Instantly, a debilitating wave of weakness swept over him. His skin prickled and burned, and a lance of pain shot through his skull, causing his vision to blur. He cried out in pain, but almost as soon as the pain had coursed through him, it was gone. In its place was a feeling of warmth and wellbeing, flooding through every part of his body. Jeff felt changes taking place, down to a cellular level.Laughing out loud in wonder, Jeff sprang to his feet, marvelling at the new strength which had been imbued in his muscles. Jeff hadn’t been a weakling before; workouts and strength training from an early age had ensured he was in good physical condition. Now though, he felt an almost superhuman sensation of power running through his veins. His whole body felt pumped up, and although it wasn't possible to verify, Jeff felt that he had grown at least a couple of inches in height. His eyesight, which before had been on the verge of requiring laser correction, was now so sharp that Jeff could see the far side of the room. Looking down at his hands he was able to see individual pores and the smallest hairs in such detail it was as if he was looking through a microscope.
Gingerly, Jeff ran his tongue between his teeth. What the hell? The edges of his canines and incisors seemed to be sharper, longer than before. His back teeth were broader and more defined as well. Clamping his mouth shut and rubbing his chin and mouth with his hand, he noticed his jaw seemed wider, and more muscular…more chiseled. Pulling his phone from his jacket pocket, Jeff studied his reflection. His facial features had been definitely altered by the upgrade, as if the image had been run through a filter to make him look more handsome.
Jeff once again returned his attention to the system interface, showing various statistics.
DISPLAY PROFILE
NAME: Jeff Nostro
RACE: Human
ALIGNMENT: Neutral Good
HEALTH POINTS (HP): 80/80
MANA POINTS (MP): 70/70COINS: 0
Strength: 3
Speed: 2
Vitality: 2
Endurance: 1
Cognition: 3
Offense: 1
Defense: 2
Total Attribute Points: 14/200
CLASS: Steel Mage Level 1
SKILLS: Path of Arcana & Blade (F Grade)
Necromancer (Unlock at Level 2)
“As you level up your class, new skills will become available. When your combined attribute points reach the maximum you will level up. Of course, the only way to level up is by practice. For this reason we will proceed with the tutorial shortly, in order for you to become proficient with the system.”
“And Mana points?” Jeff asked.
“Mana points are used towards the application of spells and various other magical processes. When you start on the Path of Arcana & Blade and practice your necromancy skill, you will find that the larger your reservoir of mana points becomes, the more devastating the effect of your spells will be. The regeneration of your mana reserve can be speeded up through meditation and cycling techniques. You can access all of your available skills through your display console."
Jinx continued speaking as Jeff perused the array of statistics in front of him. Lingering on his inventory, he noticed that more information was available on individual items.
ITEM: [Long Sword - Stormcaller] Legendary Rank - +12 Offense - Equipped
The origin’s of this sword have been lost in the mists of time; some say it was created by a secret society dedicated to ending The Tournament and smashing the Vogel’s tyrannical rule of the galaxy. According to legend, it imbues its wielder with secret powers above and beyond those allocated by The Tournament ranking system.
So somehow a Legendary sword had fallen into his possession. When he glanced down at the sword, he saw that below the silver pommel was engraved the same symbol he had seen in his vision - the eye in the hexagon. Jeff wondered once again at the selection process and how he had come to be in this situation in the first place.
Jeff looked once again at the ‘Skills’ section of the display. Mentally prodding the first item on the list, revealed a window showing several new choices.
Path of Arcana & Blade
1. Infinite Sword. One blade becomes many with this technique. Transforms a melee weapon into one capable of a ranged attack
2. Cutting Edge. Increases the sharpness of a blade 10-fold, causing greatly increased damage
Necromancer (Unlock at Level 2)
1. Soulsucker. Used in conjunction with a magical offensive weapon, can draw mana and HP directly from the victim
Jeff selected the Infinite Sword technique and waited. And waited.
“Nothing’s happening…”
“You need to use the skill in conjunction with your weapon to activate it.” Said Jinx.
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Jeff pulled Stormcaller from the sheath on his back and held it out in front of him. Once again he activated the technique. As he waved the long sword in front of him in an arc, a shimmering line of light appeared its edge, emanating outwards away from him. SCHWING… Jeff heard a swishing sound, as if hundreds of blades were being swung in front of him. Apart from the unearthly sound, there was no other effect. Jeff did notice however that a bar had appeared in the corner of his vision, showing that his mana points had been depleted, dropping from 70 to 50.
Disappointed at the underwhelming technique, Jeff was about to sheath his sword when Jinx spoke up. “That technique requires targets in order to fully observe the effect. Permission to deploy moving targets?”
Jeff gave his assent.
“Targets are generated randomly from memories and racial archetypes from your subconscious. This will improve game play during the tournament and increase audience engagement. By the way, this feed is being broadcast live on your home planet and throughout the galactic metaweb right now.”
Jeff made out a group of four figures, slowly moving in his direction. As the group got closer Jeff heard the noise of a revving engine. Squinting, Jeff slowly started to make out more details. The diminutive characters slowly shambled towards him, one of them twirling a gas powered chainsaw round and round his head, which was the cause of the racket. A glowing yellow nimbus the color of the system dialog hovered over their heads, indicating that more information was available.
Jeff focused on the lead figure and mentally selected its stat console.
NAME: Leetus Nakraz
RACE: Goblin
ALIGNMENT: Neutral Evil
HEALTH POINTS (HP): 30/30 +10
MANA POINTS (MP): 10/10
REWARD: 10 Coins
Total Attribute Points: 9
There was no mention of a class, or a breakdown of the creature’s attributes in the stats console, so Jeff assumed that this was not a piece of information made immediately available by the system.
The creatures were short, with green skin, pointed ears and features so exaggerated they were almost cartoon-like, but despite being non-human in appearance, they were also strangely reminiscent of the rednecks Jeff had grown up with in the Smokey mountains. Unhealthy complexions covered in bad tattoos, clothed in ill fitting farm-wear, mesh trucker hats and red baseball caps, their bodies were grotesque and misshapen. The bizarreness of the spectacle was accentuated by the sterile background the group marched through, the polar opposite of the normal rural setting in which you would find such types.
The one wielding the chainsaw was wearing a full face mask made from patches of human skin crudely stitched together, from several different victims by the looks of it. Behind the rough eye holes two glowing red orbs blazed malevolently.
The other two goblins started to lumber ahead of the group, slack jawed and bleary eyed, snaggle toothed mouths hanging open.
Jeff pulled himself together and once more leveled Stormcaller at the two approaching goblins and activated the infinite sword technique. This time, as well as hearing the sound of blades whooshing he was able to see an effect. Multiple cuts appeared on the bodies of the two monsters; the shoulder straps of the bib overalls of the one on the right were cut through, causing his pants to fall down around his ankles, tripping him over in the process.
“You cut me…” moaned the leftmost goblin, blood dripping from multiple wounds on his torso and arms. A glowing bar had appeared directly over the character, revealing that his health had been reduced by 50%. Roaring in rage, he charged at full pelt towards Jeff.
This time Jeff decided to activate the Cutting Edge technique; bringing the sword crashing down onto the head of the approaching figure. Jeff was equal parts amazed and horrified when the sword sliced all the way through the skull with no resistance - the creature’s head, neck and upper body were completely bisected, affording a grisly anatomical view of its innards. Jeff was distracted from the disturbing sight by a tinkling, ringing sound, reminiscent of the noise an electronic slot machine makes when you hit the jackpot. In the corner of his vision a cascade of stylized gold coins rained down.
Still distracted by the gory spectacle of the bisected corpse, Jeff failed to notice the other goblin bearing down on him with the chainsaw. Almost too late, he managed to grapple with the creature, preventing it from lowering the spinning blades of the saw towards him.
Meanwhile, Leetus had approached from the other side and latched on to him in a bear hug. Lowering his head, he bit Jeff savagely on the shoulder. He hissed in his ear, a terrible stench emanating from his gaping maw. The goblin’s teeth razored through flesh and muscle, inflicting a serious wound from which copious amounts of blood began to flow.
Panic setting in, Jeff shouted out “Jinx, switch them off, NOW!” but received no response.
Jeff elbowed Leetus in the face and kicked the other approaching goblin between the legs, giving him valuable seconds to stumble back. Jeff was losing blood rapidly, a steady stream pumping out of his shoulder and streaming down his arm, causing him to almost lose his grip on the now slippery hilt of the sword.
Taking Stormcaller in a two handed grip, he swung at the chainsaw wielding goblin now approaching him, simultaneously triggering the Cutting Edge technique… to no effect. Jeff realized belatedly that he was out of mana points. Even without the technique, Jeff still managed to inflict a serious blow on the creature’s arm, nearly severing the limb and more importantly causing him to drop the chainsaw. Jeff was about to step in to administer the coup de gras but Leetus was fast approaching, hissing and snarling in fury, his mouth and lower face smeared with Jeff’s blood.
Spinning round Jeff planted his foot in Leetus’s face, knocking him to the floor. Losing patience with the whole thing, Jeff stepped forward and slashed down with his sword, neatly decapitating the creature, his head, red baseball cap still attached, rolling several yards away. Once again the stylised slot machine payout sound rang out and more coins cascaded down the right side of his vision.
Meanwhile the other goblin was struggling to pick up the still spinning chainsaw with his one good arm. Stepping forward and thrusting with his sword, Jeff skewered him neatly through the eyehole of his leather face mask, causing the red light in the other mask hole to flicker and die out.
The one remaining combatant was still rolling on the floor, his legs tangled in his overalls, flopping uselessly. Jeff stood over him, panting. Clutching at his bleeding shoulder, he shouted angrily “Jinx, where were you goddammit? I told you to stop!”
“I’m sorry Jeff, it is not possible to cancel a training session until all the targets have been eliminated.”
Grumbling, Jeff stood over the last goblin, about to bring his sword crashing down once again. Suddenly he was struck by the spectacle before him; the goblin peering up at him from its supine position, rendered harmless by its clothing malfunction, seemed almost pitiful to Jeff.
Fascinated, Jeff’s eyes travelled the length of the goblin’s body. The attention to detail was astounding, from the bad mullet hairstyle from which two goblin ears poked forth, down to the tattoos adorning its torso. The goblin stopped struggling and stared up at Jeff malevolently. “Leetus was my best good friend and you killed him… Ima gonna get you back for that you hear?”
Jeff stared down at the goblin in disbelief, feeling some qualms about killing the creature in cold blood.
“Jinx, this… thing seems very realistic to me, does it feel pain?”
“No Jeff” replied Jinx “It is merely a construct, like in your video games. Think of it as a something like a non player character. We cannot move on the next stage of the tutorial until all targets are eliminated.”
Jeff reminded himself that he was in a battle for the survival of his whole species. Strengthening his resolve, he pushed the point of Stormcatcher into the creatures chest. The goblin wheezed once before expiring. As before, coins poured down the right side of Jeff’s vision.