The first thing he saw or felt wasn't the people lying beside him, the small buildings surrounding him, or even the sky that interestingly turned to a light shade of vibrant green. No, the first thing he noticed was what came within his own body. It wasn't painful but he felt something invade his mind, he metaphorically felt it grasping at his nerves, until finally it allowed itself in, he instinctively knew he couldn't do anything to stop such a force, it was as if his mind welcomed it. Finally grasping at what exactly this force was, sitting up as he did so. He only focused on what was inside his mind, it was like it was teaching him something, or more accurately instructions of how to do something, his skill or skills? to be precise. It felt almost impossible to explain how he knew he was given this knowledge, the best way he could describe it would be step-by-step instructions telling him how to do the skill and ingraining it in him instinctually, but even that was inaccurate. He also thought that the force itself was-
"WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?!" A very frustrated voice came, screaming in confusion. “WHERE THE HELL ARE WE!” The rants had, unfortunately pierced his thoughts.
He sighed, focusing his attention elsewhere, he first noticed his surroundings. Standing up he noted around a hundred or so other people that were either panicking or looked very distraught. Most were standing separate from one another as if they had no relations with each other. There were oddly very few women or even little girls. The obvious exception was the few mothers who held their babies tightly in their hands as if afraid to let go. The statement he previously heard seemed to gather into a small uproar. Devan looked on with dispassionate eyes, he saw the uselessness in panicking and quickly dismissed their small rampage.
He suddenly heard a small highly high-pitched squeal. Turning his head he saw a small baby and mother, he saw a small baby crying and the mother trying not to. She was attempting to gently shush the baby but to no avail. He paused, unsure what to do or say, he had the natural instinct to help the pitiful sight. Luckily he wouldn't need to.
As he thought about taking action, someone else beat him to it. The crowd was in a state of panic and chaos, with everyone shouting and screaming, making it almost impossible to hear anything.
Suddenly, “Quiet!” A deep, gruff and authoritative voice boomed through the air, commanding everyone to calm down. As the voice filled the air, he turned towards the source and was surprised to see his colleague, the college dean, Bill Anderson, staring through the crowd. Despite the initial shock, he was relieved by the fact that someone of authority was present and taking charge of the situation.
Bill's statement was an attempt to restore order and calm to the frenzied crowd. However, his words were initially lost amid the commotion. But he repeated his statement.
“Calm down!”He commanded. This time in a louder and more assertive voice, which caught the attention of the crowd. Gradually, the noise level began to decrease as more and more people quieted down, and the situation began to stabilize.
"We need more information, if anyone has anything come forward and tell me,” he exclaimed in a gruff voice, making sure that everyone heard him. "It is very reckless to meander alone, so I strongly suggest” he said putting an emphasis on suggest “that everyone stays together until we figure out our next step." His commanding tone resonated with the crowd as they all began spouting off information about their current whereabouts and how they might have ended up there. Bill, the de facto leader, took charge of the situation and started surveying the area, looking for any clues that might help them unravel the mystery of their predicament. As they all huddled together, Devan couldn't help but feel a sense of unease and uncertainty in the air. However, they knew that they had to stay strong if they were to find a way out of this strange and unfamiliar place.
Devan remained one step ahead of everyone else by opening the tutorial guide.
He had tried to read the book, but all he saw were intricate markings written within its pages that could only be described as some kind of language he didn't understand. However, in just that moment, he felt an abundance of information or knowledge worm its way inside his mind.
Taking a breath, he let it in.
The knowledge was vast but also varied little in detail. It took him a few minutes to take hold of the information. But actively analyzing the material was completely different. The details were set in his mind all at once. No one could process all that information at once, but he did acknowledge pieces of it.
The mentioning of professions deeply interested the professor. His mind comprehended it as a class-like feature with at least no direct combat abilities. It is also important to take note that the tutorial was presented as a crucial examination, the successful completion of which is essential for one's survival.
Devan's gaze lifted from the ground, and he scanned the area around him. He couldn't help but notice a small group of people who had gathered nearby, all of them intently focused on something. As he approached them, he realized they were engrossed in reading the information provided or perhaps setting out to explore the small village they spawned on. Many were still in panic, running around like headless chickens, searching for someone to blame.
Devan saw Bill guiding groups of fit men to scour the surrounding area. Some were also still in shock over what occurred, gazing at the tree line and then up into the light gray-covered sky.
Devan walked calmly towards Bill, his eyes fixed on the natural leader with intrigue. Bill's complete control over the situation impressed him.. The team of old boys had just received their instructions, and Bill had made sure that everyone understood their roles and responsibilities before they set off.
The last group was now making their way along the outer edge of the village, their eyes scanning the tree line for any sign of life. Devan watched as they disappeared into the distance, wondering what they might find. The stillness of the village struck him, the only sounds coming from the rustling leaves, the whimpering of babies, and the occasional bird call.
Turning his attention back to Bill, the Dean finally noticed his presence. For a moment, there was a flicker of surprise in Bill's eyes before it was replaced with his usual indifferent expression. Devan couldn't help but wonder what was going through Bill's mind - was he evaluating him? Did he recognize him? Or was he simply sizing him up as just another member of a potential team? The thought lingered in Devan's mind as he resolved to set off on his own personal mission to discover what exactly his situation was and how to move forward.
“Ah, Professor,” Bill exclaimed in his usual monotone albeit gruff voice.
“This meeting is very unusual,” the Professor voiced, his expression revealing nothing.
“Yes, unusual indeed”. The Dean said, rubbing his head in frustration.
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It was odd that the Professor and the Dean were the only ones who seemingly knew each other. Of course, there were mother's and children among them, but that was a pattern predectably created by the system. Him and Bill remained the obvious outliers. Of course, he could be wrong but the lack of personal communication and conversation towards one another other told him otherwise.
“I have many unanswered questions, we all do”. The professor acknowledged, “I believe, shouldn't venture far out into the woods until we know what dangers lie ahead”. Devan went on, “We should focus on analyzing buildings surrounding us and set a guard for the women and children”.
“Agreed,” the older man said “I've already set a group of men to explore the village and return with their findings, “You're welcome to search yourself, we need all the help we can get,” Bill remarked, his gaze turned to worry looking over to the children, the little boys were still crying confused over the shocking events that occurred.
“Hmm,” Devan hummed in acknowledgment and extended his attention towards the buildings surrounding them.
The buildings and houses were made primarily of stone with roofs made of straw. However, they were not identical. These various buildings, albeit similar, are divulged into varying structures and qualities. He noted the group of older boys appeared to be searching the bigger building, the only two-floor structure on the far right corner of the small town. At the center, there lies a well with a wood wellhead which completely contrasts with the structures surrounding it.
Devan looked on with a keen interest, without a word he walked with only an ounce of haste towards the direction of the well.
The Man inspected the dug well carefully. Its frame was small and rectangular with a rope and wooden bucket wrapped to a log directly under the small shaggy roof above. It's what someone might imagine an old well to look like.
Looking inside the well, what he saw confused him. Or more specifically it's what he didn't see that confused him so much, he saw an unnatural darkness cascading deep throughout the well making it impossible to see even a glimmer of water, or even the dirt walls, it was an utter void.
He looked to the ground and grasped a large pebble, he chucked the rock in and waited. When didn't hear a noise, he grew even more confused.
“It must be magic.” Devan thought “It must be!”
But why? Devan didn't know. All he knew was that his suspicions were right and he should now be very weary of the well.
Again he analyzed the well with great interest while also deep in thought, organizing his questions, and doing his best to answer them.
He then found himself reaching out for the bucket expecting to find nothing, but as he gazed down into the bucket he unexpectedly found two small, metallic objects. He grasped hold of one inspecting it carefully.
“Ping.”
“Item obtained, Iron tear, rarity: common
Used commonly to craft iron tools and weapons.
1 luck point(s) gained. 5 credits obtained.”
He grasped the other immediately, putting both in his small shirt pocket he found, receiving the same notification.
“Ping.”
“Item obtained, Iron tear, rarity: common
Used commonly to craft iron tools and weapons.
1 luck point(s) gained. 5 credits obtained.”
“Bing”
“Level up”
10 Hit Points gained
1 luck point(s) gained
1 strength point(s) gained
1 unspecialized point(s) gained
“Bing”
“Stat application unlocked”
2 unspecialized points gained
Devan was never a fan of video games but he wasn't surprised by this feature. He was not ignorant to the fact that how much this felt like a video game as confusing as it was.
A piece of information was absorbed. The information was accessed by the Stat application which was seemingly accessible by a mere thought.
“Stat application” He thought, interested and slightly confused by the information's broadness.
Name: Devan Reedily
Race: Human
Level: 2
Hp: 275
Mana: 545
Class: Sword caster
Professions: none
Title(s): none
Strength: 7
Perception: 7
Intelligence: 9
Charisma: 3
Dexterity: 8
Luck: 10
Constitution: 8
Willpower: 9
Unspecialized points: 3
Class Skills:
Identify: default.
Swords edge; rare.
(Skill slot empty)
(Skill slot empty)
Charisma was the obvious outlier, he hadn't found that the least bit intriguing. Growing up he had terrible social skills, usually opting to let himself be alone. He didn't like lacing his voice with pretty words, prefering to get straight to the point.
Unspecialized points are a mechanic in which earned points are assigned or added to a particular stat by personal discretion.
He asked himself how he could possibly have this knowledge, the tutorial guide appeared in his mind just as fast.
To see what would happen, he decided to allocate all his points strength. Once again, only requiring the thought to do so.
“Ping”
Points allocated
+3 strength
He felt almost no difference occur strength wise, whatever change, if there was one, must've been miniscule.
He focused his attention on his skills. His extra skill garnered his interest.
“Identify: rarity; default
Gives you a very basic description of numerous objects on your journey."
“fascinating” he bent down and picked up a small pebble. He used “identify” on the rock passively noting how instinctual using the tool was.
"Small rock: unlisted
An object with no particular value or use."
“Useful” He thought, crossing arms.
Something caught his eye as he mindlessly turned his head. A.. polar bear? The animal had an odd look.
Past the village, behind a large grove of trees just inside the forest he could see a large creature roughly two hundred meters away. He turned back to Bill and the large group who were seemingly ignorant of the creature.
Bill was more focused on managing the crowd than to keenly inspect the tree line. The squads of individuals Bill had organized were still inspecting the small village.
He found himself the only one aware of the creature. Deciding against telling them he started to slowly approach the beast very cautiously.
Devan sat just outside the grove of trees about fifty meters away from the large polar bear-like creature when he could just make out the animal clearly.
It wasn't a bear but a two meter wide, one and a half meter tall rat, slightly bigger than a large dog. White as snow with big, beady red eyes. Its tail was almost twice as long in proportion to its body. The man went unnoticed as the rat sat there eating something that Devan still couldn't fully identify but he doubted it was anything herbivorous.
“Identify”
Tundrat
Level 6
Tundrat as in tundra? The rat did appear to come from a tundra like biome or at least a cold environment where snow was present. If it did then why was it here? Of course, that was assuming this rat wasn't already native here and was only named after its natural pigment. After all, there's no telling how these animals develop and act in this mysterious place.
More unanswered questions confronted the Professor that most likely wouldn't be answered anytime soon.
Shaking his head he observed further. The rat ate with such ferocity as if in a terrible, gripping hunger. Each bite looked weak for its size, but the rat never wavered, eating as many scraps of meat the thing laid its mouth on, as it could.
The Rat slowed its eating, almost finished with its meal. Devan hid behind a tree intent on observing further. The fat rodents grunts, and grumbles of bemoaning satisfaction ceased. Suddenly the rodent tensed, moving its head in Devans direction.
“It sences me?” Devan thought, unnerved. He should leave if it really notices his presence.
With that, a large, piercing scream was heard and the beast kicked its hind legs and charged.
The giant rat moved much faster in proportion to its noticeable body weight. To the point where Devan knew he couldn't out run the rodent.
The beast dived head first towards the tree the man perched behind. The creature banged his head against the thick, dark brown bark of the tree.
This only enraged the creature further, gaining new found motive, the rat continued its assault on the large plant.
“Is it a omnivore as well?” Devan asked no one in particular, even though he knew he was kidding himself. The mindless creature was just exceptionally thick headed.
The beast slowly started to realize its mistake. Devan had to act quickly, unsheathing his sword from his left hand he dashed around the tree, swiftly swinging his blade aiming for the neck.
"Shiink!"
The sword slashed across the beast's throat. To Devans alarm, the blade only created a small gash on the right side of the rat's neck. He coiled his hand back in preparation for another strike, but the large carnivorous beast found his real target.
“Shit”
The beast quickly turned to face the former professor, eyes full of rage. Snarling viciously, the monster lunged at the man, knocking him down and aiming its mouth for Devans head.
Out of instinct Devan used the forearm of his missing hand to wedge himself inside the monster's mouth as a last ditch attempt to save himself.
The beast chewed viciously at his arm. Devans face contorted in agonizing pain.
The trundrat moved its body weight off the professor, but o
nly to mawl his arm more efficiently.
Through the agony, the man barely noticed the blade the oversized rodent knocked out of his hand. He reached for the damn thing, the blade sat just out of hand.
“Splink”