Havok awoke rather quickly, forty-five minutes passing fast. He blearily rubbed his eyes.

[I see you are awake. I sent the signal to your brain to wake you up a few seconds ago.]

“You can send signals to my brain?” Havok asked, still a bit sleepy. “How is that even possible?”

[During the integration, my mainframe was applied directly to your brain. If somebody were to perform an MRI on your brain at this moment, a metallic exoskeleton would be seen covering your brain.]

“Mainframe? Exoskeleton? Will it affect me at all?”

[Negative. My mainframe will not at all affect you. Only I can.]

“Okay, thanks Aegis.” With this, Havok took a look at the countdown. There were thirty seconds left. By this point, most of the others had calmed down and the overall mood was not one of panic, but one of apprehension. Almost everybody in the room stared intensely at the countdown timer, watching it tick down.

3..

2..

1..

Integration Complete.

Now transporting subjects to Tutorial…

Good luck.

Once again, blinding light erased Havok’s ability to see, and when he opened his eyes, he was met by a quaint town in the clearing of a forest. Directly in front of him there was a rack full of a variety of weapons, from a normal sword to what appeared to be a pair of chains with sickles attached to the ends. Next to him, a various assortment of people stood.

Alex (Level 0)

Victoria (Level 0)

Brent (Level 0)

Ella (Level 0)

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Alex appeared to be a mid-twenties man with a dangerous look to him, and Victoria was a middle-aged woman that gave off an aura of exhaustion. Brent was big, broad-shouldered, and could probably break Havok in half. Ella seemed to be a couple of years younger than him, and she looked equally as dangerous as Alex. They both shared a similar disposition.

“What the hell is this? The thing said something about a tutorial but never mentioned other people!” Alex complained. His voice was surprisingly high, and he gestured with his arms while doing so. Ella nodded.

“I suppose we grab one of these weapons then, yeah?” Ella asked, annoyance settling in her tone. She moved forward and picked two menacing daggers off of the rack. Brent grunted and grabbed a massive sword that was almost as tall as he was. Alex shrugged and took a bow and a quiver. Victoria, who seemed to know as much about weapons as Havok, randomly grabbed a staff. Havok, still undecided, chose to consider his options.

I’ve not had any practice with any weapons, ever, and haven’t been one for violence. Maybe Aegis can help?

[I cannot make your choice for you, but after analyzing your body and past experiences, I would recommend the Scythe.]

“I’m sorry oh great one, but I’m not exactly well versed in medieval weaponry. Could you like, point it out?” Havok sarcastically asked. He watched as the others fiddled with their new toys.

[I have highlighted the Scythe in a bright color.]

True to his word, Aegis had somehow used his mainframe connected to Havok’s brain to highlight a sinister weapon with a long, arcing blade. It looked like the tools farmers used, but probably much more fatal. At the pommel (bottom), there was a small button in the same color as the scythe’s handle. Upon pressing the button, a sharp blade popped out of the end. Havok whistled and ran his finger over its edge, drawing blood.

Holding the weapon out in front of him, Havok examined it. The primary blade had a light purple sheen to it, and the sharp edge was slightly thinned than the rest of the blade. The snath (handle, stick, etc.) was constructed of a smooth wood that was decidedly average. The hidden blade, once revealed, shared the light purple sheen with the primary blade.

[Because this is the Tutorial, the weapons will have a Link feature. Put your thumb over the indent in the snath and have the intention to Link.]

Havok further examined the weapon and quickly found the indent Aegis mentioned. Link. A golden glow enveloped the weapon and his thumb, and a warm feeling spread throughout his body.

Weapon Linked: Astro Scythe (Basic)

Requirements: None

Havok balanced the weapon in his hands, bouncing it around a bit. He chuckled a bit.

“You were right, Aegis, the weapon just feels good.” Upon looking at the others, he noticed Alex and Ella were also in the golden glow and Brent was swinging his weapon around. What’s the tutorial part? We’ve so far just picked out weapons.

“Hello humans. Welcome to the tutorial. I will be your gui-” The being stopped talking as a sword attempted to slice through its body. “I must say, that was quite rude.” It flicked Brent's sword, which didn't even damage the being. Brent stumbled as the sword's reversed momentum threw him back. “I may have to… retaliate.” An evil grin broke out onto the… Wait. Is that a demon??