Finally satisfied with the results of his struggle, Devon sat back down on his cot and accessed the terminal. He frowned at the immediate notification he got.
[Notice]
Overseers have enacted a mandate.
Teleport function lockdown in effect. [9 days]
For more information please consult Overseer [Val Kazar].
So the overseers didn't want them moving around too much. Or rather, they didn't want Devon himself moving around too much more likely. They didn't seem to care so much what the other humans did, but that could have changed since he last checked in.
A thought occurred to him and he opened the level ladder.
[Level Ladder]
1. Eve - Level 17
2. Zane - Level 16
3. Ray - Level 15
4. Nix - Level 15
5. Stein - Level 14
6. Ingrid - Level 14
7. Trey - Level 14
8. Ash - Level 13
9. Licht - Level 13
10. Kyle - Level 13
I seem to just keep falling farther behind. Still, not that much seems to have changed so I think I can reasonably assume everyone is more or less okay.
The best thing about the ladder in his eyes was that it allowed anyone to tell with absolute certainty who was still alive in the tutorial. It didn't extend past the first 10 positions, but it was good enough for Devon.
He next went into the shop and bought a set of basic clothing for 5 talons. Going around naked had seriously taken its toll on his mentality, and he didn't want to live like that anymore. He also spent 20 talons on an abundance of water then promptly washed himself off as best he could.
Once he was cleaned and dressed he went back to the terminal to finally get his hands on the messaging function. As always, it took him several tries to get the thing to work, but he was finding that he was spending far less trouble finding new commands as his familiarity with the system's architecture grew. He still had no idea how to apply free points or claim the several discovery bonuses he'd gotten though.
Message known user Trey.
Waiting… Connection established.
[Devon]
It's Devon, you there?
[Trey]
Took you long enough. I was starting to get worried once you fell off the ladder.
[Devon]
Sorry I can't make as much progress as fast as you. I've kind of been under a lot of pressure up here. How are things down there? Have the overseers made any moves?
[Trey]
They put the teleport ban into effect yesterday, but they haven't made any other moves. I think they probably know it was you, so be careful.
[Devon]
Yeah, I think so too. I happened to meet the overseer leader when I went to their camp, so it wouldn't take that much of a leap of imagination to figure out it was the weirdo who sat outside their camp for several hours. How is everybody?
[Trey]
People are starting to adapt, thankfully. I've gathered up a bunch of us and we're building a kind of settlement out here in the plains. We've got some of the more gung-ho people teaching the less enthusiastic people how to fend for themselves and gain levels, but it's slow. Some people have started showing aptitude for different kinds of professions, like crafting and whatnot.
[Devon]
Yeah, I have one of those too, although it isn't too flattering. What's Eve been doing? Has she stopped hunting even once?
[Trey]
Not that I'm aware of. She took off pretty much immediately after you left, and I haven't seen her. I think she must have gone really far into the plains, because I haven't even heard of any hunting parties sighting her. Either that or she went into the forest.
[Devon]
What do you mean? What's up with the forest?
[Trey]
Heard some shady stuff is going down with the people in there. Something about some gang trying to force people to do their bidding. Apparently they've still got guns. Overseer activity is pretty high over there as well. I'd bet they don't feel like taking any more chances so long as we've got people with guns.
[Devon]
How many people do you there are in your camp and still left in the forest?
[Trey]
About 300 and gaining every day here, though I'd say more than half are still in the forest. Did you get that weird notification from the system last night around sundown?
[Devon]
What kind of notification?
[Trey]
Like a weird glitchy kind. Everyone down here got it, but nobody could make heads or tails of what it meant. Only lasted half a minute at most. I'm guessing you didn't get that?
An odd system event that had popped up last night… That lined up with Devon messing with the system. It was troubling how that little mistake seemed to have so many ramifications he didn't expect. However, like so many other things, there was nothing Devon could do about it right now.
[Devon]
Didn't get it. Did your system AI friend not tell you what it was?
[Trey]
No, it's been answering less and less questions as time goes on. It still responds to everything I want to do within it though, so it doesn't seem to be going away in the same way yours just isn't there.
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!
[Devon]
I see. Hey, how many stat points did you get at level 9?
[Trey]
What do you mean? Everybody only gets 1 in every point until they get a class. I did ask the system about that, apparently it's a racial trait. Some other species get more specialized point distribution, but we humans are just adaptable to everything. The system also said that the points we get will increase when we enhance ourselves to D-grade humans.
[Devon]
Did it happen to mention how exactly we're supposed to go about that?
[Trey]
Nope.
[Devon]
Classic. Well, I've been getting an extra stat point in each of my main attributes for a few levels now and I don't know where it's coming from. Mind asking your system if it wouldn't mind telling you where they might be coming from?
[Trey]
Hm, it doesn't feel like responding. Why do I get the feeling everything you do makes the system more and more pissed at you?
[Devon]
Because you've always had good intuition. Mind sharing what class you got? I got one based on melee, but it gives me 1 point in every stat per level.
[Trey]
I got one that focused on tanking, it gives me 8 more points per level. Did you take a common rarity class? Mine's uncommon.
[Devon]
Yeah, the system only gave me common options. What the heck did you have to do to get an uncommon?
[Trey]
The system said rarity is based on achievements and affinity, but that doesn't really make sense since I'd think it would consider your solo survival to be more impressive.
[Devon]
I even killed a level 19 at level 9, and it still gives me garbage.
[Trey]
Man, you've pissed it off bad, huh? Well, the system said that we can evolve our class if we meet certain requirements, or if the class no longer seems to suit us we can pay to change it once we're out of the tutorial.
[Devon]
Do you have the spirit attribute? It showed up on my status at some point, but it's weird. I'm not sure what it's supposed to represent, besides the obvious connotations.
[Trey]
Nope.
[Devon]
More stuff for me to figure out on my own, how wonderful. Well, keep me informed.
[Trey]
Will do. Trey out.
Connection closed.
It was both good and bad that the overseers seemed to be hunting him specifically. It meant the other humans of the tutorial would be safe, but it also increased the danger up on the mountain exponentially.
Devon desperately wished he could use his skill The Mask and teleport back to the plains and help Trey establish a settlement and help prepare for the eventual clash with the overseers, but the lockdown meant he'd have to travel back down the mountain if he wanted to make it back.
Walking all the way back was certainly an option, but the mountain presented opportunities the main group wouldn't have. They only had 28 more precious days to get stronger. The rate at which the trailblazers on the ladder had been improving was both a sign of hope and concern. They were making tremendous progress, but if it was truly that easy to gain power then the grunts of the overseers wouldn't only be in the mid-twenties.
There was something else bothering him too. Eve should have been back with Trey, helping to establish the camp. Someone at her level would be a major source of inspiration, and could inspire people to grow themselves. And yet she'd buggered off at the first opportunity.
Message known user Eve.
Connection failed. User does not possess the [Message] function.
Dammit.
Devon had no doubt that if she wanted to, she could get the function any time she wanted. She was still the top spot on both the level and the talon ladder, after all.
Which meant she was being obstinate for some reason.
This isn't the time, damn you.
Yet another thing to add to the list of things he couldn't change. He brought his focus back to the terminal, determined to work on some things he could change.
Talons: 769
He went ahead and bought the map function, finally getting all of the basic functions available. He went ahead and opened up the map to check it out. The function was pretty well-rounded, with a simplified top-down view, a view that showed area cartography, and a three-dimensional viewing mode.
The cartography mode and the 3D viewing mode would be especially useful when ascending the mountain, but he could probably stick to the simple mode when he went back to the plains or the forest. He could also place custom named pins, which was nice.
He looked into the item shop next. He had enough healing to continue without any immediate issues, so there was no need for unnecessary spending there.
He looked over the weapons, contemplating. The second best options past the starter weapons were each 200 talons, which meant Devon could feasibly get 3 different ones. He wanted to stock up on weapons and try to get as many proficiencies as he could to pursue his ideal of being versatile.
The problem was that even the weapons that cost 200 each were still considered class F weapons. The third cheapest at 600 was also class F, with the earliest class E being listed at 2500 talons.
He put the question of weapons aside and took a look at the generalist abilities and magic menu next. Each of the basic abilities cost 100 talons each, but unlike in the item shop they didn't go beyond the basic tier.
He picked up [Respite], an ability that allowed him to restore his physical condition faster when he rested. He was happy to find that the ability went in a new category for passive abilities on his status screen, meaning he didn't have to bother activating it each time he needed to rest.
Next he picked up [Small Presence], an ability that made him naturally less noticeable to other creatures. He had no idea how effective it would be against sentient creatures like the overseers, but he still felt it was worth picking up. He found it interesting the was a corresponding [Big Presence], presumably for people inclined to tanking, like Trey.
He moved onto magic next. He'd dismissed the mage class outright, but that didn't mean he didn't have any interest in magic as a whole. Due to the system pushing all his stats up at the same rate, he should theoretically be able to wield magic just as good as he could wield a weapon, despite his initial expectations that he wouldn't have any good prospects in that path.
All of the basic magics were listed at 50 a pop, which meant Devon could afford several. They were mainly split between buff, debuff, attack, and imbuement types, with a few utility mixed in for good measure.
The immediate purchase was [Light]. He was willing to bet a lot of talons that there would be many caves going forward, and he was not ready to unknowingly step into a trap spider's lair again.
He went ahead and picked up [Fireball] for a ranged option, then grabbed [Lightning Imbuement] for a weapon buffer. Looking over the list he also decided to get [Adrenaline] and [Boost]. They were both physical buffs, and he figured they would make for good ways to experiment with skills.
He wanted to grab [Heal] as well, but decided against it when he read the description and realized it didn't work on the caster, and it flat out told him it conflicted with his class, so he couldn't use it if he wanted to.
That left him with around 210 talons to spend. He needed more weapons if he was to remain versatile, so he immediately crossed a 200 cost weapon off the list. His sword was already all messed up again, and he felt like the more he sharpened it back again the weaker it would become, until it eventually broke. His spear too was looking pretty blunted, and a closer look revealed a slight bend along the pole.
Eventually he decided to simply toss the spear and sword in a corner for disposal and bought new ones to replace them. Then he went ahead and bought a two-handed warhammer and a dagger. He looked down at his assortment of starter weapons, thinking about how long each of them might realistically last the further up the mountain he went, then bought an extra one of each for good measure.
The last thing he bought was a set of 5 javelins, priced at 10 each. The metal they were made from seemed even weaker than whatever was used to make the starting weapons, so Devon didn't have high hopes for their reusability.
The spatial bead didn't have that much room left in it besides all the assorted stuff in it, but it was a lot bigger than his basic inventory, so it still managed to fit all of his extra weapons inside, if only barely.
Finally, he felt like he was ready to leave the terminal and move on. It was time to hunt. He couldn't simply let Trey and Eve stay ahead of him forever.