Ethenia blinks her eyes, and it feels like she just woke up. Looking around she sees the rest of her classmates, and the professor, all lying on the floor.
Glancing around her current surroundings, the floor looks like something out of an aquarium. A thin layer of glass above a crystal blue lake. There’s no bottom, and it almost seems as if the surface is a layer that her gaze can’t penetrate.
Dragging her attention away from the weird floor, she looks in front of her and can’t help but marvel. The lake floor extends as far as the eye can see, there’s no walls, and above is simply a blindingly white sky.
There are four marble-like pillars around everyone, creating a square. Each pillar looks to be spaced evenly with about 50 meters of space between them.
Ethenia’s attention finally turns to the somewhat familiar phenomenon in front of her. She’s seen them before in comics, anime, and games, but seeing it displayed in real life is something different.
Welcome to the tutorial, [System Holder]! Think about your status to display your current abilities.
Despite the rectangular panel floating right in front of her eyes. It's not distracting, and doesn’t disrupt her vision. ‘It almost seems like it’s just a thought at the back of my mind, until I focus my attention on it, bringing it to my line of sight.’
Looking around the others, waking up, groaning and grunting, she follows the instructions of the prompt.
Ethenia doesn’t have to think the word status, it’s more like the act of wanting it to appear is enough, and the previous prompt is replaced by a new floating panel.
Name: Ethenia Vermillion
Race: Human
Class: Elementalist (Electro)
Level: 1 (0%)
Tier: 1
HP: 100%
MP: 100%
Physical: D
Magical: C
Mental: C
Talent: Battle Mage*
Battle Mage: Holder is born for battle, no matter the amount of opponents. Holder gains a 25% boost to magic power, and 10% reduction cost to battle spells. Holder will remain calm in battle. Mind cannot be influenced by external forces. Can ‘Overload’ any spell.
‘This is different from what I’d thought. There is no explanation for anything. The talent is a nice boost, but other than that I have no idea what any of these stats mean. Is C magical good? What is the range? Is it the typical A to F seen in this genre of fiction, or is there another range?’
Taking another look around the room, she can see a few people having distinct features, something a human would not have. There’s around 40 people in the room. A few have sprouted animal ears and tails, mostly looking to be canine or feline. A few people have pointed ears, one or two with a darker, almost gray skin. Elves?
Ethenia turns back towards her display, and mentally nudges the Class, as it seems to be expandable.
A list replaces her status.
Tier 0 Spells
Overload (Innate) - Overloads any cast spell, increasing the offensive output relative to the amount of mana provided.
Tier 1 Spells
Spark - Discharge an electrical spark, point of origin can be within a radius of 10 meters.
Spark Stream - Discharge a consistent stream of sparks originating from the caster, until the caster loses focus.
Ethenia unconsciously bites her lip and plays with a few strands of her hair, a habit for when she’s deep in thought. ‘Yet again there’s no references. No numbers, no explanation. Does the offensive power of a spark equate to static electricity, like putting your finger in a socket, or is it the same as touching a high voltage line?’
“Where are we?” A female voice asks, breaking the somewhat silent atmosphere. Ethenia glances at the girl, one of the heiresses to a technological giant, and sees she’s one of the people with animal ears and tails. A light gray fuzzy fur adorning her new ears and tail, said tail slowly swishing back and forth. ‘Instinct? The way her tail behaves and moves looks like she’s had it since birth, like it’s ingrained and instinctive the way it moves.’
The professor has finally woken up, and walks towards the girl. Ethenia studies the professor for a moment, and notices his ears are slightly longer than some of the others. ‘If I’m right, there are different species of elves. I might be completely wrong, as this is just based on fiction from our world, but this is reality. Better not expect my conclusions to be correct.’
“Is everyone alright?” The professor asks, and multiple people try to respond at once. Ethenia picks up some of the words said. “Isekai.” “Monster.” “What am I?”
Apparently he got the confirmation he needed, as he nods to himself. “Good, does anyone know what happened?”
A group of four boys look at eachother, before stepping up. “It seems like we have been summoned to another place, and each of us has been given a system with a class. I’ve been talking to the others and it seems there are a few differences. My class is [Soldier] and I have a list of abilities called “Tier 1 Body Arts”. While my friend is a [Conjurer] and he has a list of abilities called “Tier 1 Spells.” It seems almost like a lot of fiction from Earth, and according to the message earlier we are in some sort of tutorial.”
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Ethenia looks around, and can see some people completely confused, and some who are nodding along. This genre of fiction has become rather widespread the last few years. ‘Is there any connection between the rise of this genre, and this situation I find myself in?’ Shaking her head, she’s grasping at straws. It’s unlikely there’s a connection, but she doesn’t want to rule it out completely.
Looking back to her status, she notices something the man didn’t mention. Talent. ‘System, what is talent?’ A few seconds pass, and no response. Ethenia lets out a sigh. ‘Worth a shot.’
“Hey! The screen changed!” The female from earlier speaks, and even though she’s speaking at a normal volume, somehow the sound carries perfectly even to Ethenia, who’s at least 10 meters away from the girl.
She looks to where the girl is pointing, and Ethenia turns confused, how did she miss that earlier?
In the center of two of the pillars, a large system screen is floating.
[System Notice]: Tutorial will begin in 3 hours 58 minutes and 21 seconds. Good luck.
Looking back towards the professor and the group of students, she can see the four who spoke up earlier in a hushed conversation with the professor. Ethenia keeps an eye on them, while scanning the ‘room’ once again to see if there is anything else she missed.
A few minutes pass, before the professor and the four students are done conversing. “Okay everyone. We need information about what we’re working with. If anyone with a “Tier Spell List” can gather around this pillar.” The professor points to the pillar to the left of the system notice, and people start moving towards it, including Ethenia.
“If anyone who has a physical class, like [Soldier] can move towards this pillar.” He points to the pillar to the right of the system notice, and another group starts moving.
Only one person remains in the middle, and Ethenia gives her a once over. The girl has a red tint to her skin, a pair of bat wings spreading out from her upper back, and a leathery tail ending up with a spade shaped tip. ‘Demon? Succubus?’
The professor walks towards the girl, and speaks in a quiet voice, but somehow the voice carries through the room yet again, despite the earlier conversation with the four students being quiet.
“What is your class?”
The girl looks somewhat nervous, but her voice rings out in a clear and almost soothing tone. “Enchantress, my spells are listed as “Tier 1 Enchantments”, but they seem to be more of a support role than an active role. I have no offensive spells, but I have both physical and magical capabilities.”
The professor’s hand starts stroking his beard, while Ethenia looks at the girl in confusion. ‘Am I the cynical one? I don’t know if there’s an appraisal type skill, but I wouldn’t give that kind of information voluntarily. While I know I’ve been somewhat reclusive over the past three years, I wouldn’t trust any of these people with my life.’
As Ethenia tries to analyze what she can with the information available, the Enchantress is ushered towards the magic group.
“How are we supposed to do anything? The spellcasters might not need a focus, but my class is [Swordsman Novice], and I can’t use any of my Body Arts without a sword, or bladed weapon.” One of the guys in the physical group voices out, and at the end of his question a weapons rack materializes a few meters away from their pillar.
Ethenia looks over, and recognizes most of the weapons. Swords, daggers, bows and arrows, polearms, spears, halberds, and a few she doesn’t recognize.
The group of physical-class students look at each other before walking over and picking out their own weapons. As everyone is distracted by them, a heat wave emanates from behind Ethenia, and she almost curses herself for losing focus of her surroundings.
Turning around a girl can be seen throwing out a small ball of fire that dissipates upon contact with the floor. Ethenia looks at the distance between the girl and herself. ‘While I have no information regarding tiers, we’re level 1, there is no way we’re strong, yet I could feel the heat of that flame from 5 meters away.’
Filing away the information for later, the boy who spoke up earlier with the explanation of his [Soldier] class walks over to the girl. ‘What was his name again? M something.’
“Astrid, how did you cast that spell?” The boy asks.
Astrid turns towards him, looking almost sheepish. “I’m not completely sure Michael. I just focused on the name of the spell in my head, with the intention to cast it.”
‘Right, Michael. Anyways I suppose it’s a good thing she tested it out.’
Ethenia brings up her status again, focusing on her class. [Elementalist (Electro)]. ‘Would that girl be the same class, but Pyro?’
“What class are you Astrid?” Michael asks. Astrid places her hand behind her back, leaning slightly forward and displaying her cleavage, making Ethenia roll her eyes, as Michael’s gaze drops to Astrid’s cleavage. ‘Really? Here? Not the time and place.’ Ethenia thinks.
“I’m an [Elementalist] with a Pyro affinity.” ‘Seems like I was right. I assume that means there’s Hydro, Cryo, Geo? Maybe more. Why are they named “Pyro” instead of “Fire”?’
Michael turns back towards everyone else, and seems to be holding a silent conversation with the professor, before Michael receives a nod.
“Okay everyone. The tutorial begins in a little over three hours, we don’t know what to expect, but a safe bet would be some sort of combat. We’re around 40 people, and we should group up based on class. If anyone with the class of [Conjurer] can move towards the pillar behind me.” A group of around 12 people from the magical pillar starts moving.
“Okay, and anyone who has a magical class other than [Conjurer] and [Elementalist], move over to the remaining pillar.” A group of around 10 people start moving.
Once everyone is sorted, the professor and Michael hold a quiet conversation, and this time the contents can’t be heard. ‘Is there some sort of enchantment on the room? If the intent is for the conversation to be heard, it will?’ Ethenia ponders.
“Okay. I want groups of four. The group should contain one [Elementalist], one physical fighter, one [Conjurer] and one from what we’ll call the support pillar. If there are people who have known each other for a long time, and are familiar with each other, you should group up, as team cohesiveness could be important.”
‘I’m not sure if I’m impressed that there are no complaints, or if this is just the result of everyone being part of the elite. Everyone should understand the importance of delegation, and having the best suited person for the job doing the delegation. Michael, Michael. Hmm, oh! Right, his father runs a PMC company, and with his apparent interest in fiction, I suppose it explains why he seems so organized.’
✧ ⋄ ⋆ ⋅ ⋆ ⋄ ✧ ⋄ ⋆ ⋅ ⋆ ⋄ ✧
Michael scans the room, and the groups that are starting to form. He spots a girl he knows about, Ethenia Vermillion. Despite her lack of participation, Michael has been paying attention to her, as she’s the only one voluntarily entering the portal. He watched her from the middle of the room, and he is almost 100% certain that the portal stopped moving once Ethenia stood in front of it. After waking up in this place, she has seemed calm and collected, but he can tell by her eyes that she’s been analyzing the situation.
Walking up to her, he notices that she spots him, but doesn’t give him her focus. Michael follows Ethenia’s gaze and ends up looking at the [System Notice]. Just under three hours. ‘She’s an [Elementalist] but what kind? I just know I need her on my team.’
Michael looks back to his status, and his talent.
Talent: Insight*
Insight = You have a sixth sense, giving you insight and feelings on topics, situations and possible dangers.
He doesn’t know why he needs her on his team, he just knows he does.
Arriving in front of the girl, he can’t help but be mesmerized by her beauty. Dark caramel hair and brown eyes. Perfectly sculptured facial features exuding a typical american beauty, and one of the top ones at that. Her posture is confident and prideful, despite her silent attitude. She’s not a pushover.
His gaze drops to her chest, and yet again it’s almost perfect. Big enough to be attractive and a handful, but perfectly proportioned. She’s almost as tall as him, she’s probably around 170 cm. His gaze drops lower to her long, slender yet athletic legs, her tight jeans displaying every line and curve.
Shaking himself out of his lust, he can’t help but admire beauty.
“Hello, Ethenia Vermillion, right?” Her eyebrow raises, and it just enhances her beauty. He already knows her name, as he’s been wanting to have his parents seek out an arranged marriage with her for the past year.
She nods at him, and he gives her a smile.
“I would like for you to be on my team.”