"The forest!? What is in there?" murmured the crowd amongst themselves.
"What lies in the forest, are challenges that were fastidiously selected for you so that all you participants might have an equal chance at winning. Well, the main purpose of this tutorial is to test your ability to adapt to situations. So, it is not right for me to disclose too much." Said Haldon
After thinking about the best thing to say next, Haldon continued, "I will inform you of the necessary things you need before you enter the forest. If you think 'Information' or 'Status' or anything that means the same, a screen that is only visible to you will appear in front of your eyes."
Everybody tried it out. After examining everyone's confusion as they stared into nothingness, I, too, did it.
Information! Status! Status!! Information!!
**********
Name: Nox Mill
Age: 25
Sex: Male
HP: 200/200
Level: 1
Stat points:0
Title: Librarian(SS)
Stats-
Strength: 31
Agility: 29
Perception: 27
Stamina: 35
Intelligence: 41
Arcane: 0/0
Status Effects:
None
Active skills:
None
Passive Skills:
Ability to enter The Eternal Library(Mythic)
**********
I was taken aback by what appeared in front of me. Every strength and weakness that I had was converted into numbers. I looked at Elizabeth, realizing she was just as confused as I.
"As you might have noticed, the tower converted all your abilities into a number. Most of you might not understand some terms of the status window, but you will familiarize yourself with them soon," said Haldon.
Haldon continued, "I will give you all a basic overview of the information on the status window that most of you might have never even heard of before.
The main stats are essential; your strength, agility, perception, intelligence, and stamina have been converted to numbers. These numbers can be increased by training or various other ways. The arcane stat is one of the most important stat in the tower. The lightning I summoned earlier was a form of skill that was possible due to my high arcane.
You will obtain some stat points whenever you level up, and you can use them to increase your stats.
You may receive buffs and debuffs that affect whatever you do, positively or negatively. Those will be shown under Status Effects.
The skills are the most critical things in the tower. You can significantly increase your power by obtaining various skills through various methods. The easiest way to get a skill is by signing a contract with a Divina. The Divina are beings that you may also know as gods or legends. They are beings one hopes to be after climbing the tower.
And lastly, the title; Think of it as achievements you get for doing certain things. Getting a job and title can increase your stats or give you a unique skill. But, you can only get jobs and talents once you enter the tower; it is near impossible to get them in the tutorial."
After explaining all this, Haldon let out an exaggerated sigh. He then crossed his arms as if awaiting questions from the crowd.
What confused me the most was that I already had a title and a passive skill. Didn't Haldon say that one could not obtain them during the tutorial? How was this even possible. Should I ask Haldon about it? No! I don't know what these titles and skills even mean. It would probably be best to not inform anyone about this until I obtain more information. Plus, it's only a library; it may be some weak random title and achievements.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
One of the women from the crowd raised her hand and said, "My stats look really low! What even are the average stats?"
"Well, you just entered the tower! It's obvious your stats will be low! For an average person, all the stats should range between 10 to 20 in the tutorial stage. Any other questions?" answered Haldon.
Between 10 to 20!? How were my stats compared to the average person !? Just what was higher happening to me!? I don't understand my situation at all!
"Well if you don't have anymore questions, then the tutorial will begin in 5 minutes," Haldon informed the crowd, "and yes, it will be best if you find some companions beforehand."
Haldon then vanished into thin air.
I had 5 minutes to make preparations.
"What do you make of our situation?" I asked, turning towards Elizabeth.
"I have no idea! But I think that it would be best to find some more people to team up with before the tutorial starts." Replied Elizabeth.
She was right. It was better to be together than to be alone. But knowing my limitations, I can't manage a team of more than 5 people.
Throwing my eyes around the field, I tried to find people with the most potential. It was also necessary to find people who had different weapons than us since a wide array of weapons in a team is better than everybody only holding a sword or bow.
At last, I found a boy! He looked around 15, had a dark complexion, and was pleasantly plump. He wore a white T-shirt along with black pajamas and held a bow in his hand.
Beckoning Elizabeth to come with me, I went over to him.
"Hello, nice to meet you!" I said in as kind a tone as possible.
The boy glanced at me and was slightly taken aback. I would like to think that it was because of my fit physique and not my face, which habitually looked stern.
"N-Nice to me-meet you too, s-sir!" said the boy, slightly quivering.
"Hello there! It's a pleasure to meet you!" Said Elizabeth in a voice that was unlike I had heard from her before. It was strangely very enthusiastic.
The boy seemed to have been reassured by the presence of Elizabeth. It looks like she was very good at handling children.
"It's nice meeting you, ma'am !" Said the boy.
"My name is Elizabeth! What's yours ?"
"My name is Liam!" Exclaimed the boy. Elizabeth's enthusiasm seemed to have spread to him as well.
"Would you like to team u-"
"Who are you!" Interrupted a girl coming from behind Liam. She looked around 18, was physically fit, had tanned skin with dark black hair, and had a graceful face. She was wearing a blue T-shirt with black jeans.
"Sis! You are finally back! These people came up to me and asked my name." Said Liam as he rushed to take his sister's side.
"State your purpose!" The girl said.
"We are looking for people to team up with," I replied.
"We aren't! I am enough to protect my brother and he is enough to protect me!" Replied the girl.
"But I think it would be better to team up since we don't know what challenges we will face," Argued Elizabeth.
"Even though that may be true, we will not depend on other people!" Said the girl, holding her brother's hand.
As she started to walk away, a screen appeared in front of me.
**********
[The Tutorial's Main Challenge]
[Clear conditions: Be among the 50 people to survive
Time limit: None
Rewards: Permission to enter the tower
Failure: Death ]
**********
Death!? If someone failed the challenge, then the punishment was death!?
"My name is Chung-Jin! My father is the chairman of The Jin Group of enterprises!" shouted a voice from amidst the crowd.
"Jin Group of enterprises?! Isn't it one of the top 10 companies in the world!?" whispered the crowd amongst themselves.
"When we get back to Earth I will heavily reward all those who stand with me! With what I will reward you, the children of your children's children's children and even their children will not have to work at all!" Shouted Chung-Jin as he made a big show with his hands.
He was around 6 feet and had a fit physique. He had brownish flowy hair and fair skin.
I had heard of him before. The media portrayed him as a spoilt brat who loved making his father's money disappear into thin air. But, seeing how he started gathering team members, it looked like he understood the basic fact that for surviving in an unknown place, staying in a group was the best thing to do.
And flaunting wealth was indeed the best incentive for people. 11 men and 3 women walked over to him.
"I don't need dead weights like you!" He exclaimed, pointing to a middle-aged man who was so skinny that even his ribs could be seen.
The skinny man tried to argue, but he was quickly silenced by Chung-Jin's glare.
Most participants had already made teams of 3 or 4 with only a handful of lone wolves visible here and there.
The girl suddenly stopped in her tracks. Turning back towards me, she said, " We will team up with you, but only until the tutorial ends! I can't risk putting my little brother in harm's way."
"I am glad you agreed," I replied, extending my hand for a handshake.
"But only on one condition, my brother's safety will be given the topmost priority."
"I agree," I replied as I shook her hand firmly.
"My name is Ignis, what are your names?" asked Ignis.
"My name is Nox, and this is my companion, Elizabeth," I said, pointing towards Elizabeth.
"Nice to meet you Ignis!" Elizabeth said in an enthusiastic tone, extending her hand towards Ignis.
Ignoring Elizabeth, Ignis said, "Hold out your weapons. It's best if we all know what each other is carrying"
I held out my sword, Elizabeth held out her spear, Liam held out his bow, and Ignis held out a staff.
It seems like we had a variety of weapons in our group.
Haldon somehow appeared out of thin air and shouted, "Participants! The test has now begun! All of you will be transported inside the forest at random locations. Hold the hands of people you want to team up with. Those who are holding hands will be teleported together!"
I took hold of Liam and Elizabeth's hands while Liam held Ignis's hand.
In just a moment, everything went dark. My head started spinning, and my stomach tied itself in knots. My throat dried up, and my lungs were deprived of any air. At last, I came back to my natural self. It seems like this is the feeling one gets when one is teleported.
I looked around and noticed that we had been sent to a place surrounded by tall trees and thick bushes. It seemed like the challenge had finally begun.