The white void Faron was standing in shook. The sky blackened and a large vortex appeared. it started to descend arriving at the "ground" in no time. Faron sat there calmly, he had heard tales of the tutorial, and how people transitioned from one location to another. Quite a few people had tried to attack the transitional portal but later learned it was nothing. leaving them weak when they arrived. Faron steadied himself waiting for the rundown of his abilities and class features that he would obtain when he arrived in the first zone. they would be told to him once, and given alongside some basic gear, such as a notebook, rope, a small pack, and a few days' worths of food.
Faron landed inside a translucent bubble that allowed him to look out at the forest that surrounded him. The patter of rain calmed down his nerves, and the flash of lightning made things seem a little more spooky, though this was not something that disturbed Faron who loved the rain ever since he was a child. Wild animals could be seen eating the bizarre greens that were scattered about in the forest. a deer with a set of antlers that looked like they were made out of some kind of crystal and a bear that was stalking it that seemed to have the same type of ability as a Gecko as it could hide in the dense foliage.
Faron touched the bubble and received a notification from the system. "Does the user wish to depart?"
Faron shook his head and spoke "System, List abilities"
the moment he was waiting for. What all new entries waited for to see what they were gifted with. Telekinesis, blood magic, animal control, throwing heavenly lighting from their hands, or fire from their eyes. Faron was excited. His skill panel opened up and let him see
"ERROR, COMPLETE SYSTEM FAILURE. RESTARTING...COMPLETE SYSTEM FAILURE. RESTARTING...COMPLETE SYSTEM FAILURE. RESTARTING. ANOMALY DETECTED. ACTIVATING SEARCH MODE...OBJECT FOUND...OBJECT CANNOT BE TERMINATED...OBJECT CANNOT BE MOVED...OBJECT CANNOT BE ANALYZED...OBJECT TO BE INTEGRATED WITH HOST."
The small rusty pendant that was said to have belonged to his grandmother floated out from his inner coat pocket. Faron didn't even remember how it got here. he surely left it on his nightstand when he went to sleep. the pendant started to glow with a blue flame. The smell was itching an old memory that Faron had. However, he couldn't place it. The color reminded him of the tattoos that his father had. Shooting into his sternum the Pendant coated Faron's heart in blue metal. The sensation was a strange one. Both cold and warm.
"SYSTEM MALFUNCTION. REDISTRIBUTING TALENTS"
"User Faron has Lost, Novice Elemental Magic 100%.
"User Faron has gained. Novice, Anima Magic 5%.
"User Faron has gained. Novice, Elemental Magic 5%.
"User Faron has gained. Dormant, Bloodline0.01%.
"User Faron has gained. Novice, Spear proficiency 2%.
"User Faron has gained. S+ Grade Meditation Technique "Dragon Who Crawled Through the Mud, Soars into the Heavens"
"User Faron has gained. Talent "Growth through adversity."
"User Faron has lost 2 points in mana."
"SYSTEM HAS COMPLETED INTEGRATION. CALCULATING CHANGES...THE DIFFICULTY OF THE TUTORIAL WILL BE RAISED BY 1 REALM. FROM E- TO C-."
"CONGRATULATIONS TO FARON ALVERONE ON BEING WITHIN THE FIRST 100,000 (85,199) TO ENTER C- DIFFICULTY. +1 STAT POINT"
Faron looked at the string of text completely confused. Having no idea what happened he opened his stat screen to see that everything was the same except his mana was now at 0, meaning that he could not use any type of magical ability. he quickly moved the free point got into mana and read through his abilities. Everything was surreal, Faron had heard about those blessed by the system but with his weak physique, he never assumed he would be one of them. Faron looked down at his chest and reached for his heart. "If I can make it through this tutorial, I will be able to get money. Maybe find a sponsor, get into a good team, and college.
Faron Checked the clock that was associated with the system. seeing that he had about 7 days left here. He decided to spend the first 3 using the Dragon meditation technique and the rest exploring the tutorial. The speed at which one completed all 10 stages would impact their final standing. Which in turn would impact their final rewards. 1 hour in the real world would be 1 day in the system. and only accessible through sleep. based on when he needed to wake up, Faron quickly started following the written guidelines of "Dragon Who Crawled Through the Mud, Soars into the Heavens"
Faron read in horror as he saw the torture he would have to endure to train this heaven-defying ability. Faron rummaged around in his sack and pulled out some matches, flint, water, a spoon, and a knife. Faron lit a very small fire and used his canteen to start boiling water. when it started to bubble he took his knife and quickly cut from his shoulder to his wrist. The pain was unbearable, then quickly he poured the boiling water on the wound, closing his eyes and chanting a mantra that came along with the technique
"From the Black Miasma To the Holy Light.
I come from crawling in the mud to bathing in heavenly Waters
All creation turns to ash and breath again"
Faron felt a small surge of energy doing this as his wounds knitted up at a visible speed. after close to an hour, he did the same thing with his other arm. Then legs, chest, and head. A few times Faron passed out from the gouging of his flesh, and the subsequent burning and boiling of it. after all, was said and done. Faron let out a sigh of relief. This portion only needed to be done at the breakthrough points of the technique. The next one was said to hurt 100x more than the next and repeat until the final stage.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
3 days quickly passed as Faron finally opened his eyes after the system told him that three days had passed. leaving him with only 4 more to clear floor 1. feeling a new surge of power slightly more than what he had before Faron decided to check his new status menu.
Strength
1
Fortitude
1
Mana
2.5
Speed
1
Intelligence
2
Soul Sworn Items
Blue Sheen Heart,
Skills
(Novice, Anima Magic 12.%), (Novice Elemental Magic 12.5%),
(Dormant, Bloodline0.01%), (Novice, Spear proficiency 2%).
Luck
3
Total
7.5 - Grade F+
Faron was finally as able as someone that would normally be allowed entry into the most basic of the tutorials. his rate of growth was rapid. However, Faron did not let this get to him as he knew that the starting growth for everyone was much faster thanitf would be later on. he was much slower still than natural C-ranked tutorial entries. Standing up and looking around Faron found a long stick that was somewhat balanced or at least the best that someone could hope for when just looking at the ground. Carving the end of the wood he made a sharp point and decided he was going to start training in the spear. First, though he would need to deal with this tutorial. Running out of water was something that was on his mind as he had to use much of it to practice his meditation technique the first time. So first thing on his to-do list was to go and find water. Then look for these Goblins that he would need to deal with.
Finally leaving the safety of the bubble that kept him safe these last 3 days, the humid air from the rain felt like it was sticking to his skin, the ground was completely damp and tracks of animals could be seen moving all around. some familiar such as a bear and some that looked like they could crush him if they walked the wrong way. Faron decided to go towards the footprints following the animals hoping that they would lead him to water.
A couple of hours went by as Faron was following the tracks. the smell was starting to get a little musty, and he could hear water rushing up ahead, maybe a couple of hundred feet. Faron decided to take a break in case there were animals at the river, making sure that he would be in peak condition in case something were to happen. Faron swung a few times with his makeshift spear and tried moving the small bits of stagnant pooled water on the ground. It was tiring, he was starting on the complete bottom of 2 specialties. His training would be split between the two. So while his training yielded double the results it was being split into two. Which meant that he started at a detriment. With a long sigh, Faron leaned back and ate some of the rations that he had saved. Hair sticking to his head from the constant sweating. When he heard a rustle behind him, Faron quickly turned just in time to see 4 gleaming claws slashing toward the back of his neck. leaning to the side, unable to dodge the blow his shoulder was split open. Blood started to pour down his sleeve and his arm was starting to tingle and burn.
Standing in front of him was a creature standing about 6ft tall on all fours. Its fur was as black as a moonless night, its eyes a fiery red. it seemed to have the head of an avian creature, and the body of a lizard. however, what made Faron scared were the 4 sets of claws that looked like they came from a predatorial feline. The creature started stalking up the rock that Faron was sitting on leaving small gouges in the stone as it lunged forward yet again.
Taking 2 steps back Faron held up his Spear "Alright then, let's see how this goes"
Faron started to circle the large creature, keeping his eyes locked on it lest he is surprised by its speed and stealthiness once again. Extending his will out to those little pools of water, Faron started to turn them into small spikes on the ground. His grand plan, while smart resulted in about 8 spikes, which caused him a massive headache to accomplish. Nothing that could kill but an inconvenience that may scare or slow down the beast, leaving a human-sized path through the middle so that he may be able to attack. Rushing forward brandishing his spear somewhat clumsily, Faron pushed the tip toward the beast. cutting it deeply. Faron pulled back light-headed, From the magic and blood loss his vision started to blur. Realizing he needed to end this quickly, Faron started to backtrack to the large rock that he was sitting on just moments before, even though it felt like a lifetime.
Exerting the last of his will, a Small hole dug itself about 4 inches into the ground. as the beast was catching up after dealing with the small spikes biting into its soft feet. Faron fell over, his breath ragged, his arm numb, and his vision blurred. The creature jumped for a death lunge, only to be met by Faron pulling back and putting his spear into the ground, much like an ancient fortification, the Spear implanted itself into the beast. The creature slumped to the ground dead. Its body is limp. Faron went to it to look for the monster core. The essence of the beast could be used to trade with other people in the tower or buy things from the tower directly. As he was searching, the Lithe creature Slashed out with its claws in its death throes. leaving a gaping wound on Farons stomach. Not enough to kill him, but enough to cripple him for some time. leave him vulnerable to anything that may come after. With the safety zone of area 1 gone, This was all he had.
The beast dissolved as a small bit of text appeared in Farons vision
"Successfully killed F- Class Monstrosity "Grell (Hatchling)"
A small crystalline gem appeared from the essence that was harvested from the Grell.
"Growth Through Adversity - (Kill a monster at least 1 minor realm above you.) Please choose your reward.
A. See a single statistic of an enemy
B. Trade-in bodily statistics for more skills
C. Low-Grade Regeneration. Heal twice as fast from wounds.
Faron looked over the options and noted that the Regeneration would be perfect, almost exactly what he needed. But twice as fast on an injury that would take months to recover from would still be too slow. Seeing a statistic was also a wonderful option. However, seeing only one wasn't good enough to forfeit the other 2. The only thing left is to access this Trade-in. even if it does cost him more time to grow. Faron looked it over one more time "Cant build a skyscraper on a shoddy foundation" and quickly chose option B.
"I really need to bandage myself and find these Goblins. I also still need water. Lets hope that Grells parents aren't around.