After selecting the Havok Bringer Class I expected to get more information, or some cool armor, or something. What I got instead was directions.

Class selected - Progress through the tutorial level for more information on your selected class. Upon completing the tutorial and reaching the shipyard you will be fully briefed.

“What the hell?” I said, throwing my hands up in frustration, “I didn’t get anything. No information, nothing, what am I supposed to do now?”

“Stay calm, Andrew, It’s not unusual. Most participants don’t receive anything until completion of the tutorial level,” Tiff said, “the Lacertines have taken steps to ensure that most participants expire early. The fewer participants who progress, the higher the chances are that they won’t have any issues securing the right of reaping. The safe area is about to open. When it does, you have to be ready. There will be enemies of some sort. They won't be high levelled enemies, but they will be a higher level than you. The main goal here is to survive. Once the safe room disappears you will be back in your clothes with all of the possessions you had during transport. Hopefully you have something useful but, if not, you will need to move fast and only engage if you absolutely have to. You can receive experience for killing in the tutorial and it is possible to level up, especially since everything here will be a higher level than you. Find a tool that you can use to fight. The shipyard will be in the center of the level; it's usually 4 or 5 miles squared, big, but not so big that you can't get to the center in a couple of hours," Tiff said.

She stood directly in front of me to make sure she had my attention for this part: “I need you to listen closely now. There will be a boss. It shouldn’t be over Level 5 but that is still way too high for you to try and fight. If you see it, run. Do you understand?”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it. Stay away from the boss,” I said as I paced back and forth, still covering my private parts, taking deep breaths. It felt like I was about to run onto the field for the first football game of the season. I was nervous, I was scared. The difference here is that the opposing players were literally going to be trying to kill me.

Just as I finished speaking, Tiff started to phase out right in front of me. One of the four grey walls started to slowly slide down into the ground with a grating noise like concrete scraping concrete, and my interface changed. A large countdown populated the center of my screen with numbers counting down from 10.

Combat commencing in:

10...

9...

8...

“Tiff! Where did you go?!” I shouted.

“I’m here. You can’t see me, but we can still communicate. Get ready and be aware of your surroundings," she said reassuringly.

7...

I noticed a figure in the lower left-hand corner of my interface surrounded in green. Does that signify my health? Ugh, I don't know but can’t think about that now, I thought to myself.

In the top right was a mini map with a red dot in the middle; nothing else around it.

The top left showed my level as 1 with an experience bar underneath it.

3...

2...

1...

I slightly bent my knees and tensed my body, readying myself to move swiftly. Holding my arms by my sides, my focus shifted from my nakedness—now that Tiff had left me alone in the safe room—to the need for speed and preparedness. The alarm's blare, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, and the red flashing of the fluorescent lights accelerated my heartbeat, almost audible in my chest. As the door completed its opening, I peered out into what appeared to be... roads and buildings? It resembled an American military base. Uncertain of what lay ahead, I had braced for an alien landscape, yet here I was, seemingly about to battle for survival on a familiar military base. Admittedly, the base was in disrepair: overgrown vegetation, cracked streets, and a sky tinged with reddish-orange. Stepping out of the safe room, I glanced back only to find it vanished, replaced by more overgrown streets and crumbling buildings. The site looked abandoned for years, maybe decades, which was perplexing since the drop had occurred just three years prior. Military bases should have been bastions for officials and dignitaries. How could one fall so quickly into ruin? The answer dawned on me as I inhaled deeply, ran my fingers through my hair, and looked up to see not one, but two moons.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Well, that answers one question," I remarked.

As I walked, my clothing and pack materialized onto my body. I clenched a fist in triumph, relieved to no longer be naked. It was a minor victory given my current predicament, but I embraced it nonetheless.

"Stay focused, Andrew. You need to find something to use as a weapon. Keep an eye on the mini-map in your interface; it'll mark enemies with red dots if they're close. The boss will be indicated by a red crown. If you see that, run," Tiff instructed, her voice resonating in my mind.

I dashed towards a large administrative building. It was inaccessible; all entrances were locked. I suspected this was intentional, forcing us to navigate towards the tutorial level's center rather than taking refuge in buildings. I crouched against the wall at the building's edge, scanning the area to orient myself.

"This looks like a military base; I'm certain there are guns or rocket launchers around," I said to Tiff.

"They wouldn't have stocked those. This place is designed to resemble something familiar to Earth's participants to ease the transition, but you won't find free weapons," she replied.

Looking around, I noticed the auto-shop named "Sprocket."

"The garage door of that auto shop is open. I bet I can find something useful in there," I said as I began running towards it. I attempted to stay low and move tactically, but realistically, the closest I'd ever come to being a soldier was maxing out my character in Call of Duty. Nevertheless, I was here now and needed to be cautious.

Approaching the garage, I could see inside. The walls were lined with tools, typical of an auto garage. Most were useless, but one item caught my attention—a large, black tire iron with a curved end and a flat spike. "Perfect," I muttered, stepping out towards the garage.

As I took my first step, a loud chittering noise stopped me. A bulbous-headed humanoid creature walked past the open door inside the building. About four feet tall, it had a large head, two almond-shaped black eyes, two small nasal slits, and thin lips. Its neck and limbs were slender, but its middle was round. It was the quintessential alien, albeit orange, chittering as it paced. Above its head, a description appeared:

Trimean Infantry – Level 3

"You need that weapon," Tiff insisted.

"Trimeans aren't very strong, just avoid its bite. The mouth can expand to three times its size and is filled with razor-sharp teeth. It could sever an arm if it gets a grip, so try to approach stealthily."

"So, I'm supposed to kill that thing?" I whispered. "I don't know if I can ki..."

As I was speaking, the Trimean turned and howled. The sound resembled a dog's howl.

"What the hell!?" I screamed in horror as the alien howled toward me.

The short Trimean rushed at me, but its short legs gave me enough time to move. I dodged it and ran toward the shop to get the tire iron.

Stepping into the shop, I made a beeline for the tire iron. Just as I reached out to grab it from the wall, something slammed into the back of my legs—it was the Trimean. It wrapped its arms around me while continuing to howl. Despite its small stature, it was incredibly strong.

I struggled to pry the Trimean off me, and as I looked back, I saw it open its mouth. It was like something from a nightmare—three times the size of a human mouth, with rows of sharp teeth and a slimy, purple tongue wriggling inside. It was still howling.

"IT’S GONNA BITE MY ASS!" I screamed.

I began to spin, attempting to dislodge the creepy little alien from me. I backed up and thrust him into a rolling toolbox positioned against the wall next to me. Although he wouldn't let go, he also couldn't bite me.

I glanced over at the tire iron. One last time, I pushed back, ensuring the Trimean didn't have a chance to bite down. Simultaneously, I reached out with my right hand and grabbed the tire iron. As I pushed my body back against the toolbox once more, I spun around, trapping the Trimean against the toolbox and bringing him around to my front side. The creepy little creature looked up again, howling, and opened his mouth.I grasped the tire iron with two hands, and I slammed the sharp end into that creepy open mouth. The tire iron plunged into the throat of the creepy little alien. As its tongue wriggled, the alien croaked and gagged on a mix of blood and iron as the spike exploded out the back side of its big, bulbous head. The alien's body went limp. Black, thick blood oozed out of the wound in the back of its head as I jerked the tire iron back out. I stood there over the limp, dead body as I received a notification:

Experience earned!

The words blinked across my interface as I stumbled backward into a pile of tools on a workbench.

"Jesus! What the literal fuck was that thing?!" I asked as I backed away from the dead Trimean and put my hands up to my head.

“That was a Trimean,” Tiff said. “Is your interface not working?”

“Yes, my damn interface is working,” I said. “But what, what even? I mean, I’ve never seen anything like that!” I replied.

“Andrew, aliens are trying to take your planet; expect to see some weird shit. Process it and let's keep moving,” she said, nonplussed. “You didn’t die, and now you have a weapon. Let’s take an inventory of what else you have, and then let's get to the shipyard.”

I sat down in the corner and pulled off the pack that I had been wearing when I came in through the orb.

“I don’t really have much; some food, some water, some first aid stuff, a flare gun…a flare gun!” I said excitedly. “That can be useful, but I only have three shots.”

“Okay, keep your pack on you; we may need it later,” Tiff said. "We have to get moving."

"You did well, Andrew,” Tiff said. “We just might get through this tutorial, but you must stay calm and keep moving. Now get up, and let’s get to that shipyard."