Mark's POV:
I run off to go look for my fortune. When I return...
"He's gone..."
I ask around to try to find him. I can't believe I met a real seer! My search leaves me disappointed.
"What a waste of time!"
Mark doesn't forget about this experience at all. He doesn't plan to end the search here. But randomly. He gets a weird feeling. It is like that feeling you get when you walk into a new room looking for something and then you forget what you are looking for.
The experience of doing the ritual.
The esteemed name.
It was wiped from his memory! He felt like he was looking for something. But he couldn't remember!
He continued his life.
One day as he was crossing the street. The sign said he was free to go. His vision went black for a second as he felt dizzy. He turned his head. A bus had entered his blindspot.
He was hit!
He lost consciousness in an instant.
When he woke up. He found himself staring at a wall. It was as if he was in a hallway. A stone wall was in every direction. But there were various paths.
It was a maze.
He wandered this maze for seemingly days. He didn't feel thirst or hunger. This shocked him greatly. He even tried pinching his fingers. But the pain wasn't as intense. It was almost as if his senses were slightly dull.
He thought he would go insane after being alone for so long. But he didn't.
Mark had always wanted to study the supernatural. He found this experience to be unique. Especially the fact that he seemed to have transformed into a human that required no sustenance. This new ability of his meant he had time to escape this maze.
After a few weeks of this. He never escaped the maze. He ran into countless dead ends. There was no escape. But he didn't despair.
His vision went dark again just like it had before he was hit by a bus. He heard the sounds of an ambulance in the distance.
[System]: You have died!
"I died? This is my afterlife?"
A sense of dread filled his being.
[System]: This isn't the afterlife.
[System]: This is a special test.
"Test? What?"
[System]: Beginning test!
I feel an itch in my bones. Something deeper then that. A burning sensation in my soul. An extreme uncomfortableness that seems to last for an eternity. It is increasing in intensity. I feel like if I lose consciousness here...
I will be wiped out!
Just when I think I can't take anymore...
[System]: You are guest 1,695,599.
[System]: Congratulations!
[System]: You are the first to pass the willpower test.
"I passed?"
Mark felt his heartbeat quicken. Had his death been a boon in disguise?
[System]: As the first person to pass...
[System]: You have received an invitation.
[System]: Do you accept? Y/N?
Mark started to contemplate this. He was already dead. What more did he have to lose?
[System]: Warning!
[System]: Your consciousness will be dismissed if you don't accept.
[System]: Do you accept system integration? Y/N?
"YES!"
It felt as if his skull had millions of ants wriggling around in his brain.
"Ahhh"
He woke up and he was in an hospital bed.
"I thought I died?"
"System!"
Nothing happened.
"Was it all a dream? But the pain felt so real."
The doctors were surprised to see Mark wake up so soon. It had seemed he had entered a coma. They didn't expect him to wake up after the trauma to his head.
Mark tried to stand up. But his legs refused to listen. He then realized his legs had been amputated!
"Your legs were completely crushed and unrecoverable. We apologize that we couldn't do more."
"..."
Mark felt like his life was over.
He was shocked.
How did this happen to him?
He remembered the last thing he remembered before getting hit. His vision had gone black and he felt dizzy.
He didn't have insurance. So he would have to pay for all of the operations out of pocket. Not only was his life changed forever. He would be in massive amounts of debt! His world felt like it was falling.
Luckily, he wasn't completely alone. He still had family that could help him as he would no longer be able to be independent.
He called his family and they visited him in the hospital. The doctors wanted him to stay for a week just in case there were any complications.
Mark refused and was soon dismissed. He was given a wheelchair and escorted home by his father. It wasn't his apartment. He was brought back to live with his parents.
He climbed out of his wheelchair, and then got on his bed.
He went to sleep.
He found himself in a completely white space.
"Where am I?"
[System]: You have received an invitation.
[System]: Do you accept? Y/N?
Mark felt he had nothing to lose now. He thought he had already accepted it. But that was the system integration, wasn't it?
"Yes..."
[System]: {
Name: Invitation,
Amount: 1,
Description: "Gives the person invited the qualifications to become a player"
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}
[System]: Do you wish to use use this invitation? Y/N?
"Yes!"
Mark felt millions of colors that couldn't be described flash past him as he was transported to an arena.
[System]: Welcome to the Tutorial!
[System]: As the first player in your world...
[System]: You have received special rewards.
"What rewards?"
[System]: 10x small health potions.
[System]: 10x small mana potions.
[System]: 1x Full recovery.
[System]: Title 'Maverick'.
[System]: Items have been deposited in inventory.
Mark knew what the potions were for. But he wanted to know what the title did.
"What does the title mean?"
[System]: {
Title: "Maverick",
Description: "As the first player. You are independent and walk your own path. This is a temporary title that will vanish when you complete the tutorial. If equipped, you are allowed to craft your own class. A custom hidden class."
}
[System]: Do you wish to equip 'Maverick'? Y/N?
"Yes!"
[System]: Title equipped.
[System]: Detected! Special temporary title...
[System]: Tutorial has started!
Mark had played a few games in his time. He was a bit excited. In this world... he wasn't disabled!
[System]: Please choose a username:
Mark was going to use his real name here. But this seemed sort of like a game. So he thought it was probably best to have a moniker. But he felt it didn't matter too much.
So he decided to just use his first name. Mark was a fairly common name either way. It wasn't like he was using his last name as well.
'Mark'.
[System]: {
Name: Mark,
Title: Maverick,
Race: Human,
Class: None,
Level: 0,
HP: 100/100,
MP: 100/100,
Strength: 10,
Perception: 10,
Agility: 10,
Vitality: 10,
Intelligence: 10,
Attribute_Points: 0
}
[System]: Because of your unique title.
[System]: You may construct a hidden class!
Mark wondered how this would work. But acquiring a hidden class at the start should surely be overpowered, right?
[System]: Please give a description of your class.
[System]: You may create three perks.
"Wow. There is a lot of room here. I'm going to make something busted."
Mark thought carefully about this as it had to do with his future. He wasn't sure exactly how hard it would be to change his class in the future.
He decided a particular theme for his class.
The theme would be 'refusing'.
"The name of the class is 'Refuser'."
[System]: Name updated!
"Does this game have respawn mechanics?"
There was no response from the system.
"My first perk will be 'death refusal'. I can respawn at my location of death."
Mark thought this would be completely overpowered, but the system had other plans.
[System]: Ability breaks game balance!
[System]: Penalty added...
"Penalty?"
[System]: {
Perk: "Death Refusal",
Description: "The user is able to regenerate fully at the spot of death. This cost a level."
}
"I see. So instead of respawning. I go through insane regeneration. Unfortunately... it takes a level."
"My next perk..."
Mark thought about the pain he had experienced before. If he was going to be in combat scenarios, he didn't want to have to feel the pain.
"I will feel no pain!"
[System]: Perk successfully created.
[System]: {
Perk: "Pain Refusal",
Description: "The user does not experience pain."
}
"My next perk will be teleportation!"
[System]: Ability breaks game balance!
[System]: Penalty added...
Mark figured this would happen. But even if it was nerfed. He still wanted it.
[System]: {
Perk: "Location Refusal",
Description: "The user can teleport to an explored location. This cost a level."
}
[System]: Do you wish to finalize perks? Y/N?
"Yes!"
[System]: At level 10. You can promote your class.
[System]: Please design your 'ultimate' class perk.
"An ultimate perk? Hmm..."
"How about Invulnerability?"
[System]: Ability breaks game balance!
[System]: Penalty added...
[System]: {
Perk: "Damage Refusal",
Description: "The user can refuse to take damage. Cost 10 MP a second."
}
[System]: Please enter promotion name:
"The initial class is called Refuser. When it is promoted. I'll call it 'Godiefyer'."
[System]: Calculating...
[System]: Each class has special starter soulbound items.
[System]: Please design your equipment!
"How do I do that?"
[System]: You may modify base equipment within reason.
"I see."
"I would like to see my equipment slots!"
Mark learned how to pull up his equipment.
[System]: {
Head: none,
Necklace: none,
Body: "Shirt",
Legs: "Jeans",
Feet: "Shoes",
Hand: [none, none],
Ring: [none, none, none, none, none, none, none, none],
Ammo: none,
Accessory: none
}
[System]: Starter equipment cannot be sold or transferred!
[System]: It is soulbound. So it also won't drop!
"What are my limits?"
[System]: You are allowed full freedom within reason.
"Hmm..."
Mark tried to design a set of elemental protection equipment that would make him 100% immune to damage from every element. But the system refused to let him do so. It instead opted for a far weaker elemental protection set. In the end he decided to go with a different route.
"The theme of my class is refusing..."
"My starter items are..."
'Ring of The Refuser' = 'User cannot get drunk or poisoned'.
'Hat of The Refuser' = 'User cannot get blinded'.
'Robe of The Refuser' = 'User cannot bleed'.
'Legs of The Refuser' = 'User cannot be slowed'.
'Boots of The Refuser' = 'User cannot take fall damage'.
'Necklace of The Refuser' = 'User can disguise themselves'.
The only thing missing was a weapon...
Mark also got to design the cosmetics of these items as well. His starter equipment looked extremely busted. It was shining and golden and would definitely draw attention.
He didn't want that. Which is why he had 'Necklace of The Refuser'.
All of his gear transformed to look like the starter gear of the class 'none'.
His name would also be hidden if he wanted. He could shift the appearance of his gear thanks to his special necklace.
Mark thought there would be more to design for his class. But he got an unexpected prompt.
[System]: Class has successfully been created.
[System]: Rules of the game will now be explained!
[System]: When you die. Your stats will be reset.
[System]: When you die. You will drop all items (Not including those soulbound).
[System]: You can respawn at an unlocked temple.
[System]: Thanks to your 'Death Refusal'. You can refuse death and fully resurrect at a cost.
[System]: There is no level cap. But it will become harder to level-up as you progress.
[System]: You will be kicked upon death back into the real world.
[System]: You cannot return to the game until your next sleep cycle.
"So if I understand this correctly. If a normal player dies. They lose all of their equipment besides soulbound items. They also are reset back to level 0 and lose all their progress. Not only that... but they are kicked from the game for a period of time."
Mark felt his 'Refuser' class was too powerful! He could directly bypass the harsh penalty as long as he had levels to spend.
Mark also thought of an exploit. He wondered what would happen if he used points from leveling up and then spent his levels to go in an infinite cycle.
But now wasn't the time for exploiting. He needed to finish this tutorial!