[Are you sure you want to do this?]

“...Yes.”

[You won’t remember anything.]

“That’s fine.”

[...Why? Why sacrifice yourself like this?]

“...They deserve a chance. I can’t bear to witness this without doing something about it.”

[They had their chance, before coming here.]

“You won’t even try to understand them. They were forsaken by their world, so they flocked to ours.”

[So you won’t change your mind?]

“No.”

[Hah. You’ve always been like that, haven’t you? Stubborn to the end. You would give up your own life if it meant saving an ant’s.]

“...”

[You won’t be able to retain anything about your current self. Not even your name. What will your new one be?]

“Nil.”

[Nothing? How fitting. Nothing will be left of you, except for this. How can you be sure you will even be able to make a difference?]

“...I can’t. But it’s better to try and fail than to never try at all.”

[You sound like a human already.]

“What can I say? I understand them more than I do you most of the time.”

[Hah. I don’t understand you, but I don’t understand them either.]

“...It’s time.”

[You’re right. I suppose it does not matter, since you won’t remember, but… Keep in mind that you’ll only have one year to prepare. It’s an impossible mission.]

“Just do it.”

[...All right. Goodbye, friend. It’ll be lonely without you.]

----------------------------------------

Nil woke up in an unfamiliar room, remembering nothing aside from their name. An imposing woman soon burst in and dragged them out of the bed.

“Jeez, what’s taking you so long? C’mon, get moving! We can’t afford to let you linger here with how overwhelmed by newcomers we are.”

Nil muttered a confused apology and walked out of the room. The door disappeared behind them as soon as they were through, startling them.

[Welcome to Asphodel.]

A message window appeared in front of them. They looked around, panicked, but a void surrounded them.

[The Tutorial will now commence.]

[Your actions will determine the path you will take.]

Light enveloped Nil, and when they opened their eyes, a man was in front of them, seeming just as out of place as them.

[Kill your opponent.]

Nil stared at the message. What? They weren’t going to kill another human just because a disembodied voice told them to.

However, the man opposite them lunged forward, going for their neck. Nil panicked and took a step to the side, managing to barely evade the attack.

“What are you doing?” Nil yelled.

“You saw the message,” the man said. “Only one of us can move forward. I don’t like killing, but I need to reach Asphodel.”

With that, he attacked again, and Nil avoided the swipe. It seemed talking wasn’t an option.

They stepped back, making some distance, and examined the man’s movements, trying to predict their tactics. When avoiding the previous blows, the motions to evade had come naturally, almost on instinct.

A new message popped up.

[You have awakened to the Exclusive Skill ‘Insight’.]

A skill? Like in a game?

Nil focused on the man again.

[‘Insight’ has been activated.]

At that moment, everything about the man flowed into Nil’s head. His name, his age, even a vague idea about his background. More importantly, his thoughts and intentions became obvious.

With their new ability, Nil had no issue dodging the attacks. The man was getting increasingly frustrated, until something weird appeared within his information.

[Exclusive Skill: Frenzy. Once a day, become blinded by rage for 10 minutes, or until the battle ends. During the activation of ‘Frenzy’, your physical capabilities will increase twofold. After the effect ends, you will be unable to move for 5 minutes.]

The man let out a primal scream, and charged at Nil with a monstrous speed. Even with Insight, they didn’t manage to avoid the attack, and fell to the floor, wounded. They gritted their teeth and got back up.

Ten minutes. They only had to endure ten minutes.

Despite their best efforts, they suffered first a blow to the chest, then to the side. They were getting more and more bruised, even though they weren’t even attempting to counterattack. Every time they fell, they got back up and tried again. Over eight minutes passed.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Finally, their legs failed them. Their speed had diminished due to the damage, and the man managed to pin them to the floor and started pummeling them in the face. They tried to grab his fists, but had nowhere near enough strength to stop him.

It was over. There was nothing else they could do. Nil waited for the end while struggling in vain. The pain felt distant for some reason. They should’ve been screaming in anguish.

A punch landed on their temple, making them dizzy. Then, one to the mouth, sending a tooth flying. Another one to the nose, breaking it. Nil was struggling to breathe.

Fortunately, the man was so engulfed by rage that he was making no efforts to bring Nil to a quick death. He was simply punching over and over mindlessly.

Then, the man stopped and fell on top of them.

Nil mustered enough strength to push his body away and got up, shaking, tasting the blood on their lips. The effects of Frenzy were over. The only thing left was to kill the man.

Nil refused. Nothing made sense. They weren’t about to become a mindless drone who did as they were told for no reason.

They screamed to the void.

“The battle is over! I won’t kill him, and he can’t move!”

[...]

[Your conviction has been acknowledged.]

[Congratulations. You have completed the first phase of the Tutorial.]

[You have awakened to the Traits ‘Tenacious’ and ‘Peacemonger’.]

[You have walked your first step in the Path of Determination.]

Nil rubbed their fingers over their broken lips, and looked at their blood. They had just taken a severe beating. There should have been no way for them to get up so easily. The pain still felt remote, like a quiet buzz hidden in a corner of their head.

[‘Tenacious’ is in effect. Your pain will be muffled, and you won’t be easily intimidated. This does not increase your actual resistance.]

What was with the messages? And what were those traits? ‘Peacemonger’?

As they were pondering over the strange situation, another message appeared.

[‘Peacemonger’: You can’t take lives.]

Nil didn’t plan on killing anyone, so they didn’t mind too much, but what was with the purely negative effect? Also, the word itself, “peacemonger”, sounded wrong. Something told them this weird system wasn’t keen on peace and love.

Suddenly, a light enveloped them, and the buzz of pain disappeared. Nil touched their face and noticed the broken nose had been healed, and the blood was gone.

They still weren’t sure what was going on, but there was nothing they could do except keep going forward. Their attention shifted to a door that had appeared in front of them. It was the only way to advance.

They walked through it, and arrived at a medieval-looking training ground. A faceless mannequin stared at them quietly.

[Choose your basic weapon.]

A ring of floating weapons manifested in front of them, almost holographic in nature. They slowly circled around Nil, appearing one by one.

There were no firearms, only medieval weaponry. Nil picked a single-handed arming sword, simple in design. Easy to use, fast, could slice and stab, and left one hand free to grab something else. It materialized as soon as they grabbed its hilt, while the rest of the weapons vanished into the air.

[‘Insight’ is reacting to your weapon.]

[You have awakened to the Skill ‘Swordsmanship’.]

Nil felt knowledge of sword techniques flow into their head. They gripped the sword with newfound confidence.

The mannequin moved, and a sword appeared in its hand as well.

[Defeat your opponent.]

Nil remained in a defensive stance, waiting for the mannequin’s attack. When it came, they parried the slash and landed a blow on its side. Every movement came naturally. Insight predicted the enemy’s attacks, while Swordsmanship told them the proper ways to block and strike. It seemed like a fairly rudimentary skill, but the mannequin’s movements were simple as well. Nil wondered how it would react to a strong opponent.

The mannequin fell to the ground without landing a single hit. Nil sheathed their blade gently.

[Congratulations. You have completed the second phase of the Tutorial.]

[You have awakened to the Skill ‘Calm Mind’.]

[‘Calm Mind’: You are able to keep your cool during even the most tense situations.]

[You have completed Basic Training. The final phase of the Tutorial will now begin.]

Another flash of light enveloped Nil, and their eyes opened to a clearing in the middle of a forest. The temperature was just right, and a blue sky shone through the leaves. There were four others transported there at the same time. Instead of looking confused, like the man had earlier, they were examining their surroundings carefully. They had probably gone through the previous phases as well.

[Reach the Altar to the north.]

The message was pretty vague. Nil looked north, but the thick mantle of trees blocked their view. They would have to cross the forest.

If five people had been brought together, they were likely supposed to assist each other. That meant there would be dangers in the forest. Otherwise, going alone would’ve been a safer bet. Nil had a hunch they wouldn’t be given company if it wasn’t necessary. They felt uncomfortable as they wondered whether Insight was affecting their thought process.

Before anyone had time to fully process the objective, one of the new faces rushed into the forest, leaving the others behind, dumbfounded.

Nil shook their head and stepped forward, with a hand resting on their blade.

“I think it would be wise to work together. The message doesn’t imply that we can’t all reach the altar safely. This isn’t like the first phase.”

The others shared worried looks with one another. If they had all gone through the same phases, then at least some of them were likely killers. Why had the man from the first phase been so keen on going to this ‘Asphodel’? Nil had no recollection of how they had ended up there. Could people so willing to take another’s life be trusted? They decided they would make no assumptions for now. Perhaps there was a reason.

One of the remaining three, a lean, friendly-looking young man holding a spear, spoke up.

“Sure,” he said. “Let’s watch each other’s backs. There’s something fishy about this place.” He extended a hand, and Nil took it warily. “Name’s Ray.”

“I’m Nil.” They looked Ray in the eye and activated Insight.

[Name: Ray; Age: 22; Background: Copywriter. Level: 0 (Tutorial).]

[Exclusive Skill: ‘Persuasion’. Trait: ‘Cautious’. Skill: ‘Judgment’.]

Judgment seemed like a less powerful version of Insight, only able to evaluate people’s intentions. Persuasion sounded like it could be dangerous, but Nil got the impression Ray was a decent guy. They turned to the other two, a middle-aged man with a dagger, and a woman Ray’s age with a bow.

The girl was the first to step forward. She looked quite athletic. Her hair was cut short and she was wearing a red tracksuit.

“I agree with you two. Let’s help each other out for now. You can call me Nova.”

Nil nodded as they activated Insight again. Would there be some kind of limit to its uses?

[Name: Nova. Age: 21. Background: College Student. Level: 0 (Tutorial).]

[Exclusive Skill: ‘Speed Reading’. Trait: ‘Bold’. Skill: ‘Sniper’.]

Nothing about her worried Nil either. Only the middle-aged man was left, but he seemed reluctant to join in. Nil took the chance to examine him as well. His clothes seemed quite worn, and he had a shaggy beard and long hair, despite his receding hairline. He was of short stature, and a bit chubby. Nil wondered how he would be in a fight.

[Name: Max. Age: 44. Background: Poet. Level: 0 (Tutorial).]

[Exclusive Skill: ‘Shivers’, Trait: ‘Cynical’. Skill: ‘Conceptualization’.]

Shivers… What a weird name for a skill. Nil focused on it.

[‘Shivers’: Your senses are heightened. You hear what you shouldn’t hear, and notice what you shouldn’t notice. This skill is always active.]

It almost sounded more annoying than helpful. Nil felt bad for the man.

“So? Are you coming?” Nova asked Max.

He sighed and nodded.

“I suppose it’s better than going alone,” he said. “But I don’t trust any of you! If you try to pull something I won’t hesitate to run for it.”

Ray chuckled. “That’s fine, old man. What’s your name?”

Max frowned. “Don’t call me old! I’m barely forty!” He huffed. “Max. My name is Max.”

Nova looked at the sky and then pointed north.

“We have to go that way, I think. Let’s get started right away, or we’ll have to camp in the woods.”

Ray and Max nodded, and the three of them headed toward the trees. Nil called out to them before they got far.

“I agree we should go posthaste,” they said. “But I need to ask you guys something first.”

The others turned around and looked at them expectantly.

“What is this place?”