The clash of steel was music to his ears, and the smell of early morning campfires filled him with such joy that Dane couldn’t help but smile. The week had been a whirlwind of fun for him and the thousand odd participants. The event was an annual one, where they would meet in a great field and camp in their medieval garb and costumes and fights dozens of tournaments while enjoying the labours of the many artisans. It was exactly the kind of holiday Dane loved. Dane was one of the taller members of the organization, standing a hair over five-eleven, with a relatively trim build. He wasn’t a true fitness expert but he had spent more than ten grand on getting his armour exactly how he wanted it and he’d be damned if he’d outgrow it. He bore a few small bruises and a tiny cut just below his right eye after an unfortunate accident when the point of his friend’s sword had slipped past his visor, injuries and accidents happened in weapons-based sports and there was no ill feeling afterwards, you just hoped it was never a serious or dangerous injury as a result.
He was dressed in his comfortable black arming clothes, all laced or pointed together with silk strings with gold aglets. He was very proud of his harness, even the undergarments that went with it were a labour of love, some his own labour and some professional artisans, and it had all culminated in this day. After a decade of training and fighting, today he was set to fight in the final of the Grand Tourney, the points had been tallied and after his excellent week he was almost the tournament champion for the first time. It had resulted in many backslaps and offered cups of wine and various homebrewed spirits the night before. His people, as he thought of them, were always excited to see someone do well and to see a new champion.
Lucas arrived as if on queue as Dane stood looking over the camp and drinking some water from his horn cup. Dane smiled at his friend, both with dark circles under their eyes after the weeklong party.
“You ready?” Lucas asked, no hint of his exhaustion in his voice.
“No,” Dane said with a laugh, his giddiness at the prospect of fighting for his first championship evident in every line of his body. He shrugged into his mail haubergeon and muttered his thanks as Lucas began to assist him in the process of armouring up, lacing the steel sabatons to his feet and working his way up.
With the assistance of his friend, Dane was clad in shining steel quicker than one might think as the harness all but flew off its rack and onto his body. The klappvisor helm was snug on his head with its mail aventail draped lovingly over his shoulders and a longsword was gripped comfortably in his gauntleted hands as the pair marched through the camp, receiving encouragement and cheers along the way.
***************************************
Half a world away another young man, who looked a lot like Dane but with a thicker build and broader shoulders was in the thick of combat. Unlike the short haircut favoured by his older brother, Erik wore his hair long and in braids, with a wild beard and a fiery joy lighting his eyes as he swung a pair of foam and fiberglass axes around his body and roared his war cry at those who came at him.
The brothers may not have gone in the same direction with their hobbies, but one thing couldn’t be denied; they could fight. Erik was an anomaly within the LARPing world, big and powerful he also favoured historical technique with his weapons, in so far as was possible when dual wielding fantasy style axes. He had trained with his older brother in their younger days and while neither their father nor Dane could truly understand Erik’s love of the fantasy worlds, they respected his ability and Erik theirs. Erik saw it differently to them however, fighting well was good but doing so while roaring a battle cry as Grimgar Doomaxe the Orc Warshaman was just more fun.
So he found himself surrounded by the great heroes of the human kingdoms, their swords rose and fell like scythes to the wheat and he simply danced through. A sliding step here and a back step there then he was in amongst them and his axes bit into cloth and thin plates.
“Grimgar gonna drink from your skulls!” He roared as more and more fell back from his onslaught, their hit points spent. There were laughs in the distance and smiles on the faces of everyone, no matter how serious the storyline, they’d all come to have a good time and getting slain by Erik the orc was considered a good time by many. That’s when the thunder hit, streaks of blue and purple lightning crossed the sky as red clouds roiled across what had seconds before been a perfectly clear day. All fighting ceased as they looked to the sky in fear and something deep and primal within Erik’s gut told him that they were not ready for what came next.
***************************************
As Dane stood across the list field from his opponent, his feet comfortably digging into the sand, his mind was free to observe and plan. Daniel was a two-time champion of the Grand Tourney and would be no push over. He had long arms that gave him a very deceptive range, and Dane would have to be extra careful to avoid the point of his blade in this fight.
Just as the herald raised his arm to call for the fight to begin, the world broke. Technicolour
lightning flashed across red skies as the atmosphere seemed to boil, and as the thunder crashed into them with such force that Dane could feel it hit his chest through his armour, a deep but oddly androgynous voice boomed into their ears.
Integration has begun.
Welcome to the System Denizens of the Multiverse.
Tutorial will begin in 3…2…
***************************************
When Dane could see again and the world had resolved itself around him, he was decidedly not in the camp anymore. What’s worse is he was also not in his harness, the beautiful pinnacle of steel art was completely gone and he was dressed only in his arming clothes. When he had calmed down enough to look around, Dane found himself in a small office-like building with natural wooden walls and a desk, seated at the desk was a creature he had never seen before. It bore a mostly featureless face, bar two sunken eyes, with green skin and long circuit-like lines of gold down its arms, two gossamer wings stretched from its back and looked uncomfortable when squashed by the low seat. When it spoke, despite its lack of anything resembling a mouth, the words seemed to be sent directly into Dane’s mind and he had no doubt it was what had spoken as their eyes locked.
“Welcome to Tutorial Theta-Seven-Nine denizen of planet designation Urth,” it said.
“Tutorial?” Dane muttered, he felt his heartbeat start to race but as soon as it reached a peak it instantly slowed and a calming sensation washed over his whole body.
Agitation Sedated…
The words appeared before him out of nothing and yet despite this he felt no fear or stress, simply detached calm. His eyes met the creature’s once more.
“Do not fear denizen for you are safe within these walls, the great entity known as the System has arrived and has begun the great process of integrating your universe into the vast tapestry of the multiverse, you and your fellow denizens have been brought to this tutorial to prepare you for what this will mean going forward, while your home planet goes through its own evolution,” the voice was dispassionate, but not cruel, it simply was.
“In this tutorial you will learn the basic skills necessary to survive, first you must choose your class, fear not these are merely basic classes that will evolve with you in time.” As the voice finished more words appeared before him, as though a great scroll was unrolled before his eyes.
Class Allocation:
Please choose one of the following combat classes, non-combat professions will be made
available at a later date.
Fighter:
The quintessential close combat class. It comes in three variations; heavy, medium and light.
Each utilizes a different style of fighting and a choice of weaponry.
+ 3 Strength/Dexterity/Vitality per level dependent on variation.
Caster:
Every grand wizard or sorcerer starts somewhere and so can you with this beginner caster class.
+3 Intelligence or Wisdom Per level
Healer:
Some are born to save others with their healing touch, this beginner class represents the first
step on the journey.
+3 Intelligence per level
Each of the classes was fairly self-explanatory, and Dane somehow knew intuitively all he had to do was think which class he wanted and it would happen. He discarded the caster and healer classes instantly, they were not his style, he needed a sword if he was going to take on challenges in this new game like world. So he chose Fighter of the medium variation, he felt something change within him, like electricity crackling through his muscles, he’d never felt stronger. A pliable leather thorax, the kind that reminded him of depictions of ancient Greek hoplites appeared over his arming cote. He cringed at the mismatch of cultures he now wore and yearned for his missing harness. It seemed that whatever sedated his inner stress levels could do nothing for the betrayal of his historical integrity, at least the sword he was given was decent. It wasn’t polished or sharpened to the extent of his previous blade, nor did it have his heraldry and motto engraved on the cross guard, it was dull and grey, but would at least be serviceable.
“Now that you have your class you may access your status screen.” The voice spoke now that he had made his choice and spent at least five minutes being intently critical of his new equipment.
Once more the knowledge of how to access this information seemed to already be in his mind, and with a thought his status screen appeared.
Name: Dane Grimm
Class: Fighter (Medium) Level 1
Profession: N/A
Tier: Tin 01
Hit Points: 100/100
Mana: 100/100
Stats:
STR: 15
DEX: 10
INT: 10
WIS: 10
ViT: 10
Skills:
Gift of Language [Unique], Identify [Common], Strike [Inferior], Basic Swordsmanship
[Inferior]
Titles: N/A
Everything looked pretty standard, even his skills he felt the knowledge of how they worked settle in his mind, he had no idea how his stats measured up but a baseline of ten seemed to be standard.
“Once you have reviewed everything you may exit through the door and enter the tutorial proper,” the voice informed him. A door had appeared behind the desk that Dane was certain hadn’t been there prior but even so he knew it was time to go. With a deep steadying breath, he walked towards the door and turned the handle, ready to face what came next.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
***************************************
Erik had been greeted by an identical room and entity, and he in turn had been given the choice of classes, unlike his brother, Erik felt only excitement at this new development, but he did not go the route of the fighter, instead he had chosen to forge a path like he had always dreamed to in his LARP games, and so it led to a different status screen than his brother.
Name: Erik Grimm
Class: Healer Level 1
Profession: N/A
Tier: Tin 01
Hit Points: 100/100
Mana: 130/130
Stats:
STR: 12
DEX: 10
INT: 13
WIS: 11
ViT: 10
Skills:
Gift of Language [Unique], Identify [Common], Healer’s Touch [Inferior], Weak Mana Bolt [Inferior]
Titles: N/A
Erik received a plush white robe that he knew he’d be giving away as soon as the opportunity presented itself, and a wand. This tutorial didn’t know what was about to hit it. He exited the door of the office and when he walked through he found himself in a lush plain of grass that surrounded a tower of stone with an impossibly wide base. The plain was covered in tents and only a few buildings with a decidedly medieval aesthetic beside the tower. More and more doors appeared around him as people exited but only one armoured form drew his eye, the man who looked the most like him, though in some decidedly awkward looking leather armour.
The brothers made eye contact and beelined for each other as they threw their arms around each other in relief. A world apart only an hour ago, they were united again, which soothed some of the stress Erik had not realized he’d been feeling, after all, what challenge could this tutorial throw at them now that the Brothers Grimm were side by side?
Welcome to Tutorial Dungeon Theta-Seven-Nine
Good luck, denizens of Urth.
***************************************
Thousands of people emerged onto the fields surrounding the camp where the two brothers now stood. Dane’s friend Lucas had appeared not long after Erik and had quickly attached himself to their duo, not eager to get separated from the few familiar faces he had found amongst the crowds. Soon two of Erik’s friends from his LARP had arrived as well and filled them out to a five man group. One was a short woman with dark hair who was clad in a leather thorax like Dane but had a pair of daggers on her hips, whereas the man wore a robe like Erik’s but it was red instead of the healer’s white and seemed to be the standard caster robe judging by the people Dane saw milling about with wands in their hands.
“This is Brigid, and David, guys this is my brother Dane and one of his mate’s Lucas, they’re great fighters so stick close.” Erik said by way of introduction, earning a round of nods from everyone. Off in the distance closer to the base of the incredible tower, they could see a small group of the green, winged beings waiting and directing. It looked like there would be no grand announcement this time and it was up to them to see what happened next.
“Lovely to meet you both, but let’s go and get some answers about what’s supposed to happen, something tells me we don’t get much of a choice in playing along.” Dane said. As a unit they moved towards the group of guides and as they approached Dane noticed a distinct difference between these green creatures and the one in the welcome office, as he now called it. These ones had names he could see with his new [Identify] skill.
Fae-Guide Level ???
It wasn’t much to go on but was better than the nothing he had had before. The other major differences were these Fae-Guides had mouths and armoured plates like some fantasy hero covering their bodies, though whatever the material was Dane could not tell.
“Welcome to the tutorial grounds denizens, entry to the Tutorial Dungeon is through the Great Tower, you may enter individually or as a party of up to five individuals, climb rankings will be posted every seven days, if you would like to prepare, the profession buildings are located around the Tower’s immediate vicinity and will assist you in gaining your first professions.” The voice was deep and calm and yet, just as it had been in their welcome, it was androgynous.
“Holy exposition batman,” Erik muttered before speaking up, “What benefits are there in the rankings?”
“Your position on the ladder will determine rewards at the conclusion of the tutorial in six months’ time.” The Fae-Guide answered dutifully. Dane’s eyes bulged at the six month timer, but nodded.
“Do you want to check out the profession stuff or the dungeon first?” Dane asked his brother, although he was nice enough to open it up to everyone present. He was interrupted by the guide who seemed to have registered his voice.
“Denizen; Dane Grimm, your acquired materials have been delivered to the blacksmith’s shop.” The Guide finished immediately before turning to the next group of attendees.
“You came with materials?” Erik asked his brother only receiving a shake of the head from Dane who looked as confused as he did, “Guess we check this blacksmith’s shop first then.”
***************************************
Dane’s squeaky scream of shock and despair was undoubtedly heard from across the camp as he saw the “materials” the guide had mentioned. His entire harness had been melted down and turned into bars of steel and brass with a side of leather seemingly made from the straps and fittings. Tens of thousands of dollars worth of master craftsmen’s work, reduced to the steel it was made from. Erik couldn’t help himself and was in hysterics as he held onto the door frame and his stomach as laugh after laugh rolled out of his frame. All the while Dane was on his knees with his face in his hands at the sight.
Lucas was not much better as he apparently had a pile just the same. Pre-system equipment if worn during the integration was apparently reduced to its component parts and given as an assist to the inductees. The blacksmith, a short fellow with broad shoulders and a heroically curving paunch, who Erik was certain was a dwarf, had advised them of the fact and offered to teach them the Blacksmith profession.
After Dane took the time to calm himself he was able to get the small group to circle up, “Alright guys, one way or another my brother and I are making it through this, Lucas I assume you’re going to stick with me?” He asked meeting his friend’s eye.
“Always mate, I would like to see if my sister is around but judging by the numbers we saw out there the search could take a minute.” Lucas answered with a grin.
“Brigid, David, my brother vouches for you both and that’s good enough for me, won’t hold it against you if you’d rather go your own way but you’re welcome with us,” he received nods of confirmation from them both as they gestured for him to continue, “Erik doesn’t get a choice, because I know you were about to mouth off cheekily,” he met his brother’s grin with his own, “I’m going to knuckle down here and learn this Blacksmith profession, try and fix up our gear before we even consider entering that dungeon, I’ve played enough video games and read enough books to know it won’t be a cake walk.” More nods greeted his words.
“What do you want me to do?” Lucas asked.
“If I’m on armouring and weapons, we’re going to need a few different professions to cover our bases, I’m thinking a tailor to make arming clothes for us, a builder to get us set up with a more permanent lodging plus workspace for ourselves,” he looked around at each of them, “those are what I can think of off the top of my head, I saw signs for those out there but there were dozens of different professions on offer so I’m open to suggestions on what’s needed.”
“I can do the tailoring sir,” David spoke up first, “I made all of our costumes for the LARP,” his voice was not strong or loud, but it didn’t tremble.
“Good man, I’ll help you with designs once you have the profession, and no need to call me sir.” Dane smiled.
“I guess I’ll build then,” Lucas shrugged, “six months is too long to sit in a tent anyway.”
“Bingo, alright someone wanna volunteer to go check out the dungeon entrance?” Dane asked of the remaining two, “Just listen out for anyone coming out and get an idea of what they saw and what happened, some idiot is bound to barrel straight in.” Brigid spoke up this time.
“I’ll go, meet back here?” She asked, receiving a nod from Dane she turned on her heel and was gone as quick as the words left her mouth.
“I’m going to take a look at the professions available, be back in an hour,” Erik said before pausing at the door, he looked at the wand in his hand and looked back to his brother, “Wouldn’t mind an axe or two if you have the materials and time.”
Dane nodded, watching as they filed out to find profession teachers, he was finally alone with the dwarf and he met the broad little man’s eye, “guess you’d better teach me to smith now.”
***************************************
It was two days later when the first of the fools emerged from the tower. It was a young man no more than twenty whom Brigid had described as “extremely cocky” who emerged a gibbering snot and tear covered mess. It quickly became apparent why when they finally got the story out of him. The first floor was an idyllic forest but it was the home of a goblin tribe, actual real goblins, and they had been advised as soon as they entered that death would not be permanent on the first three floors, they would simply be restored and teleported out when their hit points hit zero.
Unfortunately for the foolhardy adventurers who had rushed in this did nothing to stop them experiencing every little bit of pain the goblins could inflict with their proclivity for torturing captives. The boy who emerged was part of a party of five and the others had yet to succumb to their injuries after two whole days. It was a terrifying image that immediately cooled the ardour of many who had simply been waiting for the first to give them clues.
Dane was relieved to find gaining the Blacksmithing profession was a very simple process. Unlocking it has been an otherworldly experience as it blended with his prior metalworking knowledge and filled him with more, along with an innate sense of how to infuse his mana into his work. In addition he now gained an additional two strength points and one intelligence every time he levelled the profession up. Something he had managed five times already with his work to improve the System generated gear their team had been provided with.
It had been surprisingly intuitive, finding the wellspring of mana within his centre that the Dwarf teacher assured him everyone had, he had closed his eyes and looked within as he was told and found a shallow pond of energy that would flow through his arm and into his hammer and into the object he was making. He only had limited resources between his and Lucas’ pile of steel and brass, since none of them had earned any of the System generated currency within the dungeon yet they couldn’t afford to buy additional supplies. This had put a kink in their planned lodging and clothing, but it was decided that could be a problem for after they survived their first dungeon dive. So instead Dane focused on providing better weapons for them all.
He made an arming sword each for Brigid and Dave after showing Brigid how a two dagger style lacked any real range and belonged in the pages of a fantasy novel. Lucas took control of teaching the newcomers to fight sword in hand while Dane worked in the forge. Erik would continually disappear to work on his profession though he had yet to inform them of what it was. He had thanked his brother when he had been presented with a pair of rough hand axes, Dane hadn’t been entirely impressed with his work, but without any timber to work with he had to settle for steel shafts which threw the balance off somewhat, although Erik had declared them perfect.
Next had been thin breast and back plates for the robe wearers, they wouldn’t stop a strong blow but should be plenty to deflect a glancing shot away from the vital areas in someone’s torso. Erik had torn the skirt off of his robe, leaving the upper portion as it was quite plush and padded the breast plate well, then with a few cuts of an axe he had shortened the lower portion into a kilt to move around easier then proceeded to do the same for Dave. Dane put a veneer of steel over his leather thorax to reinforce it and likewise for Lucas and Brigid’s.
Now the final day of preparation had come and he was doing the last thing he needed before they made their way into the Tower. He’d elected to use his new [Reforge] (Common) skill on his sword and was able to use some brass to infuse it with his mana and add some decoration to the cross guard. He gilded the plain iron with his brass and engraved the words Prowess and Humility into either side. As he finished the last line of the final Y in gothic script he received a loud ding in his ears.
**Reforge Successful, [Adventurer’s Longsword (Inferior)] >> [Chivalrous Longsword (Common)]
Level up! You have gained +1 Level in Blacksmith Profession.
Dane smiled at the notification as he felt his muscle mass increase slightly. Six levels in Blacksmith had resulted in an additional 12 points in strength the change was noticeable and he could feel his once perfect arming clothes beginning to fit a tad too snug. The final job for the day was a shield, they had agreed he would be their point man, and so he had elected to make a shield and helm for himself with their supplies of steel.
The helm was up first and he had already chosen the shape and style, knowing how vulnerable his head was he had elected to not skimp on their dwindling supplies of steel and settled for drawing the steel into a sheet two millimetres thick, and raising the whole into the round shape of a sixteenth century close helm. The visor would be a separate piece and with a tall comb along the centre to add strength he infused more of his mana into the process, activating his [Runecraft (Common)] skill to strengthen the steel beyond the sum of its parts, a brass coronet encircled the crown and the sleek visor was perforated with a collection of holes in a gothic D and G on either side.
**Craft Successful, you have made [Chivalrous Hero’s Helm (Rare)] bonus experience awarded for crafting an item above your skill level!**
Level up! You have gained +1 Level in Blacksmith Profession.
Level up! You have gained +1 Level in Blacksmith Profession.
Level up! You have gained +1 Level in Blacksmith Profession.
Three level ups in quick succession crashed through his body, the process of gaining stat points was usually fairly comfortable, just an odd tingling through the body, but gaining so many in one hit really hurt. Dane folded in half with a yell as his muscle fibres strained. The headache as his intelligence went up was shocking and his dwarven mentor rushed over to steady him.
“Don’t worry lad, it’s only Integration Sickness, at higher levels it won’t be as uncomfortable.” The short man said as he helped Dane stand up straight. He picked up the helm and turned it over in his hands with a whistle.
“This is very fine work Dane, not many Blacksmiths see a Rare tier craft before level twenty, you survive that first dungeon run and bring me back a ruby core, and I’ll teach you something new to improve on this as a reward.”
**Quest Received: [Bring Gunther a Ruby Core (Difficulty: Moderate)]**
“You got it mate,” Dane said as he worked on his breathing and prepared himself for what came next. Unique crafts generally resulted in a level up he had found, but if he made the same thing multiple times it had diminishing returns, so he knew the next part would likely hurt.
His shield couldn’t be very large if he wanted it to be sturdy enough to take a blow with the amount of material he had left. So he decided on a buckler, thick but only about thirty centimetres across. He forged it all from one piece with a leather wrapped handle of the same steel and thick brass rivets on the face. Sticking to the theme he had maintained with the rest of his personal items, he engraved and gilded the virtues of chivalry into the face of the small shield, all seven ringed the surface.
**Craft Successful, you have made [Master-Work Buckler of the Chivalrous Hero(Rare)] bonus experience awarded for crafting an item above your skill level!**
**Title Awarded; [Master Artisan]**
**Title Awarded: [Trailblazer of the Artisans]**
Level up! You have gained +1 Level in Blacksmith Profession.
Level up! You have gained +1 Level in Blacksmith Profession.
Level up! You have gained +1 Level in Blacksmith Profession.
The surge of notifications rolled past his vision in a deluge of words and blue screens as his body began to burn. Muscle fibres tore and Dane’s world began to darken as he hit the floor, spasms rushing through every inch of him as he tossed and turned and screamed into the void. He couldn’t know it yet, nor could he check the notifications to truly get an idea of what they had meant, but Dane had now firmly settled himself in the pole position for the newly integrated people of Urth. The energy that coursed through his veins now was unlike any level up notification anyone in their tutorial had felt and it burned out his nerves and left him an unconscious heap on the floor of the smithy.
One notification blinked before his closed eyes, unseen for now until he could bring himself back to the waking world, but it was one that hinted at many possibilities down the line.
**Audience Offered: The Forge Saint and the Chivalrous Hero have invited you to their Realm**