The man’s frigid blue eyes were staring at a fixed point in space. His long, navy-blue hair fluttered in the wind. Sitting cross-legged on top of a large cloud, he took a deep breath. He was handsome to an unrealistic degree, with an angular face and sharp eyes, and muscular, but lean; his body looked as if it had been handcrafted by the Multiverse’s greatest artisan. He looked almost human, if it weren’t for his heavenly appearance. He sat shirtless, proudly revealing his figure and the white markings on his brown skin. The markings joined one another on his back, creating the image of four wings. They shone with a blue hue.

A twisted smile formed on his face. His hands were clenched into fists, then slowly opened once more. As he spoke, a deep, authoritative voice resonated.

“System. Call Ceara here.”

A small sound of compliance was heard. Soon, the space behind the man was ripped apart, revealing a small pathway. A green-haired woman walked out of it, repairing the broken space with a wave of her hand. She wore a green-and-yellow dress that reminded one of the dawn over a forest. Wooden bracelets and rings adorned her fingers and wrists. She looked like humanity’s female beauty standard taken to its most extreme, at the same general level as the blue-haired man. Her proportions were perfect, as was her face.

“Yes? It’s unlike you to call me so suddenly, without warning.”

Hadar kept his smile as he turned to Ceara.

“The new universe has just been assimilated.”

She blinked before her eyes were filled with interest. She spoke.

“Indeed. To think I didn’t even notice. It seems I was too busy. We will have new servants soon, then.”

The woman smiled; even the beauty of the sky and the stars paled in comparison. Hadar nodded. New servants meant more opportunities to become even more powerful.

And that was what they lived for.

***

Michael walked aimlessly while staring at his only Title’s specifications.

[Title

??? Descendant: Fight. Kill. Struggle desperately. Prove your worth through deadly tribulations, and you may be rewarded by the power in your blood. Fail, and you will die a miserable death, forgotten by all. ??? do not need weaklings.

Effects: +10% Wisdom.

*This Title’s effects may change over time.]

This was already the third time he looked at this information, but he still kept doing so, even though any attempt at obtaining further information was fruitless. This description was all that he was given. At this point, he had already burned the words in his brain. They were abundantly clear regarding what he needed to do to be considered worthy. He frowned. While he didn’t have the desire to kill more creatures, he also had no intention of simply being killed. He would fight when he needed to and to achieve his goal.

With a sigh, he dismissed the System window and stopped walking. He stared at the suns overhead, squinting his eyes. They were slowly making their way down. The System message shone brightly, giving no other instructions. In games, tutorials were introductions that taught the player the controls and how to play. There was no meaning in “teaching the controls,” since this was happening in real life, but he still expected some sort of guidance. Instead, there was nothing. He was simply lost, stranded in a strange biome with nothing close to a goal, except for finding his mother and a source of water.

Michael kept walking. At one point, he heard the distinct sound of cawing. His guard was immediately raised, even though it was only a bird. At the same time, he was hopeful. If there was an animal here, there might be water nearby. This logic hadn’t applied to the jaguar, but it was still better than moving on aimlessly.

The cawing got closer. It sounded like a raven. He looked at the branches of nearby trees, searching for the animal. The cawing got closer still. A thought sprouted in his mind. Wasn’t it too close? He grabbed the wand and made an X-shape, saying the words. One last caw reached his ears. Immediately, his entire brain focused on it, identifying that it was coming from behind him in a split second.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Mana Shield!”

The shield was created just as something hit him. The creatures’ talons pressed against the Shield. He turned around and tried to backhand the raven, but it flew away before he could reach it. It rose into the sky and turned around, ready to dive down once more. He dismissed his shield and started casting a Mana Sphere, but he misjudged the animal’s speed. It dove towards him much faster than he anticipated. Without a choice, Michael discarded his chanting and threw himself to the side. The bird narrowly missed him.

It turned around quickly. It moved before he could recompose himself. Its talons dug into his back, drawing blood. He screamed in pain. Adrenaline coursed through his veins. He gritted his teeth, turned around, and hit the avian with a backhanded slap. It fell a bit to the side. He pointed at it and quickly used the Skill that had engraved itself on his mind.

“Mana Sphere.”

In an instant, a small blue sphere formed in front of his hand. It grew to the size of a billiards ball and shot towards the bird. It hit it and unceremoniously blew it up.

He closed his eyes as the drops of blood hit his face, wiping them off with his robe. He looked at the destruction of his own creation. Blood and guts tainted the ground, the upper half of the bird’s carcass having been turned into mush. He could even spot the remains of a destroyed, small heart, as well as brain matter. Given the amount of mana the Skill used up, it hadn’t managed to completely disintegrate its target, creating this gruesome scene. A small System message appeared in front of his eyes, but he promptly dismissed it.

[You have slain a Raven (Level 2.)]

He didn’t understand why this had happened. As a rule of thumb, smaller animals would choose to stay away from bigger ones. Either way, he had killed another creature once again.

…It’s easier than before.

It didn’t impact him as much as when he killed the jaguar. He didn’t know if he should be happy about this development. This scenario only reinforced the brutality of this tutorial. Enemies didn’t disappear into shining particles once their health points reached zero, leaving behind some glowing loot. They were other living beings, and he would be forced to fight them.

His anger towards the System surged. It threw them into some ruined land, forced them to kill one another for XP with the only instruction being to survive, and dared to call this a Tutorial?

Fuck this shit.

With a deep sigh that came from his very soul, he continued to walk. He couldn’t let himself be bogged down by his emotions, not yet. His gaze turned to his surroundings. Trees came out of the larger cracks in the ground as far as the eye could see. While they weren’t enough to be described as a forest, they were still sufficient to cover Michael’s line of sight. He had trouble seeing far in front of him since there were always several trees on his way.

If there’s no oasis or water source, I’m going to need to go underground.

His last course of action would be to follow the tree roots. Personally, he had no desire to go underground. Not only would an enemy be able to approach him from any direction, but there was also no sunlight, which was incredibly important. The tight quarters were the cherry on top. He was a Mage, not a Warrior. Close combat was his weakness. At the same time, it was possible that there would be no water to be found even if he followed the tree roots. This was an artificial area created by a System; there was no way to know if normal rules applied here. It was still the only choice he had.

Michael walked, trying to listen to the sounds of other animals or of running water. Slowly, he started to notice a pattern. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the crown of the trees, looking at the leaves. They were definitely greener than the ones close to where he had appeared. Noticing this, he felt relieved. He tried his best to follow the trail created by the green leaves until he heard a sound.

…A waterfall.

The sound of huge amounts of liquid falling from a great height was one that he was familiar with from his travels. It was also indicative of running water. Michael started to run. The sound got louder and louder, drowning out the sounds of birds from nearby. Finally, he could see the small river between the trees. He ran faster and faster, but as he was about to leave the shade of the trees, he hurriedly pressed his heels against the ground and came to a stop. He froze, momentarily surprised by the situation in front of him.

In hindsight, he should have expected this already. He almost slapped himself for not considering it before.

Right in front of him, with its back turned towards him, was a large feline drinking water. No matter how he looked at it, that thing was a lion. It seemed a bit smaller and weaker than the ones he had seen on television, however. A question Michael had pondered before arose in his mind.

Are animals also participants?

It was very likely since beasts also seemed to have Levels; the System had also stated that “most living creatures on Earth” were now under it. In that case, just like the jaguar and the raven, the lion might attack him on sight. He frowned. The beast was directly between him and the river. He decided to wait and see if the lion would change locations.

The better part of an hour passed by. The animal had remained in the same exact spot.

There was only one thing he could do.

Apologizing in his thoughts but with a firm hand, Michael grabbed his oak wand and pointed it at the lion.

A single fallen leaf under his boot made some noise as he shifted his weight. The lion’s ears moved, standing up. It stopped drinking water. Michael fully focused on the “enemy” before him. He felt the mana within him move towards the wand. A whisper left his lips.

“Mana Sphere.”