical hit chance and damage, the values were tied to his stats and vital energy. Crit chance had a percentage equal to Dexterity, while Crit damage had half the value of his Magic stat.

In either case, both values would multiply as he honed his vital energy, and he knew exactly what the System had in mind for him to do that. It seemed the display of his guitar skills had granted him a unique ability crafted solely for himself.

Iron Shroud was an innate ability with aspects from each of the four attunements. Through modifying his body, his vital energy had been scaled up and enhanced with an affinity towards critical hits, rather than the usual elements such as Earth, Wind, and Fire. The ability even manifested itself as a skill that could be upgraded overtime. However, this innate ability could never be linked to an attribute skill slot like normal skills obtained from the Shop or a Class.

The Title reward left Dexter flabbergasted as he called forth his energy. To his surprise, the energy no longer held its sapphire pigmentation. It now manifested as a shimmering aqua marine that slowly swelled to encompass his palm.

"Iron Shroud indeed," Dexter said, wondering what other Titles he could unlock before the introduction was over. But as he packed his guitar back into its gig bag, he noticed that the outside of the barrier had calmed down. The view was still obscured, but there was a distinct lack of shadows and debris sized boulders flying around. Focusing on his hearing had attested to the lack of activity as well. In fact, there was virtually no input.

"Um," Dexter said, while walking closer to the translucent wall. "How much time do I have left? Don't tell me I missed the next phase?" There was still much he hadn't been informed about, and he was afraid the attunement process, along with his leveling, had taken up most of his remaining time.

[ 00h:00m:11s until the end of the Nullification Zone. ]

"Are you serious!?" Dexter blurted out. "Quick, tell me what's next. How do I close the Rifts? Where do I get a Class or… or skills?" he stumbled over his words, needing time to mentally prepare himself for his departure. His time in the Nullification Zone had become quite cozy and relaxing after his imaginary joust with the existential horrors floating in the void.

[ User is advised to head to the nearest Safe Zone. Spawning Starter Kit. ]

The supposed starter kit plopped into place with a strong smell of oak wood. It was a small treasure chest with bronze plating around the edges.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Dexter waited no time opening the chest, but as he lifted the lid, a distortion of space-time altered his vision. It gave him a slight twinge between the eyes. However, the pain disappeared immediately, revealing a small collection of gear that could not possibly fit inside the chest all at once.

The first and obvious thing was the six-foot tall spear, which he pulled out immediately, scared that it would disappear. But there was a blue tag that accompanied the spear, and as he peered closer to read the tag, a prompt appeared.

[ Combat skill (Bronze) ]

* Do you wish to learn the skill Advanced Spear Mastery?

"Yes!" Dexter screamed unnecessarily, immediately accepting the Bronze ranked skill.

[ Advanced Spear Mastery (Bronze): The path of the spear is fluid and unrelenting. Skill Link: +3 Dexterity. Synergy: 0%. ]

As the tag vanished, Dexter unconsciously adjusted the spear and the way he carried himself.

Next was an olive green and brown armor set. It was neatly tucked to the side with a matching satchel propped up against it. There was a symbol engraved in the leather chest plate, but before Dexter could analyze it, the Nullification Zone cracked.

Light split from the ceiling, racing down the translucent panels like lightning. Before he knew it, the Zone he would honestly consider home, dissolved, and a whole new world took its place.

A breeze flitted through the air, causing Dexter to grip the spear like no tomorrow. Ordinarily, he'd die for a bit of fresh air, rather than breathe in the pollutants of a waste filled city. However, the air was incredibly thin, as he now stood on the jagged cliff of a mountain.

The beautiful coast of Bali had been replaced by a glorious mountain range. Grand peaks rose towards the heavens, where a silver halo split the horizon. It was the most beautiful scene that Dexter had witnessed in his entire life.

As he gazed into the sky, he glimpsed a few of the moons that the map had shown. But down below, boarding the edge of a deep blue lake, he located an anomaly that stole his attention. It was a pillar of light that pulsed between an array of trees. A light fog hung over most of the forest, but there were parts shielded by much larger trees that spiraled out as if they were the seedlings of Yggdrasil.

Cursing, Dexter backed away from the beautiful view and started to equip his armor. The damned forest looked to be home for creatures that existed during the Mesozoic era, and the so-called Safe Zone was smack dab in the middle of it.

As Dexter donned the first layer of the armor; a fitted jacket and pants similar to a karate gi, he inspected the six leather parts of the second layer. Unlike the first layer, they closely resembled medieval armor, styled with a leather chest plate, matching vambraces, and boots. Inscribed on the brown leathers were identical runes that shuddered when he equipped each piece of the set, finally donning the helmet for completion.

Before strapping the satchel to his gig bag, Dexter opened it and found a compass, canteen, and sixty ration bars divided into three sections. The ration bars caused him to salivate, with each section giving off a unique aroma. As far as he could tell, nuts and berries were added ingredients, along with spices one would expect in a pie.

Dexter ate one he assumed was cherry flavored, when he discovered that it contained a red custard inside.

"Did I just eat a… health bar?" he was tempted to take another bite, but quickly wrapped it back in its wax paper and stored it away before the temptations got the better of him.

The last item inside the chest, besides a dagger he buckled to his waist, was an embroidered pouch. A coin pouch. Dexter held out his palm, and shook the pouch until a single coin fell out. He knew what it was immediately, having had the information downloaded into his brain during the status screen introduction. But he was surprised to have discovered it so soon.

From the information he received, the coin was a token used in the purchase of a standard Class. Each Class was categorized into the archetypes, Seer, Warrior, Healer, Rogue and Mage, where each of the five correlated to a main attribute.

Dexter inspected the token closely, marveling at the bronze exterior that sparkled under the sun. On its surface reflected a figure shrouded in a heavy cloak.

[ Quest: Adept Rogue (Bronze) ]

* Fill the Path Token with Vital Energy. Level: 0/10. Elites slain: 0/10

* Reward: +15 Dexterity.

The quest shocked Dexter. He knew the tokens were a special form of currency, but he didn't know they held a requirement for use. Ultimately, he was confident that he could raise the token a hundred levels with his Sage ability. It may take some time, but he could do it. The elites, on the other hand, were questionable since his spear skill far exceeded what he was capable of.

[ Advanced Spear Mastery - Synergy: 0% ]

Currently, he had zero combat experience, and the skill would lag in level as he developed familiarity with the weapon. Iron Shroud would, of course, come in handy, but he had no reservations that it would insta-kill a powerful monster. It was an auxiliary skill, after all.

Checking if his surroundings were safe, Dexter sat down on the gravel and began to pour his energy into the path token. A minute passed when he realized he was wasting his time. The energy he channeled had remained in his hands, blocked from entering the token.

"Hmm…" After trying a few more times with brute force, Dexter eventually assumed the quest required him to level up rather than the token as he first assumed. So, he placed the token in the coin pouch, storing it away with the rest of his gear.

A moment later, energy fluctuated around him as he attempted to increase his level. But compared to the vital energy in the Nullification Zone, it was like syrup. A thick mixture of various energy types, haphazardly forming a whole.

"How the hell am I supposed to become one with this?"

Proven a fraud, the young sage jumped to his feet, irritated that his cheat code no longer worked, and grabbed his spear.