*Thwack*

*Thwack*

A bead of nervous sweat rolled down Zack’s forehead after his umpteenth swing at the wooden dummy.

He realized after his third swing that he had underestimated the straw dummy’s health pool. For something that didn’t fight back at all, it was way too difficult to take down, and probably by design. Each whack of his baseball bat only did a miniscule amount of damage to it.

Looking over at the other initiates, his progress was still significantly faster when compared to them since he had some bonus stats in strength due to his head start, but Zack quickly noticed that some initiates were far beyond even himself.

A towering man with bulging muscles was destroying his straw dummy with his bare hands, a testament to the fact that his innate base strength stat was incredibly high compared to Zack’s only slightly above average 6 base strength.

Zack quickly sobered up to the fact that his level advantage did not necessarily mean he would win a fight against everyone else, especially those with innately high base stats. He couldn’t even imagine how things would go if he started at level 1 right now with no equipment to his name besides a wooden bat. How did his former life self ever manage to make it to the very end with such a shit start?

As much as he wanted to pull out some of the good stuff from his inventory to vent his frustration against this uselessly tanky straw dummy, possibly lighting it on fire with the box of matches he brought from home or stabbing some holes in it with a kitchen knife, Zack decided not to advertise the fact that he had access to the inventory system prior to today. It was best practice not to draw excess attention to himself when he clearly violated some kind of protocol by starting the initiation a week early.

As the field classroom full of confused 174th cycle initiates hacked away at their straw dummies under the watchful eye of White Butler, the butler walked around with a long ruler in his hand in true Guide fashion, correcting initiates’ posture. He smacked his ruler against a college aged girl’s back, causing her to cry out in pain. “No slouching when you draw your bow!”

The brunette art student with dangly earrings could only whimper as she drew her bowstring back once again, her hands trembling from the pressure of being scrutinized by the monocled Guide who was now inspecting her posture with practiced eyes.

*Smack*

“You’re still slouching!”

*Smack*

“Chin up when you swing your axe. You need to watch where your blade is traveling!”

*Smack*

“Keep your firmly planted three feet apart from each other to keep a stable foundation when you jab!”

*Smack*

White Butler’s harsh criticisms were indiscriminate and raining down like a thunderous waterfall. Soon, all the initiates were taking the training very seriously lest they draw the anger of, or worse, the attention of the drill sergeant butler.

“The monsters of this Tower will not hesitate for a moment to rip you to shreds. Remember these words–stay focused, stay vigilant, and choose your battles! Never let the enemy sneak up on you!”

“You lot are the privileged few that get a head start in training compared to the rest of the world. Act like it!”

“Chin up! Shoulders square! Keep your eye on the target!”

Zack paid close attention to the butler’s advice to other initiates and tried to incorporate some of the tips into his own swing. He paid attention to his posture, his foot stance, and payload delivery by maintaining eye contact with the dummy. Time went by quickly, with two hours and fifty minutes elapsing from the beginning of training.

While other initiates were moaning and groaning about the butler’s draconian methods and drill sergeant yelling tone, as well as the monotony of meaninglessly hitting a wooden dummy over and over again without much progress, Zack felt himself getting into the rhythm of things nicely. He was in the zone.

By listening to the Guide’s seasoned advice, he quickly began to adjust his own fighting style from a chaotic and formless toddler’s rampage into something more structured. It would take a lot more practice to get the hang of things, but this was a start.

He could tell that the White Butler’s advice came from veteran experience because of how vividly the butler described and visualized the enemy threat, as if he were describing ghosts of the past right in front of him. It felt a bit like following Grace Kim, a nationally ranked yoga practitioner. Instructors with extensive real world experience were on another level.

He squared to bat once again, paying close attention to his posture and eye contact with the target, then let his swing rip, striking the dummy on the head for a slightly more solid hit than last time. Each swing made his hands ring from jarring recoil, something he still wasn’t quite used to.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

While Zack continued to work on his straw dummy, he saw the Guide heading towards him from the corner of his eye.

“You. What’s your name?” the Guide asked abruptly.

A few initiates glanced in the direction of the Guide addressing the young man, but their interest was quickly lost. Nearly three hours of intense training meant that attention spans were at an all-time low.

Zack looked over at the gray haired monocled butler in an immaculate tuxedo, wiping his forehead of sweat. “I’m Zack.”

The White Butler nodded solemnly. “A fine name. I see that you are learning quickly, much faster than many of the other students here…very well then, I shall see if you are worthy… En garde!” he shouted suddenly, producing a poker out of nowhere and thrusting it towards Zack.

Zack instinctively twisted his body backwards, planting his left foot sideways as the Guide had drilled into them countless times over the course of the three hours. Still, he was too slow, and the poker jabbed him right in the chest, leaving a painful red welt.

Well that didn’t go too well, did it? Zack thought.

However, the mustached Butler broke into a smile for the first time in the entire training session. “You certainly are a fast learner, initiate. You may even have some potential in you… Do your best to survive, will you? If you manage to reach the next stage, come look for me in the Great Hall.”

Zack nodded. And with that, the White Butler spun around and snapped his fingers, vanishing in a puff of smoke only to returns to his original position on the podium in the middle of the field.

“*Ahem!*” he cleared his throat loudly. “This just about concludes this stage’s training segment. All of you should have a general grasp on how to use your menu and have picked up some basic fighting skills to defend yourselves against the monsters that are to come.”

Murmurs of confusion and worry erupted upon mention of the word monsters. Only Zack remained calm, having experienced a segment of the dungeon already on his last delve.

“You will have further trainings in the future, provided that you survive long enough until then. For now, it is time for your first challenge. Hahahahah… it really is quite a thing to receive a [Scenario Mission] as your first ever stage. These are considered on the very difficult side of things.”

A countdown timer appeared in the sky, showing seconds tick by as less than a minute remained before the long training session would end.

“Considering that the previous three hours were a time for you to experiment with training wheels on,” the Butler continued. “Now it is time for you to experience the true glory and horror of a [Scenario Mission]. The hand-holding has ended for now. You are on your own... good luck, initiates of the 174th cycle.”

White Butler snapped his fingers one last time right as the countdown clock reached its end, and the ground erupted underneath everyone, giant stone walls of cracked volcanic-ash overgrown with thorny barbed plants shooting upwards with explosive speed, as the ivy covered stone walls reached over ten feet tall.

Meanwhile, Zack saw that the initiates were disappearing as if their bodies were fading. He looked down and saw he too was disappearing into particles.

The next stage has begun.

The plot has advanced past [Welcome Ceremony] to [Mysterious Stone Labyrinth].

You have been teleported to a random starting location within the stone labyrinth. Please explore with caution and find the exit.

Zack read the strange notifications in front of him, his heart pounding as he reappeared in an isolated corner of the maze. Overgrown topiary plants with lush leaves and dangerous barbs towered above the stone walls, the imposing structures forming several interconnected corridors filled with twists and turns.

Although he knew he was now in a life-or-death situation, the scholar within him couldn’t help but feel excited about examining the details and uncovering the mystery behind whatever this labyrinth had to offer.

He wasn’t left to contemplate for long, as a woman’s voice came from somewhere up ahead.

“Good heavens! What is this repulsive thing??”

A moment later, she spoke again. “N-no! Stay away! Shoo!”

It sounded like her voice was coming from the right, around the corner. Zack paced forward hesitantly, unsure of what exactly was happening and not eager to walk right into a trap. As he peeked around the corner, he was greeted with a horrible sight.

A fifty four year old school headmistress was sprawled on the ground, desperately attempting to scoot away from some kind of giant white insect larvae that had latched itself onto her. The bloated monster was far too large for its own good, its body undulating as it advanced towards the helpless woman’s chest, sticky mucus dripping from its body. It opened its mouth, revealing incisive teeth.

A text box appeared above the creature.

[Meat Maggot – Level 1]

An overgrown maggot that enjoys a carnivorous diet. Found throughout the world.

The description was terse and to the point.

It’s only level 1. I have just the weapon for this…

Zack summoned the makeshift spear that he’d painstakingly crafted from a gardening rake the night before. A tight coil of black duct tape around the pole formed a nice grip with good friction. With a tight grip on his spear and bounding strides, Zack made ground quickly. However, he was a few seconds too late, and could only watch in horror as the scene unfolded in front of him.

The maggot had already overpowered the headmistress who clearly had no fighting experience. With a guttural hiss, the Meat Maggot’s mouth descended upon her, its teeth sinking into her flesh as it tore away chunks of flesh with a voracious appetite.

The headmistress lets out a bloodcurdling scream as she feebly tried to kick and scratch it with her bloodied fingernails, but her attempts to fight back grew weaker by the second. The monster fed greedily on its living prey, its slimy body pulsing with satisfaction as it consumed its prey.

It was blissfully unaware of someone else approaching it from behind, spear raised.

With both hands gripping his handmade instrument of war, Zack planted one foot in front of him in a powerful posture and stabbed with as much force as he could, using the rotation of his body to generate additional power.

Unlike the headmistress, he had prior dungeon combat experience.

The spear pierced through the Meat Maggot’s bloated body with a sickening squelch, causing the creature to let out a high-pitched screech of pain. It thrashed about wildly, trying to dislodge the weapon from its flesh. Zack gritted his teeth and wrenched the spear free, before plunging it into the creature once more.