Welcome to the tutorial, prospective pathfinders. We look forward to your progress and growth in these hallowed grounds. And while only half of you may leave this place and truly become powerful, as is the way with the path, those who succeed will surely be rewarded handsomely.

In the tutorial, a pathfinder's job is to gain as many points as possible. Points can be viewed from within the system or on the leaderboard below. Points are earned by completing quests and dungeons, gaining rare titles and killing beasts. There are other less common methods listed in the ascension index in town.

A pathfinder must finish in the top 50% of points to pass the tutorial. The higher you rank, the greater your rewards.

Killing fellow pathfinders is impossible in the towns and on the road to them. Points will be deducted for those that have been killed. If a pathfinder dies outside of a safe zone, all their points will be removed, and they will respawn in the entrance hall.

For crafters, take the path right down into the port town. You will gain points by creating and selling weapons and armour you have crafted.

For combatants, take the path on the left to the sheer steps. There, you will have to defend a town from escalating beast waves while also having an opportunity to challenge the sheer steps.

Best of luck, and we'll see you on the other side.

Lan finished reading the bulletin board, and his stomach started turning. He felt nauseous at the thought of fighting an endless wave of beasts, especially when he was woefully unprepared. What chance did he have when everyone here had years of training?

Morgan nudged him in the ribs with their elbow, "Hey, you alright?"

"What? Oh... Yeah, just nervous, I guess. I've never really killed anything before," Lan admitted sheepishly. He had fought in plenty of bar fights in the hotel, but he had never taken another animal, let alone a person's life.

"Ah, don't worry about it. Look at me. Do I look like I've killed anything before?" Morgan gestured to themselves, their skinny frame and wide brown eyes the picture of innocence.

Lan frowned, "I'm sure they had you practice at the academy,"

They rubbed their shaved head uncomfortably, "Yeah... there was some stuff with a... Animals... But I'd rather not talk about it," they mumbled, eyes downcast and ashamed.

All around them, people were making their decision quickly, waving goodbye to each other as they split off down different paths. Morgan and Lan decided to follow the crowd going up the hill since they were both combatants with their talents.

As they walked up the hill, Lan decided that, for now, he wanted to get a better understanding of how the stats worked, specifically health. "Is there any way I can view something like health in depth?" He asked Morgan.

Nodding, Morgan explained that all Lan had to do was say, 'View health,' and an in-depth breakdown of the stat would appear.

Health: 35/35

Modifiers:

Vitality = 50 health

Endurance multiplier = 0.7

50*0.7 = 35

Now that he could see his health in detail, it was pretty clear to Lan that he needed to upgrade both endurance and vitality simultaneously to get the best out of either of them.

With that in mind, he placed three free points into endurance, bringing the multiplier to 1.

He used the remaining free points to bring strength and Dexterity to 10 and vitality to 6.

Name: Unknown

Title(s): None

Age: 18

Race: Human - G

Class: None

Talent: Weapons are my Weapons - G

Health: 60/60

Mana: 30/30

Level: 0

Strength: 10

Dexterity: 10

Endurance: 10

Vitality: 6

Mind: 11

Intelligence: 3

Luck: 11

Free Points: 0

Skills: None

Perhaps it was his improved endurance, but the remaining walk up the hill was nowhere near as brutal as it would have been a few days ago. Instead of panting for breath, Lan talked with Morgan as they walked, asking them questions about life in the schools and how they had been prepared for the tutorial.

"So, is there anything I need to watch out for?" Lan asked.

Morgan looked over their shoulder to ensure no one in the nearby crowd was listening before talking. "Yeah, watch out for second-generation kids. They have way more training than everyone else and aren't afraid to use it,"

Lan frowned, "The gap can't be that big…right?"

Morgan shook their head, sighing, "It's even bigger than you think. If it was just them having better weapons and training, that would be one thing. But they learn all the tips and tricks about the tutorial from their parents before coming here. I'll bet everyone who makes it above the sixth step is a second generation. And the majority of people who pass the tutorial will definitely be second-generation scions… this… what I'm about to say next is purely speculation, but I think that the real reason the academy takes in orphaned kids like me is to increase the odds of survival of second-generation scions in the tutorial,"

Morgan's face was grim when they finished talking, and Lan wasn't any better, "Is it the odds? If more than half the people they bring are poor kids, and second generations do way better than us, then most of them will survive," Lan muttered, working it out as he spoke.

"Honestly, for us normal kids, getting out of here with our lives is a success. And if you make it out with a decent title and class, that's a downright miracle!" When Morgan said the words title, their eyes were glazed slightly.

"Titles?"

"Yeah, they give bonus stats to those who accomplish difficult things. For example, the first person to reach level 10 and get a class here will probably get a title. But nobody else will get one for reaching level 10, only the first person,"

Lan nodded in understanding, "Is there any way to get titles that don't rely on time constraints?"

"That's what I was going to say next. In the tutorial, there's this set of challenges called the sheer steps. They get progressively harder, and the more you complete, the better because you'll be awarded titles based on how many steps you climbed,"

Lan thought everything over and felt at even more of a disadvantage than he had expected. Everyone here had such a big head start on him, and the only way he could see to catch up was to work twice as hard as they did. But if there was anything Lan was good at, it was working hard. As long as he was smart about it, he was sure he would survive this and finish in the top 50%.

Seeing how far behind he was, Lan was itching to catch up as quickly as possible. He couldn't wait to fight something and level up. And it wasn't long before he got his chance.

***

The town they finally arrived at was ramshackle at best. It was almost an insult to city planning that this haphazard collection of wooden huts could even be called a town. It looked like every building had just ended up here by accident.

The cobbled road ran through its centre and continued towards a colossal cliff with massive cliffs carved into its granite rock. The enormous steps were far too big for any human to use, looking like they had been designed for giants. Each one was big enough to build a house on. And not the shitty little wooden huts in the village, not the rundown apartment Lan lived in either.

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A proper house.

On either side of the road was a collection of huts surrounded by a short, spiked wooden barricade that encircled the entire town. The barricade was a random collection of wooden stakes driven into the ground, some so old they were rotting.

The second they set foot into this town, Lan and Morgan got a notification from the system.

Alert: Quest Assigned

Defence: Once a day for the next month, this town will be attacked by rabid beasts spawned from the twisted forest. Enlist the help of crafters and improve the town's defences, holding the beasts at bay until the tutorial ends. Contribution to protecting the town will be awarded points.

Rewards: Special titles for critical contributors. See additional rewards on the leaderboard. Points will be released on the completion of the final wave.

Failure: Death for all.

Lan gulped when he finished reading that, realising he might be a little glad for the rich kids being here. He could already see them near the barricade, organising teams to prepare for the coming waves of beasts.

He was just about to ask Morgan what to expect from the beast wave when a booming gong sounded from the centre of the town. All at once, everyone glanced around, trying to find the source of the sound. Only to be greeted by another message from the system.

First wave. Begins.

Like swarming locusts, thousands of young people that had been casually milling about in the town burst into action immediately. Grabbing their weapons like well-trained soldiers and marching towards the barricade confidently. Their faces were set in grim determination, a look Lan had rarely seen where he had grown up. People were never that assured or confident in the District.

Running alongside Morgan, Lan felt distinctly out of place. It was at least some consolation that Morgan didn't seem to be faring much better. Their march was far less measured and confident than most of the other teenagers. The skinny teenager looked awkward and ungainly amongst their well-built fellows.

Lan felt his heart pounding as he neared the wall. Strangled snarls and the clashing of weapons rang out from past the barricade. Strangely enough, it wasn't fear that set his heart racing, but excitement.

He had been in plenty of bar fights over the years and knew how to take a punch, but this was his first time in a real life-or-death battle. The atmosphere here was different, the air smelt bloody, and the crazed look in people's eyes was almost manic. Quickly, Lan began to get drawn into the madness, soaking in the blood and screams of the fighting.

Seeing that he was in a big group of people, he quickly realised he would only have a little to do when the fighting started. One of the stronger kids would take care of most of the monsters, and he would be left without a chance to level up.

'I need to push myself! I need to take more risks than anyone else, work harder than anyone else, and I can't do that if I'm in a big group like this,' he realised, affirming that he needed to separate and search for his own battles.

Lan tapped Morgan on the shoulder and shouted across the din of fighting, "I'm going off on my own!"

Morgan shook their head and tried to grab Lan's arm, "No! That's a bad idea. We have no idea how strong those monsters are!" Their voice quavered, almost pleading.

Grinning, Lan brushed off Morgan's hand and slipped out of the group. He felt almost naked outside the protection of the big crowd. The only thing keeping him alive now, was him. A thought that while it should have been nerve wracking made his blood boil.

The barricade was only a few metres away now, and he could hear the animalistic snarls more clearly. He wasn't able to determine whether they came from people or beasts. Deciding to head to a less defended area, Lan circled the barricade halfway around the town until he found a spot on the edge of the forest where only a few people were fighting.

Steeling himself, he slipped between a gap in the barricade, grabbing one of the wooden stakes that made up the makeshift barrier as he passed through. Right now, he had no weapon, so this would have to do. It was about to be the first time he put his Talent to the test... maybe a heated battle wasn't the best time to do that, but when else would he get the chance?

Immediately, he felt the difference. The battle was raging out past the barricade, and now, instead of an observer, he was part of it. The sensory overload hit him like a wave, with screams and growls slamming into him and making his ears ring.

Almost instantly, something jumped at him, its snarling mouth wide open, displaying wickedly sharp teeth. It flew through the air like a furry torpedo and slammed into him, the momentum sending both of them sprawling to the ground with the wolf on top.

Lan gasped; the air knocked out of his lungs. But the wolf wasn't giving him time to collect himself. It kept snapping at his throat, its eyes bloodshot and stained with madness. Lan stuck an arm up beneath its throat, desperately holding off the drooling jaws.

Grunting, he hauled the wolf off himself, launching a vicious kick at the side of its head as he did. His arm ached from a gash the wolf had gnawed through his clothes, but he grimaced and ignored it. All it would take was a second of distraction, and he would end up in the wolf's mouth.

He stared directly into the creature's rabid eyes and saw nothing behind them. There was no reasoning or complex thought in those eyes. Fury and rabid hunger fueled the creature's relentless assault. And Lan could take advantage of that.

Raising the stake in front of him, his hand shook slightly as he forced himself to maintain eye contact with the wolf. He knew the second one of them blinked or looked away. The wolf would attack. It reminded him of a similar situation he had been in with a feral street dog many years ago.

Readying himself, he felt the comforting shape of the coarse wood in his hands. He understood the weight of the stake and the way its centre of gravity made it fall towards the ground. Somehow, every aspect of the stake clicked together at that moment like a perfect puzzle. Its balance made sense to him, and Lan instinctively knew how to use it. Everything just made sense: the right way to hold it, the right way to thrust and stab with the stake.

Happy to see his Talent at work, he could only hope it wasn't placebo as the wolf pounced at him, blurring through the air in a rabid rush of claws and teeth.

Lan grunted and thrust forward, inspirations flowing into his mind for how he could use the stake to kill the wolf.

The inspirations appeared as an endless chain in his mind, each link connecting possible moves together. He made his first move, gripping the spear with both hands at its base and tensing his shoulders. In response, thousands of links in the chain shattered and reformed, creating new possibilities from his current position.

He followed the next link in the chain, crouching down and tensing his legs, ready to explode. More possibilities shattered, and those that remained were reinforced. His following action was more apparent now. He could already see the picture forming in his mind.

The wolf was almost upon him now, and the second it got into range, he burst into motion like a coiled snake, leaping up while driving the stake forward with every ounce of strength he could summon.

In his hands, the simple stake felt like the most perfectly balanced spear, its wooden tip carving through the air and piercing the wolf's throat.

For a long moment, the wolf hung limp and stunned, its body impaled on the stake a few inches off the ground. It clawed at the chunk of wood in its throat feebly before collapsing, a fountain of blood gushing out of its mouth.

Lan panted for breath, gasping for air as the battle raged on around him. That may be the strangest part.

He had just done the most dangerous thing in his life, and nobody cared. Clashes of life and death were commonplace on the battlefield. He glanced around and noticed more people had joined this side of the barricade, tens of students slashing wolves in the side with swords or stabbing them with spears.

Calming himself a little, he tried to take the stake out of the wolf's throat, but it was stuck firmly. Grunting, he relinquished his stake and was just about to move on when another wolf leapt at him.

Compared to the previous wolf, this one was skinnier and more feral, its brownish-grey fur matted, with random patches missing. One of its eyes was dull and unseeing, the pupil glassy. But its teeth were just as sharp, and its claws just as vicious.

Lan's eyes widened, and he searched the ground for a weapon, finding nothing of any use. He didn't have time to grab the rope from his backpack, not that it would do any good. What could a rope do against a wolf?

As the wolf grew closer, Lan looked down at his feet where the dead wolf lay and had an epiphany. Inspirations bubbled up in his mind like a spring. His Talent funnelled possibilities into his mind, showing him the way forward.

He grabbed the end of the stake still stuck in the wolf's throat and growled with the effort. He felt the weight of the wolf still hanging on the end of the stake and understood how it affected the balance of the stake.

Instinctively, he knew how to swing it and the proper steps to take. Everything just clicked. First, he grabbed the stake with both hands and braced it against his leg. Then he levered the wolf up and swung in a wide arc, blood spraying as he moved. The corpse flew off the stake, and careened into the side of the living wolf, knocking it out of the air.

Breathlessly, Lan ran over and stabbed at the wolf, struggling to get up, grunting as his stake found its way into the wolf's side, where its fur was the weakest.

This time, he made sure to scan his surroundings carefully before he made his next move, not wanting another wolf to jump on him before he had time to figure out what was going on.

A couple of metres to his left, a girl struggled to hold off the advances of two wolves, sweat dripping down her face and into her eyes as she tried to fend them off. Although she was on the defensive, her sword glittered as it lashed out, carving bloody gashes into the wolves.

Lan darted over and lunged at one of the wolves, stabbing its hind leg with a thrust of his stake.

When the girl saw him using part of the barricade to stab the wolf, she gave him a funny look but said nothing, too preoccupied with surviving to care what kind of weirdo was helping her out. Getting one of the wolves' attention, Lan jumped back away from its snapping mouth and launched a kick at the side of its head. He wasn't sure where that inspiration came from, but his Talent seemed to let him use any method that would help him fight with the stake, even if it didn't involve the stake itself.

The wolf yelped and sprawled into the dirt, struggling to get back up on its injured leg. Not giving it a chance to recollect itself, Lan rushed over and finished it off. His stake reaping another life.

He looked back up from the corpse just in time to see the girl finish off her wolf and move on to another, her jaw set and determined. She hadn't even paused to check if he was okay.

Everywhere he looked, something similar was happening. Nobody was taking a breather after they fought, simply jumping right back into another fight the second the first one was finished.

Seeing the burning determination in their eyes, Lan gritted his teeth and ran towards the nearest wolf, the muscles in his arms and hands burning. He couldn't let them get any further ahead.

***

By the time the fighting was finished, Lan could barely see straight, completely drained of energy. He collapsed in a heap by the corpse of his final opponent, his chest heaving and his whole body aching.

He looked up at the sky, there was no sun, but regardless, the light seemed to be coming from somewhere since it was daytime. Only then did he truly feel how alien his world was. Everything was choreographed, the attacks of the beasts, the light in the sky. It all worked on some weird schedule that Lan couldn't understand. 'Why would anyone make... Any of this?' he wondered.

'It all feels like a dream….' While fighting, he had discovered that perhaps the academies had been right to turn him down. He enjoyed this just a little too much.

He had completely lost himself in the battle, moving on only instincts and the desire to kill. It had been far too easy for him to disregard everything and just throw himself into life-or-death clashes. Each time he claimed another life, the rush of experience brought him to a high he had never experienced before.

Every time he overcame an opponent, he got this… rush of adrenaline that was euphoric. The feeling of winning was addictive, and, in the end, he had been one of the last people to stop fighting, only collapsing in exhaustion because there was nothing left to fight.

Alert: Wave completed, a grace period of 24hrs has been awarded.

Across the battlefield, there was a collective sigh as exhausted teenagers read the system message and finally relaxed.

That message had attracted Lan to another message the system had given him.

Level up!

He had managed to do it somewhere towards the end of the fight and remembered feeling a rush of strength around the time it happened. At the time, he had thought he was just catching his second wind, but now he suspected otherwise. The level-up must have strengthened his body or improved his stamina, letting him fight on. So it turned out he wasn't just a maniac fueled by blood and fighting...

As much as he hated to admit it, the system from the bridge was very useful, 'But that's why it's so easy to abuse! People gain power too quickly and lose themselves in it,' Lan reminded himself, determined to not do the same.

Deciding now was as good a time as any. He allocated the ten points he had gained from levelling up. When picking what to put the points into, he decided to base it on his Talent's strengths. Since he literally could not use enchantments, he felt like mana was pointless and thus ruled out Intelligence.

Internally, he was having a debate about whether or not Mind affected the inspirations he had in battle. It made sense that it would, but how profound the change would be remained to be seen.

What was clear to him was how much weaker he was physically than some of the other students he had seen fighting. He was ruthless and efficient, but he lagged far behind the rest in training and physical prowess.

He decided the best thing to do would be to assign 3 points to both Strength and Dexterity while placing 2 points into Endurance and Vitality.

When he had finished, he felt strength well up inside him, his muscles reinforcing and his mind sharpening. His reactions felt fast and more acute thanks to his increased Dexterity, which just about allowed him to see the hooked blade as it slammed through his chest and ripped out his heart.