---James---
James was finished killing one of each 'monster' outside of the town and he felt great.
He hadn't gotten an achievement for doing so – despite his quest query proving there was one – and decided to move inside the town to find the missing collectable kill.
After nearly two hours of searching the streets, he found it nearly by chance. An open entrance In an alleyway with a glowing neon sign helpfully declaring "sewer".
Stepping down into the dim corridor James found himself wishing he had his phone for light.
I…think I can manage without a flashlight?
…or a torch?
James's eyes slowly adjusted as he moved further away from the entrance.
The amount of light faded the further in he walked before a chittering sound rang out and the sound of splashing came towards him.
Dimly a small furry shape came rushing towards his legs and James kicked out by instinct punting the creature back down the hallway.
😺 Achievement get: Vigilant nightwatcher.
Description: Respond to an attack in poor lighting.
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Stat: +1 night vision.
A sharp squeak rang out and as it oriented itself and the point of night vision seeped through, James could just barely make out the two tiny red eyes glaring back at him.
Rat, massive rat.
Running him down again James activated [haste] and spun his leg around, the skill aiding his movement and letting him kick the rat into the wall beside him.
Crunch.
There was definitely the sound of breaking bones with that last hit – Rats were unsurprisingly kind of fragile.
Kicking out one last time and squishing the creature against the wall James was met with two rewards.
🐀 Achievement get: Killed a rat without a light.
Description: A case of all the information needed being contained in the achivement name.
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Stat: +3 night vision.
💯 Achievement get: Zone 1 monster collector. (Rare)
Description: Killed one of each type of monster in the tutorial.
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Stat: +5 body power.
Stat: +5 body speed.
Stat: +5 mental power.
Stat: +5 mental speed
James could see quite a bit better, the near black 'forward' becoming a dim path for several more meters deeper as his eyesight suddenly sharpened.
Do I keep going? Turn back?
James stood considering. He had gotten what he came for and as much as he was riding a high from his new stats…he didn't really want to kill more Rats in the dark just because he could.
Better eyesight would help quite a bit but it wouldn't do anything in complete darkness...
No, he had gotten what he came for – Might as well leave. Stepping out of the sewer into the pitch darkness James looked around then decided to take a quick nap at the Inn before heading out.
He was starting to get tired.
---Richard---
Richard liked breaking things.
He liked breaking things he knew he wasn’t supposed to break – In this case, what he was breaking was technically his own body…but more accurately he felt like he was abusing the system – cheating the non-existent rules of this game he found himself in.
There were two important points for this scam… One, nothing the system gave could be taken away – only altered with consent. Richard finally figured out the loophole for that rule. The system gave them stats and skills – those were safe from harm – but something else was in charge of…other parts of the game. Namely, free resurrection was a gift by something other than the system…and the way NPC’s got cagy about that, meant it might be changed in the future. Same with the free weapons, same with the free pain resistance.
It was definitely going to be changed – Richard didn’t trust free stuff. People on average weren't nice enough to offer free things without a catch.
‘If you think something is free the product is probably you’ and all that.
So resurrection might start costing something or disappear… this game becoming a permadeath one. Might as well cheese the free achievements while I can? Abuse the tutorial? Cheese the 'Cheevos.
The best way to farm death achievements that Richard found was to damage his body a whole bunch, Survive with massive wounds for a bit and get achievements for that…and then kill himself to reset his state. Free healing plus the death achievement.
Picking a nice secluded alleyway to farm stats Richard went to work.
He held his hand above a torch – his current free “weapon” – burning the skin until it blistered and popped – eyes stinging even through the reduced pain.
🔥 Achievement get: Careful, that’s hot! (rare)
Description: Burn a hand with fire.
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Stat: +3 Left-hand fire defense.
Moving the flame along his arm and across his chest Richard found himself beginning to regret this course of action as heat dug deeper.
🔥 Achievement get: Can’t learn your lesson, (unique)
Description: After burning one hand and being unable to use it, you burned the other – proving once is not enough to learn your lesson.
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Stat: +2 Arms Fire defense.
Stat: +2 Hands Fire defense
🚒 Achievement get: Self immolation (Rare)
Description: You have burned your entire body to death in the middle of a city. Clumsy.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
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Stat: +5 Body Fire Defense
🔪 Achievement get: Edgy (uncommon)
Description: Cut yourself on your own blade – careful! That’s sharp!
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Stat: +3 Chest Slashing defense
🐗 Achievement get: Mauled by a boar.
Description: Fallen to a Tier 1 monster. Don’t worry, Everyone starts somewhere.
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Stat: +3 Body bludgeoning defense.
Stat: +1 Chest slashing defense.
🔪 Achievement get: Seppuku. (rare)
Description: Stabbed your stomach with your own blade. Dishonor!
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Stat: +4 stomach piercing defense.
Stat: +4 stomach general defense.
🍺 Achievement get: Masochist. (rare)
Description: Purposefully caused yourself harm multiple times in the tutorial to raise your own stats. You must like the pain.
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Stat: +10 Nerve power
Stat: +10 Nerve arcane defense
Warning: First rank fully reached (81 total stats). Stats and achievements cannot be gained past the first sub tier of rank 1 (117 total stats) in instanced reality Zone1, #000120212
That last achievement and subsequent warning was proof either someone caught on or prepared for the “exploit” Richard was using.
Richard could feel whatever energy ‘stats’ were made out of rushing through pathways beneath his skin. As if his skin was full of pores being unblocked, touch bloomed across his body – an intense rush of feelings rushing through every part of his being.
These “feelings” were overwhelmingly comprised of white-hot pain.
Intense, soul-searing pain that literally stabbed through his body – not something that shock was reducing, his nerves hadn’t died and given him blessed relief. The blinding violating agony started in his core and radiated out into his extremities.
Richard screamed at close to the top of his lungs. He had been in the midst of melting his arms chest and legs with acid stolen from the leatherworking section of an armour shop.
It was supposed to be a game. An exploit without consequences. There was so much proof that was the case – the acid itself for example.
“Real acid” wasn’t nearly as dangerous as the stuff he had found – and something that could melt his flesh as fast as it was doing so would melt through leather if that was really what it was used for. Fuck, Richards's industrial chem prof had stirred hydrochloric acid bare-handed – and that was a strong acid! Even if it had been diluted a bit at the time it had been some proof that acid didn’t work the same as it did in movies.
Richard scratched his chest – the goop that had been his skin sloughing off exposing muscles and fat with each scratch. His fingernail fell off in the puddle that slid down his side and tears dripped into the gore covering his front.
It was drawing out too long, why was he still alive?
It had all seemed so clever moments before.
He had been wincing through the pain ‘like a man’ raising his whole bodies ‘acid defense’ by leaps and bounds. The pain had been bad but manageable and the periodic achievements sweetened the burn into feeling like a workout.
Richard could do workouts even if they were mostly a social thing.
The guess that he was taking advantage of something or someone sweetened it even further…it had felt addicting. Glorious. He was grinding a truly massive amount of stats.
…Now it felt like he should have been placed on a reality tv show titled “fuck around and find out”. His mind had blanked – the pain wasn’t going away – he was still screaming – his early acid defense achievements seemed to have kept him alive even longer than he should have – people were watching – why wasn’t he dead yet – his thoughts were becoming disjointed.
Richards's mutilated hand scrambled about and found the stolen dagger he had been using for slash defense farming. His fingers wrapped around the blades edge in his haze of pain a spasm of new agony causing his hand to clench tightly – reflexively and completely against his will.
🔪 Achievement get: Knife game. (rare)
Description: Slice off a finger using a knife.
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Stat: +5 Finger Slashing defense
Stat: +5 Fingers Slashing defense.
His finger was gone but he barely noticed through the haze of his bubbling chest cavity. Why did it smell so bad? Why hadn’t he noticed the smell till now. Why couldn’t he focus?
…his finger was gone but that…didn’t matter. His finger didn’t matter, it would be back soon.
“This is a game. Everything is fake.” Richard rasped to himself.
…trying to make his body believe it even as his arms scrambled about and attempted to manipulate the knife towards his melted chest.
“Just a game. Just a fake g – hick – game.”
Richard blinked at the red and slippery knife held above him. He coughed some searing bile up trying to focus through the pain.
It was getting really hard to believe that truth in this moment. It was hard to make his brain understand this was fake with the waves of pain rolling through him screaming they were real. It was hard to bring his knife up to his neck – some part of him rebelled even though he knew he wouldn’t die. His body no longer trusted his mind – the mind was what had gotten the body into this mess and was understandably suspect.
“asfkuck just fuck”.
Richard was many things but cowardly was not one of them. He liked to think it wasn’t one of them at least – he had done all sorts…all sorts of stupid things throughout his life proving he wasn’t a coward.
“Why aren’t my arms just listening”
Richard struggled against himself there in his allyway.
His current problem was less a fear of death – it wasn’t even death! He would be back soon! His problem was simpler. His body refused to listen to him. Richard liked to think his mind was healthy – he wasn’t masochistic or suicidal despite his last few actions. His mind was healthy and rebelled against the knife! He was repeating that to himself now, his pain-ridden hand trembling as he pressed it against his neck unable to push it further. A few of his ‘whole body’ stats covered his neck and his current press didn’t even puncture the skin causing it to slide ineffectually across with his weak press.
He couldn’t even break the skin.
What bastard did this to me? Oh yeah it was this pussy holding a knife in front of me wasn’t it. I should fuck him up for that shouldn’t I? Revenge fuck my stupid neck with this switchblade. Just fucking do it you stupid fucking-
🔪 Achievement get: Throat Seppuku.
Description: Cause of death has been determined. Two hands were used to stab your own throat.
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Stat: +10 Neck Slashing defense.
Stat: +10 Body Slashing defense.
⚗️ Achievement get: Reborn in acid. (unique)
Description: Spent an extended period of time battling intense acid without dying from it.
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Stat: +27 Body acid defense.
Rank 1, Tier 1 reached. Achievement system removed till 'user' leaves this 'tutorial'.
Client 'Richard Stove' has overshot Zone requirements. Over halfway to rank 2 in the first area - I'm impressed! Did you like my gift? I paid part of the price to get you that affinity - big fan of your work.
...I see you pushed yourself a bit there at the end, Don't worry, the help will piece you back together again.
Sending you a personal message for a single reason. You got a wee bit too big for a structured zones requirements - you should not have overshot that much and the balance of the 'tutorial' is broken if I let you stay there. Should have set the shutoff at rank 1 tier 0 but I didn't think someone could get that many stats at once so early.
You signed that contract, meaning I can't force you out of the tutorial or interfere with your choices...but part of my job is keeping you from breaking the rest of the clients's experience and you being over halfway to rank 2 will forcefully upgrade the zones difficulty...
So here's what I'm going to do, I can't change your state in the tutorial but thankfully there's a fun little loophole in my instancing - As long as you are in 'a' 'zone 1' I'm safe. Moving you to an empty tutorial before the help does their thing. I suggest you advance soon.
Again, big fan of your work. I suggest you break that organ into true chaos magic - it will be a blast.
~R