Chapter 2

Tutorial World #336: Day 1

Barot’s eyes fluttered open and he reached for his stomach, finding nothing but normal unmarked skin. Man, he thought to himself. I just had the worst nightmare of my life. I never want to go through that ever again!

He reached to the left for his phone to start working on that day’s Wordle. He had a streak of over a year and didn’t want to lose it. Had to keep showing his family what was what. Wordle Nerd for the win.

Barot blearily continued reaching over to his left and couldn’t find that piece of equipment that he both loved and loathed in equal measures. What he actually found was not expected.

Fuzzy green grass?

With a deeply confused look on his face, Barot opened his eyes all the way, allowing his sight to completely focus on his surroundings, and what he saw took his breath away.

Giant trees rose all around him, trunks 10 ft in diameter and reaching up at least a football field in height. Lush greenery covered the forest floor and it extended as far as the eye could see in every direction. Occasionally, a creature would scurry across his vision, keeping to themselves.

Barot enjoyed camping in the woods occasionally, but he found the serene quiet that he found in this undisturbed wilderness unnerving. It reminded him of the stories of people being marooned and never being found in the wilds of Canada. Obviously, he was going from one nightmare to the next.

Barot knew this was a dream because he could actually see after having woken up. His normal uncorrected vision didn’t allow him to see past 6 inches in front of his face, so it was always a race to put on either glasses or contacts in the morning so that he could see his surroundings.

SMACK!

He had slapped himself in the face to hopefully wake up but was left with a surprising sting on his cheek. Then Barot saw something he did not expect.

You take 1 point of damage from a self-inflicted weak unarmed strike.

This message popped up briefly in his vision and he started swatting at the lettering in his vision. The message seemed to take the hint and dissipated after a quick swipe.

“What the hell,” Barot exclaimed out loud.

That is when he began noticing the other differences in his vision. He recognized what it looked like but couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He was seeing a legitimate Heads Up Display or HUD in his vision as if he were in one of his RPG video games. In the upper left-hand corner of his vision were three different bars: one red, one blue, and one bar that was green. The red bar was slightly less than the blue bar and green bars, seeming to represent the fact that he might not be at 100% health.

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Barot was beginning to freak out. What was happening? He didn’t remember playing any FPS games or The Witcher before going to sleep.

“Welcome Human # 006022,” a deep, rumbling voice sounded around him. “You have been selected to participate in The Tutorial. Your home planet is being flooded with mana and you, along with 999,999 others, are tasked with its protection and future growth. You will learn how to tame your summons and utilize the magical resources to make sure that Earth integrates seamlessly within the Magiplane.”

Barot looked around to see where the voice was coming from but could find no one. The voice continued, “Your soul has been slightly modified to be able to handle the changes immediately, instead of overtime like your fellow humans who were left behind on Earth to go through the magical integration. Because of these modifications, you have been given one unique Ability, a legendary Soul Summon, and your choice of 5 free Skills. All one million souls are also given the spell Minor Tame Monster. You may ask 5 questions before embarking on The Tutorial.”

Barot was now terrified. He had been seemingly dropped in the middle of nowhere by God knows who, telling him that he was now the future of Earth and also magic was real. He also was apparently in a video game. It was a bit much in his humble opinion.

“So, um, where am I?” Barot asked, needing to be able to get his bearings straight before he could really think about what he was going to do.

“You are on Tutorial World #336. You have 4 questions remaining.”

“What the fuck kind of answer is that?” Barot responded, not able to stop himself before asking the question out loud.

“It is the answer to the previously stated question,” the deep voice stated nonplussed. “You have 3 questions remaining.”

Shit! Barot thought to himself. Now he had to ask the right questions or he would get no helpful answers. He started going back through what the voice had said earlier and got stuck on why he was brought here and what the “gifts” were all about. He went with the most important first, making sure to word it in a way that he thought he would get the most information.

“How can I succeed in this tutorial to help people back home?” he asked intrepidly, despite quavering on the inside.

“You must utilize The Tutorial to grow in your experience with the Magiplane mana and monster influx. By understanding the presence of these aspects of the Magiplane, you will be able to navigate and pass through the quest system, which in turn will provide you with the necessary characteristics to lead your race through the upcoming integration.”

That answered a little bit, but was still vague and Barot definitely needed more. He was hoping his next question might be able to answer several things in one go.

“What is the reasoning behind getting the three most important types of Skills?”

The voice didn’t answer right away, making Barot feel as though his question was not accepted. Barot wasn’t about to ask another question to find out, though, so he waited until he got a response.

“The most important types of Skills are Combat, Resource Collection, and Crafting Skills. Choosing a Combat Skill allows you to be able to work with your summons effectively and efficiently. Resource Collection Skills are essential due to the importance of resources in day-to-day life. Without resources, nothing can be made. While collecting resources without a Resource Collection Skill is possible, it takes significantly more time and is less efficient. Crafting Skills are required to turn the resources that were collected into items of various effects. You have one question remaining.”

What the voice had just said was significant. This truly was a video game coming to life. All except for the respawns he expected. He needed to know how to fight, gain resources, and utilize those resources. It also looked like fighting would be done beside companions called summons. This made him think of one of the other “gifts” that had been mentioned, the soul summon.

“How is the Soul Summon significant?” Barot asked his final question.