Come out system? he called out in his mind, unsure of what was supposed to happen.
A screen suddenly appeared in front of Axel, startling him.
[Embrace the System?]
[Yes] [No]
Axel looked around, similar screens popped up in front of the remaining people in the room, with each person sharing equally confused looks. His eyes landed on the screen before him, brows furrowed as a whirlwind of questions devastated his mind.
His finger hovered over the [Yes] button, and a surge of wild destructive thoughts flooded his mind once more. Shaking his head, he tried his best to disperse them.
"For big sis," he muttered under his breath, before firmly pressing [Yes].
[Thank you for being part of the system.]
A faint glow of light encapsulated his entire body before quickly fading away. Similar pulses of light radiated outwards from the others after they had embraced the system. The rest of the people gave themselves a once over, inspecting their bodies, their expressions ranging from bewildered to mystified.
Axel inspected his body just like the others. Had something happened? He didn't feel any different and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He glanced over his calloused hands, rough from years of manual labor, down to his arms and legs - lean and sinewy from prolonged toil. His tunic clung to him, weathered from numerous hours spent under the sun. Bits of dirt still stuck around here and there, lingering evidence of his nights spent camping on the ground during the journey to Pavhorn.
"Now if you're done checking yourself out, follow me!" Dave ordered. He pulled down on a lever attached to the wall. The whir of gears and springs resonated throughout the room as the wall slowly shifted out until it formed a staircase.
Axel looked around, no one else had started to move.
"I don't have all day! Hurry up!" Dave barked once more. He started walking off into the entrance that he came from.
Axel and the rest hurriedly went down the stairs and followed behind him, trying not to trip over each other.
The clink of his armor resonated with each step, echoing through the passageway. The walls surrounding them were rather simple, made of cobblestone bricks, and lit up by several glowing torches fixed to the walls. A light at the end of the passage called out to the group with the voices and cries of people.
As they stepped into the light, their eyes widened at the sight that was before them. They were finally outside of the tunnel, barely. Walls still surrounded them, but the roof over their heads was now gone, exposing the group to the scorching sun overhead. In front of them, stood large towering wooden palisades with another equally large wooden door in the middle.
"This right here is the training ground. Over here you'll get a better understanding of how things work inside the barrier. I taught some theory, so now look forward to some practicals," Dave explained.
The massive wooden doors groaned open, revealing the grounds inside.
Axel stepped back, eyes widening in astonishment at the sight unfolding before him. He could not help but gasp, instinctively raising his hand to cover his gaping mouth. Similar expressions of awe rippled through the group.
Within the grounds was a captivating arrangement of portals, standing shoulder to shoulder in perfect alignment. Each portal was oval-shaped and wreathed in a delicate mist of swirling azure energy that danced along its edges. Just in front of them stood signs identifying the type of monster that could be found inside.
"These are known as gates," Dave elaborated, "Inside them, you'll find monsters and —"
"You mean you expect us to fight stuff like that giant snake?!" a man cried out from the crowd.
"Let me finish speaking, you dingleberry! And no, I don't expect you to fight monsters like Frost Cobras. Inside you'll find monsters more suited for your ranks. Now before you go inside and become not my problem, I have to tell you about the [Quest System]. Call out to the [Quest System] now! All of you!" he barked again.
Um, [Quest System]? Axel called out in his mind, wondering what was going to come.
He flinched as the screen abruptly manifested itself in front of him.
[Quest]
[Starting Out]
To help you rank up and get used to the system. Please enter the training grounds and complete the designated quests.
Objective:
Complete the quests (0/3 completed)
[Exterminate Big Rat] (Incomplete)
[Exterminate ?????] (Incomplete)
[Exterminate ?????] (Incomplete)
The next quest will be revealed following the completion of the previous quest.
Rewards:
1000 points
"Finishing quests gives you points and points help you rank up. Quests are pretty much always about killing monsters and they'll randomly appear as you explore the world. If you don't complete them they'll expire after a while. Also, once you finish your three quests head over there for one more briefing." Dave pointed at another passageway that connected to the training grounds with 'Exit Hall' written above it.
"So go inside the portal with the monster you have to kill. All of you should pretty much have the same first quest, and with that, you guys aren't my problem anymore. Inside there'll be an instructor who'll give you a bit more information."
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Axel watched as Dave walked off back the way they came, noticing how he swung the heavy wooden doors closed behind him that seemed outright impossible. Now, Axel was trapped along with the rest of the group, surrounded by portals as tall as a house.
A load of information had just been dumped into his brain, and Axel stood there trying to process everything that had just happened. First giant monsters made out of ice, a sword lighting itself on fire, then screens popping out of nowhere, and now portals were encircling him leading to who knows where. Axel’s mind was stuck in a whirlwind of bewildering questions
Some of the people had already ventured into their respective portals, while most were still fidgeting with the screens before them.
Axel did the same, fiddling about with his screen a bit more, attempting to extract as much information as possible about the [Quest System] and his task before him.
[Exterminate: Dig Rat]
Objective:
Eliminate 50 Dig Rats (0/50 slain)
Rewards:
50 points
A Dig Rat? What does that mean? It's just a rat, can't be that bad, right? he tried to reassure himself.
Axel took another deep breath and exhaled again, trying to dispel any worries he was unintentionally harboring, letting them set sail into the great unknown.
Axel closed the [Quest System] and looked around again. The swirling blue masses of energy gave off an ethereal, mystifying quality that beckoned people closer with promises of what lay beyond. Some had already entered the portals, but a number were still standing by the entrance of the training grounds, uncertainty rooting them to the ground.
Axel strolled along the array of portals, reading through their respective descriptions, and eventually reached his designated area. Looking up at the swirling mass of energy, he took one last deep breath before taking a step inside. Axel was not sure what to expect, but still, he expected to feel something. His body met zero resistance, effortlessly passing through as if walking through air. The transition was seamless, almost mystifying, from being surrounded by wooden palisades and swirling portals to the majestic expanse of towering trees.
He merged with the crowd that had gathered in a semi-circle before a small wooden platform positioned just in front of the portal. Axel shimmied his way through the crowd, navigating to the front for a better view.
Situated on the platform was a lone female knight. Like all the other knights so far, she had a suit of armor that exposed her head, revealing her long blond hair that draped down her back. Instead of the halberds he was accustomed to seeing, or even the occasional sword, in her hand was a whip.
Her fingers wrapped around the wooden grip, and the crowd observed in awe as she snapped her whip. Instead of leather, the main braided part of the whip was made of some sort of metallic substance that glistened in the sun with each snap of her whip. Each crack sent crackles of electricity through it and those fortunate to be on the other end of it. Luckily, neither Axel nor the group gathered were the target of the whips' voracity. Located on the opposite side of the platform were monsters. Monsters that were undoubtedly too eager to get a taste of the lady as they dove in head first, without any disregard for their safety or their friends falling like raindrops during a storm.
Like the sign in front of the portal and the quest advertised, they were indeed rats. Although dig might have been an understatement. Sure he had gotten rid of the occasional rodent that tried to burrow into hiding after pillaging his food. But this? This was insane.
The most prominent feature of the rat, other than its larger-than-life size, was their large buck teeth. Large sharp pearly whites resembling a spade jutted out of their mouths. Burrow holes dotted the ground before the platform, Dig Rats torpedoed out of them, trying to dig into the delectable flesh of the knight. The rats easily reached over knee height, even while on all fours. Among them were white, brown, and gray-furred rodents all sharing the same lust for flesh.
They got up on their hind legs and desperately tried to climb up onto the platform. Their large teeth got in the way as they scraped against the wood. Before they even had a chance to nibble away at the lady’s feet a swift crack of the whip sent a jolt of electricity that made their fur stand on end, before they came crashing back down onto the ground.
Axel could not decide which was weirder: an electric whip, rats with spades for teeth, or the fact that when the rat's body hit the floor it vanished, and even more mind-boggling was that in their place was a tuft of fur and some gold coins.
The rat's numbers dwindled with each resounding crack of the knight's whip, destroying the scurrying invaders that got too near. Soon enough all that was left was a pile of coins and fur. The Dig Rats had undoubtedly dug their own grave.
After the last crack of the whip, the lady spoke, "Sorry to keep you waiting and welcome to the training grounds. Anyway, who was attending to you guys earlier?"
Her question hung in the air, met only by silence as the group was still in shock by the spectacle they had just witnessed.
"Another quiet bunch, eh? You." she pointed right at Axel. "Tell me who was the instructor with you earlier."
"Uh, well, you see, Miss—no, I mean Ma'am," Axel stammered, his words caught in his mouth. "It was Dave, I mean Sir Dave, I mean Sir Knight Dave."
"Oh, little Davy? Isn't he a lovely fellow? With how peeved he is all the time you'd reckon he's got a rod up his tush," she chuckled.
Her jest was met with a few awkward chuckles from the crowd.
"Tough crowd."She shrugged. "Before I let you all run off and start hacking away at these ugly creatures, I am obligated to teach you more about the system. I'm sure you must've seen the Dig Rats dropping some gold and fur." She paused, placing a finger on her chin. "Well, unless you're blind. But anyway, the gist is you kill monsters, they drop gold, materials, and give you yummy yummy points to rank up. So then you must be wondering, 'Where am I going to keep all those items they drop? My bag is only so big.' Well, fear not for I am here to help you out. Now everyone, follow me. Come out, come out [Inventory]."
"Come out, come out, [Inventory]," the group echoed.
Another screen popped out in front of everyone. This time, Axel was prepared and didn't even flinch.
"Yay! Good job, everyone." She clapped. "This is your [Inventory], using it you can store your items. Pretty neat right? Anyway, inside your [Inventory] you should see a nice little gift, courtesy of the System. Just tap on the screen and open it, easy-peasy."
She was right. Within the screen, he could see a box labeled: [Beginner Weapon Pack]. He tapped on the icon, and another pop-up appeared:
[Open the Beginner Weapon Pack?]
[Yes] [No]
Axel selected [Yes]. Because who doesn’t like free stuff?
[Please select one weapon of your choice]
Displayed on the screen, there was a lineup of different weapons: a sword, dagger, hammer, axe, bow, and many more.
Overwhelmed with options, Axel chose the most familiar weapon, a sword. His trusty iron sword attached to his waist had helped him countless times on his journey to Pavhorn. It had slain many an unsuspecting animal before and would likely continue to do so until the blade grew dull, the handle fell apart, and the metal rusted away into nothingness.
[Confirm selection?]
[Yes] [No]
He pressed yes, and the [Beginner Weapon Pack] was replaced with a sword — [Wooden Training Sword].
A wooden sword? This has got to be a joke. What good is a piece of wood against rats that huge? He shook his head.
"I see that most of you are done, so now you must be wondering, 'What good is a weapon if it's stuck inside some tiny screen?' Well, now I want all of you to focus on that weapon that you chose, then reach into that screen and pull it out." She punched her fist into the air in front of her, formed a fist, and forcefully yanked her hand back with all her might, demonstrating the motion.
Axel did as told and punched the screen, he was shocked to find his hand actually entered the screen. Then again, he really did not know what to expect. Doing a double take, he kept his hand inside and checked behind the screen, only to find the other side completely devoid of any hands.
With intent on the [Wooden Training Sword], he pulled his hand back, and lo and behold, there it was now resting in his grip.
This was beyond strange, utterly mind-boggling, and maybe he was even going insane. How much more strangeness could today entail?