John groaned, the impact of his fall winding him. Dazed, he lay back on the dirt. He was almost about to pass out when he was woken by that chiming notification sound.
Ding!
Groaning again, John forced himself to sit up and look around. He was in a pitch black tunnel. Or he would have been, if not for the thin ray of light shooting down from the hole he had fallen through. Looking up at the ceiling of the tunnel, he tried to judge how far he had fallen. He guessed it was at least 30 yards. From the little light that was cast on his surroundings, he could tell that the hole was way too high for him to reach. He would have to find another way out of here.
More importantly, what were those sounds he kept hearing? Bells and robot voices. Was someone watching him? John decided that he had to get to the bottom of this.
“Hello? Robot?” he called tentatively.
There was no response.
“I heard your voice earlier, I know you’re watching. Who are you?”
Again, there was no response.
Annoyed and embarrassed at himself, John mumbled, “Who is he, who am I? Who are -”
At that, a translucent window appeared in front of him.
Status
Name: John Silver
Race: Human
Class: N/A
Level: 4
Strength: 4
Agility: 5
Constitution: 4
Will: 3
Focus: 6
Instinct: 8
Perception: 7
Unused stat points: 9
You have unread notifications.
What the hell is this? Was he in a science fiction movie? John stared bewildered at the screen, waving his hand through it.
“Is this information about… me?” He asked, not sure what to make of it.
After a few more moments spent examining the screen, he said experimentally, “Show me my notifications”.
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The information on the screen morphed and shifted.
Welcome to the System!
Focus +1
Player has learned an ability!
Basic Energy Circulation - The player has learned to channel mana through their body. With skilled use, mana may be used to produce miraculous effects.
Player has developed a new ability!
Quick Draw (Rare) - The player channels their energy into a single decisive strike, unsheathing their blade with blinding speed. The greater the player’s focus, the greater the speed and force of the attack.
Player has defeated Void Panther - Level 9.
Player has leveled up!
Player has leveled up!
Player has leveled up!
Player is the first on his planet to defeat an elite monster above his level. Additional rewards will be given at the end of this tutorial stage.
Player is the first on his planet to develop a Rare ability. Additional rewards will be given at the end of this tutorial stage.
So that damned panther had died after all? It must have bled out after he fell through the floor. Or perhaps something else finished it off. John focused on the other notifications. Abilities? Leveling up? Wait, this is kind of like Dungeons and Dragons. So did that mean he had 9 stat points to spend?
A lightbulb went off in John’s head. If I put all those points in Strength, would I actually get stronger? He found it hard to believe, it was too outrageous to be true. But then nothing about the last couple of hours had made sense. John decided to test it out. However, he had always been more of a “speed over strength” guy. He decided to put three points into Agility. As soon as he thought of it, he saw his stats shift automatically on the Status screen.
Strength: 4
Agility: 8
Constitution: 4
Will: 3
Focus: 6
Instinct: 8
Perception: 7
Unused stat points: 6
Neat! He was worried it would be difficult to spend his points, but it seemed like whatever this robot-system-thing was could read his mind. John stood up, imagining that he was about to make a fool of himself, and jumped lightly. He rose through the air smoothly almost a yard high, and landed back on his toes. His eyebrows rising, he bounced on the balls of his feet, feeling the way his weight shifted. It was not a world of difference, but the improvement was clear. He felt lighter and quicker. So it was safe to say that investing these points had a tangible effect, but how should he spend the rest?
John was aware that his life was in grave danger, the burning throb of his injuries a constant reminder of that. If he made the right choice here, it would help him survive. He pondered his options. His eyes wandered over to the notifications about his abilities. Quick Draw? That’s what the system called his move? He had never thought of giving it a name, but he liked it. He read the ability description a few times, muttering to himself.
The greater the focus, the greater the speed and force…
He thought back to the feeling before he had killed the panther, the sheer focus he had felt as he had guided… something… to strengthen and sharpen his attack. The system called it mana, it seemed. Suddenly, he made his decision.
John put all 6 remaining points into Focus.