As the blinding light slowly faded, Jason cautiously opened his eyes before blinking several times whilst taking in his surroundings.
Jason stood in a wide clearing encircled by a dense, lush forest. The clearing spanned perhaps a few hundred meters; its floor was covered in soft, green grass. At the centre of the clearing, an imposing black obelisk loomed, tall and motionless, hovering eerily just above the ground.
Within moments, more figures began to materialize around him. Jason quickly noted that everyone was dressed in the same plain attire: simple cloth tunics that stretched from neck to ankle, accompanied by basic leather shoes. Glancing down, he realised he was dressed in the same inadequate garments.
As the number of people continued to grow, Jason shook off his thoughts and began moving swiftly toward the centre of the clearing. With each step, more people appeared, their murmurs of confusion and worry filling the air. A soft clamour of voices rose around him, the tone laced with fear and uncertainty as they tried to make sense of the situation.
Despite the rising tension among the crowd, Jason remained focused. Now was not the time to be distracted by such mundane concerns. As he neared the levitating black obelisk at the heart of the clearing, Jason quickly interacted with the various status screens illuminating his vision.
System Notification:
Welcome, Initiate, to the tutorial.
Your trail has started.
Trail: stage 1
Description: Protect your node for 30 days.
Rewards: Depending upon completion
Jason quickly closed the notification, having already expected the simplicity of the trail, and then more screens appeared before him.
Congratulations!
For taking part in an Ascension trial tutorial, you have been awarded the accolade 'tutorial initiate.'
Accolade: Tutorial initiate
Description: By choosing to embark on the Ascension Trial's Tutorial, you have taken your first step towards greatness. Your decision to participate marks you as one who seeks to ascend, unlocking the potential to rise beyond the ordinary. The path ahead may be challenging, but fortune favours the brave.
Effects: +10 free stat points, +10,000SP
Quickly scanning through the screens, Jason increased his pace toward the black obelisk at the centre of the clearing, or, more accurately, the "node." This object seemed to be the focus of this stage of the Ascension Trial.
How did Jason know that this object was, in fact, the node in question?
Well, there was not exactly another object that stood out so starkly against the natural surroundings. Plus, these nodes were the main focal point and key to progressing through the Ascension trial and conquering the 'Condensed Worlds', but this was an issue for another time.
Jason also took a few moments to consider the 'Accolades' mentioned in the system notification. Accolades were essentially achievements, a list of deeds representing the players' accomplishments recognised by the system. 'Accolades' were never easy to obtain and were highly sought after, especially since advancing to higher rarity classes often required them.
If that were the case, why was this particular accolade so easy to acquire while still offering decent rewards?
Well, that had to do with why Jason had been so eager to secure a human body as soon as possible, and with tutorials. The Tutorials had a limited number of places, around 50,000 each, and worked on a first-come, first-serve basis for each tutorial in each country.
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Even more importantly, the tutorials were no walk in the park; they were gruelling tests designed to weed out the weak. This accolade was not just a reward; it was a lifeline intended to increase one's chances of survival, even if only slightly.
With these thoughts in mind, Jason manoeuvred through the crowd, positioning himself further within the throng of people within the clearing. While doing so, he closed the system notification, which faded away before revealing a new ethereal screen in its place.
Status Screen:
Name: Jason Anderson
Race: Human
Traits 1: [???]
Accolades 2: [Tutorial initiate], [Patreon's Champion]
Level: 0
Class: None
Perks: None
Soul bound 1 of 1: [Gluttonous Brood]
SP: 10,000
Stats: 10 points available
Strength: 1
Endurance: 1
Vitality: 1
Dexterity: 1
Intelligence: 1
Mind: 1
Faith: 1
Will: 1
Skills 0 of 1:
Items 0 of 1:
SYSTEM STORE
Jason sighed as he looked through his stats, which were far lower than those of his previous form.
Looking at the status screen, Jason knew the system allocated stats quite fairly. Regardless of age, gender, or race, every challenger started with a baseline of 1 in each stat.
However, that did not mean everyone was on equal footing.
Physical differences mattered. Someone with a large, muscular frame might also have a strength stat of 1, but their body's natural power would allow them to exert far more force than someone smaller or weaker. The system might be uniform in its numbers, but the real-world applications were anything but equal.
Jason's eyes then drifted towards the "Traits" section of his status screen. Traits reflected the uniqueness of one's soul. Of course, the question mark displayed after traits was due to 'Malgrith' taking residence inside Jason. The system was unable to detect him or his presence, hence the question mark.
Next, Jason moved on to the 'levels' section, which was related to 'classes' and 'skills'. Only by increasing one's level could a player grow and advance their classes. At every 10 levels, a class would gain advancement options, and a new free skill and 'mana bond' item slot would become available. At the start each player was given one free skill and item slot upon gaining the system at level 0, and as a result they were currently empty.
'Perks' unlike 'Traits' were the physical manifestations of unique characteristics of a challenger's body that could widely affect how simple stats were reflected in the world. However, Jason was still far from attaining any of these, as he needed a class to start with.
Next, the 'SP' or system points were the currency used for the system store and trade and were only possible to acquire by killing in the Ascension trial. Each kill was rewarded a different amount of SP depending on the rank or level of the killed. SP could be traded for goods and services, but they could only be gained through killing.
The soul bond icon on Jason's status screen represented a unique connection between the player and another soul. With Jason's current capabilities, he could only bind to one other soul, and that bond was already occupied by his connection with the 'Gluttonous Brood'. Soul bonds were rare, after all, such a connection placed both souls at risk, as the death of one could mean grave injury to the other. Yet, the power these bonds offered was undeniable.
Despite the strength Gluttonous Brood could grant him, Jason chose not to tap into its abilities just yet. Now was not the time to unleash the insidious power lurking within.
The stats were similarly straightforward. There were two groups of stats representing two overarching build types.
The first were the physical stats, which included strength, which reflected the strength of the physical body; endurance, which reflected stamina and recovery rate; vitality, which reflected how much damage the body could take and the health recovery rate; and dexterity, the body's reaction to stimuli linked with the nervous system, which improved precise movement and fine motor control.
The second group included magic stats such as Intelligence, mind, faith and will. Increasing Intelligence increased mana concertation. Increasing this meant mana-based skills dealt more damage. Mind was the amount of mana one could hold, while faith allowed access to certain skills from Patreon's or higher dimensional beings.
Furthermore, similar to dexterity, which improved motor control for physical stats, the Will stat allowed one to express far greater control over the foreign energy called mana, a new energy source that was spread throughout the world due to the Ascension trials.
In essence, there were two basic builds based on these stats. Players who focused more on intelligence and mind often found their cognitive abilities outpacing their physical skills, leading to the typical clumsiness of mages in close combat. Conversely, physical builds, which prioritised strength and endurance, relied on instinctual fighting, excelling in melee but lacking ranged attack options.
Some of these limitations could be mitigated by levelling up and developing a broader skill set, but that was a concern for another time.
The most effective growth came from specialising within one group, though all stats worked together. For example, if a player focused on increasing their mind and intelligence, they would also need to boost their endurance; casting spells required stamina, and without it, their bodies would quickly tire. Similarly, physical combatants would benefit from having some magical stats to enhance their overall effectiveness.
Finally, after Jason had quickly scanned through his status screen, at the bottom of the status screen, the bold 'SYSTEM STORE' icon caught Jason's eye. This icon only appeared because he was within the influence of the Node at the centre of the clearing and thus could access the system store.
After reviewing his current meagre budget of 10,000 SP, Jason interacted with the icon, and a new screen materialised before him.
Welcome to the system store, where you can trade SP for items and skills.
Please select an option
Items/Skills