“Every teacher has a unique way of teaching; So it should surprise no one; that no two tutorials are the same. Even so, many overseers have been criticized for being either too soft or too hard on their charges. For example; In the controversial 102-k Tutorial of the 87th Integration, there was a single survivor out of 100,000. The survivor monopolized the rewards and quickly conquered his home planet. When he died, he left his planet vulnerable, with no one strong enough left to defend it and it was enslaved“ - Excerpt from “The Why’s, The What’s, and The How’s of integration”
Will woke up to a loud chime.
“DING! Welcome to the tutorial. You have been sent here to relearn your abilities while your world is being acclimated to its new energy saturation.”
As he observed his surroundings he noticed he was in a large clearing. The sky was bright blue; and according to the position of the sun, Will guessed it was around 3 in the afternoon. Looking around Will saw tall pine trees swaying softly in the wind. He heard the trickling sound of a creek and the rushing sound of a river. It was peaceful. The perfect place for an afternoon nap. And were he not thoroughly bewildered, he might have taken one.
Pacing around the clearing and collecting his thoughts; Will decided to test out the ability he had seemingly been granted. Focusing on the ability, Will tried to force its activation. Suddenly, out of nowhere, he felt himself getting tired extremely fast. Sitting down, and panting, on the slightly damp grass; he felt something rub against his back. Will yelped in fright and tumbled away, falling to the ground. Looking up to see what had startled him, Will became dumbfounded. It was strange, an animal he had never seen before. An eagle, one that seemed to be made entirely of lightning, was perched on a log next to where he had sat. Pushing himself to a sitting position, he observed the creature. A new screen appeared before his eyes.
“Lightning Eagle - Rank F - The lightning aspect of William Raik. Forged by his ambition and desire of freedom”.
“Well”, he exclaimed. “I guess it is sort of an animal”. Observing it once more, he noticed faint arcs of lightning flickering through its body. Switching his gaze to the sky, he noticed a small storm cloud forming above the clearing. “Is this your doing”, Will asked the bird wryly. The bird cawed in response and puffed out its chest proudly as if to say “You betcha, got a problem?!”. Laughing softly as he reclined his head, Will glanced at the blue sky above him and closed his eyes; His exhaustion finally catching up with him.
Shaking himself from his daydream; he got up and dusted himself off, picking up his backpack with him. “...Wait”. “How did my backpack get here?”. Trying to recall the last couple of hours, Will remembered the system message he had received while still in the bar, which seemed an eternity ago. Will opened his backpack, searching for the one item he knew would definitely help him. “Found it!”, He shouted in excitement as he pulled out the lighter.
“I need to find a shelter”, Will remembered, composing himself. As that was the key to any long-term wilderness survival. Considering his options, he decided that a cave would be the safest choice. “Now, to find one”.
Will began his trek through the woods searching for any sign of human life. A few minutes into his walk, he heard a bush rustle to his left. Turning himself and backing away slowly, Will grabbed a stone and tensed his body, preparing to toss it. “Growl”, A badger jumped out of the bush, gnashing its teeth and pawing at the ground. “Ravenous Badger [F] - Lvl 3”. It didn’t seem very dangerous, but then again, Will had never seen a badger in action. As it approached him, snarling, Will lost his cool and tossed the stone at the badger. “Well, that didn’t work”, he thought, “Now, to run away”.
Being eaten by a hungry badger definitely wasn’t in Will’s top 10 ways to die yesterday. In fact, it wasn’t even in the top 100. But, as the badger chased him through the woods he decided that the list needed to be updated. “How is it gaining on me?!”, Will thought furiously, “Badgers aren’t supposed to be this fast”.
Throwing his bag at the creature, Will picked up the largest branch he could find and got in a batting position. ‘20 meters’. ‘10 meters’. A high-pitched noise rang in his ears. Diving from the sky, his eagle pierced the eyes of the badger with such force, that the claws sunk all the way in.
“DING! - You have killed a Ravenous Badger [F] - Lvl 3. Bonus experience for killing an enemy above your level. You have gained 3 Tutorial Points - You have gained 3 Bronze SC”
“DING! You have leveled up! Novice Lightning Mage has reached level 2 - Stat point allocated. +1 Free Points”.
“DING! You may choose one of the following skills\spells”
“Lightning Shock[Common] - Allows the user to generate lightning through his body in order to electrocute enemies. - Requires a lightning-attuned mage class”
“Lightning Strike [Uncommon] - Summons a lightning strike to smite the user's foes - Require a lightning-attuned mage class and affinity over 50%”
Selecting the more versatile of the two, Will tried to activate it to no avail. Opening his Status once more, Will focused on the Lightning Shock skill. “Wait. Skill? Shouldn’t it be a spell? Since it’s magic?”. Focusing on the word “Skill” in his status and hoping for clarification, a new screen appeared.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Skills - Skills are abilities that are cast or activated, by guiding energy inside the body. Sufficient energy must be guided in a certain form to the desired place and then either held in place or released. The ‘System’ will not cast skills for you, but rather guide your movements to embed the activation in your body and mind”.
“Well”, Will sighed, “I’ll figure that out after I find a place to sleep”. Stripping the badger’s body from some of its meat, Will began walking away. He did not want to stay and see what kind of animal preyed on a badger that could kill him with one well placed hit.
As dusk arrived, and the forest became darker and more menacing, Will cursed his luck. He was in a dark forest, he had no knowledge of the ecosystem, and the only light he had, was the crackling lightning of his eagle. Hours passed, and midnight approached. It was a moonless night, yet Will could see no stars in the sky. Collapsing from exhaustion, Will pushed himself to the trunk of a large pine covering himself with leaves, before letting the darkness claim him.
His dreams were grotesque and chaotic, with strange shapes and loud noises. “What are you doing”, a misshapen snake asked him. “Eating”, he replied, taking another bite. Looking down at his food he realized it was pecking his arm and cackling. “Cackle”, “Cackle”, the floor collapsed and he fell into the abyss below. Will woke up with a foul taste of mud in his mouth, and an insufferable bird cackling at him. Rinsing his mouth with the little water he had left, Will regretted not taking a mint out of his now-gone, bag. His breath was foul.
“Maybe I should climb a tree?”, he pondered, after concluding that fumbling through the woods wasn’t the best way to find shelter. Or anything else for that matter. Deciding to climb the safest tree he could find, Will began looking for a suitable tree. Ideally, one that had a large firm trunk, with many grooves, and a respectable amount of low-hanging branches.
After a few minutes of searching, he found a good candidate marking it with a rock. Wandering around the tree, Will tried to see how far up it went; and if climbing it would allow him to see above the canopy of trees. Unfortunately, the trees were too high, and the leaves were too dense, to allow anything more than a few rays of sunlight to pass through. Gathering up his courage, he began to climb; trying to emulate his younger brother, who seemed to be able to swing from hold to hold with ease.
The climb was difficult. His hands and fingers tore and bled, unused to the rough bark. As he heaved himself atop the first large branch he made the mistake of looking down. A swirling sensation of vertigo overcame him and he almost fell off. Hugging the trunk and steadying himself Will closed his eyes, breathing slowly as he waited for the vertigo to pass. Tearing the two sleeves of his shirt, Will fashioned a bandage wrap to protect his hand from further damage, and to stub the bleeding which had already begun.
As he approached the top of the tree he realized he could no longer see the forest floor beneath him. Hearing the wind roaring in his ears, Will slowly turned around. “....It’s beautiful”, a surreal view appeared in front of him, stretching to the horizon. He could see an ocean of trees in an assortment of colors surrounding him on every side, leaves rustling. Birds of every color and size flying, and picturesque clouds floating in the sky. As he felt the wind claw at his face and fan out his hair a grin began creeping on his face. He felt free, wishing he could sprout wings and join the birds in the sky.
Focusing himself on the task at hand Will turned his gaze to the surrounding trying to find a cliff, a mountain, or a valley. Fortunately, his luck seemed to have recovered. Nine o'clock from his current alignment, there was a large mountain; he could only see part of it, but it was better than wandering aimlessly in the forest.
Slowly descending the tree Will could barely contain his excitement. With such a conspicuous landmark he was almost positive he would find some traces of civilization. “If any exist”, Will quashed the thought as soon as it came up, refusing to believe he was completely alone here. Finally reaching the ground he began walking in a straight line toward his destination, directing his eagle to circle him from above. “Unmanned Aeriel Eagle”, He decided to call it, chuckling as he did so. It would serve as reconnaissance and alert him to any dangerous animal that got too close.
Reaching the base of the mountain in mid-day, Will decided to take a short, well-deserved, break. Pulling the small strips of muddy badger meat he had in his pocket, he began cleaning them. Spitting on them and rubbing them on his clothes in an attempt to get rid of the mud. After he determined they were sufficiently clean he place them on a rock and began digging a hole. Will enjoyed hiking, and as such, was proficient in starting a fire. Placing small branches at the bottom of the hole, and larger branches above them in the shape of a cone, he built a classic tepee. Lighting a small branch on fire with his lighter, he gingerly inserted it into the bottom of the structure. A sigh of relief escaping him as he heard the telltale crackle of a fire starting.
Spearing the meat and holding it above the fire Will began salivating at the thought of his first bite in 2 days. As the meat darkened and crisped he removed it from the fire. “Mmmmm”, Will moaned in satisfaction, the juices dripping from his mouth. It was probably the tastiest morsel of food he had ever eaten. Objectively, of course, he knew it was probably disgusting. But his starved body was not objective; and this was the first thing it had consumed in two days filled with danger, anxiety, and hunger.
Licking the stick clean and smacking his lips in satisfaction, Will realized he was thirsty. To his chagrin, his bottle was empty, he had finished it this morning. He closed his eyes, trying to see if he could hear the sound of trickling water, which signified a freshwater creek. It seemed he was in luck. He could hear a stream not too far from his current position, which meant he could clean himself, drink, and be back before sunset.
Walking at a brisk pace to the stream Will began formulating a plan in his head. He needed to ascend the mountain, avoid any dangerous beasts, and find shelter for the night, and hopefully the coming days.
Reaching the creek he removed his clothes, washing them thoroughly before placing them in view of the sun. Wading into the water, Will filled his water bottle to the brim and started gulping down water. It wasn’t especially tasty water, mildly cold and slightly muddy, but it was better than nothing. Washing in the creek, he got rid of the grime that stuck to his body like glue. Drying himself on the fallen leaves he donned his clothes and headed back to the mountain.
The sky was tinged orange when he arrived back at the base. It was time to climb the mountain.