Rayna sat alone at the only table remaining in the tavern as she perused a book on runes. The steady clang of metal accompanied her studies as Patty and Helga sparred in the center of the room.

Rayna wasn’t sure if she would use any of the things she was learning about runes, but she thought if she familiarized herself with the basic concepts, she might be able to figure out what her stuff did. She spent the last week skimming through some of the books in Phira’s collection, trying to find any of the runes that decorated her items.

So far, she wasn’t having much luck.

“Five minute warning,” Bob called to the others, taking a seat next to Rayna.

Helga and Patty put their swords away and joined them at the table.

“Ready to go?” Patty held a glowing hand over a long shallow gash on her arm.

“Do we have a choice?” Rayna asked, stowing the artifact in her Inventory.

“Not even in the slightest,” Patty said with a small smile. “I just hope the Administrator listened to some of our suggestions.”

“If he did, he probably messed them up anyway,” Helga said with a sigh.

“He means well,” Rayna said. “But his execution leaves much to be desired.”

“What he needs is a mentor,” Bob said. “Someone who’s worked in the industry longer and can teach him what constitutes good and bad game design.”

Rayna laughed. “I’m not sure those apply when you have to factor real life problems into the power balancing.”

Bob shrugged. “It still might help.”

Rayna had told the others all about her trial while they waited for the tutorial to continue, including her run in with Eldar and his subsequent realization. Bob had made several jokes about Rayna being the ‘voice of humanity’, to which Rayna just rolled her eyes and moved on.

“At least he probably didn’t make it harder,” Patty said. “If we’re lucky, he might actually take the time to find us proper Tutorial Leaders.”

Rayna frowned. “I thought your group had one assigned from the start.”

Helga said their Tutorial Leader was a reptilian man with bat wings growing out of his back. Rayna couldn’t quite picture it without the image morphing into a dragon.

“And he’s terrible,” Patty said. “The moment we mentioned being kidnapped, he turned hostile and refused to give us any information. We’re basically flying blind, and the System hasn’t done anything to punish him. It took six hours for it to decide that ‘stay in your rooms’ was no longer a reasonable command.”

“Seriously?” Rayna was beginning to think that her group dodged a bullet.

“Yeah,” Helga said. “I understand appreciating the System’s gifts and all, but the idol worship is a little concerning. I wouldn’t be surprised if they pray to the System when they’re in trouble.”

Phira was more down to earth because of her ‘stint as a System slave’, as she liked to call it, but even she didn’t like it when Rayna or her new friends criticized the System Administrator or the System in general.

“Well, we’ll just have to rub it in a little when we get back,” Bob said. “Now that we’ve been proven right, I mean.”

“Only if the System Administrator owns up to his mistake,” Helga said. “For all we know, he’ll try to sweep everything under the rug and blame us for not believing him in the first place.”

“If he was going to do that, he would have left us in that death game of a tutorial,” Patty pointed out. “I’m willing to believe that he’s trying, even if he sucks at his job.”

"How long do we have left?” Bob asked, looking at his watch. It was still working, since the battery would last years, but it had taken the better part of three days to get the time close to accurate.

Rayna pulled up the notification that they all received a week ago.

The System Administrator is preparing an adjusted tutorial. The estimated completion time is one week. During that time, the System advises that you practice combat strategies and team tactics. Additionally, a list of recommended reading materials has been added to each of the forums. If you don’t have access to these reading materials, you can talk to your Tutorial Leaders, who have been given a summary of the contents of each of these books.

Please make sure that all loose items are stowed in your Inventory at least 5 minutes before the end of the timer to avoid any lost or damaged property.

Time remaining until players are returned to the tutorial: 1m 24s.

“Minute and a half,” Rayna said.

She read all of the suggested materials, mostly because three of the five books mentioned were ones that she had already gone through. She had loaned her bestiaries to the others so they could read them as well, but the other two books—one on fighting in teams and the other on basic weapon maintenance—were ones that she found in her library, so she couldn’t lend them out if she wanted to.

“You better keep in touch,” Patty said. “If you’re not sure where to find us, just check the top of the rankings when we get out of the tutorial.”

“If there are rankings,” Helga reminded her.

Bob grinned. “If there aren’t, just search for the craziest group of numskulls tearing through the monsters of Ember. I’m sure someone is going to notice us.”

Rayna smiled. “I feel like I’ll be easier to find, what with the race change and all.”

Patty shrugged. “Quiet people are always harder to find. Now take our Guild Leader, she was impossible to ignore! Threw herself into a horde of monsters and just trusted her healing spells to keep her alive through the ordeal. It worked, too.”

Rayna wanted to talk more, since she hadn’t heard a lot about their guild in the past week, but there were only twenty seconds left on the timer.

“You all better survive the tutorial,” Rayna said seriously. “You have to take responsibility as my mentor.”

Patty grinned, winking at Rayna. “See you on the flip side.”

The timer hit zero and the world went white.

Rayna hit the stones hard as her chair disappeared. Her amulet activated, healing her bruised tailbone.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

Yep. Should have been standing for that one.

At least Rayna wasn’t the only one who made the mistake. She noticed several people getting to their feet, rubbing their backsides and looking sheepish.

Before Rayna could recover her dignity, a voice rang out across the courtyard.

“Rayna!”

She turned just in time for Emma to launch herself into a hug, squeezing Rayna so tight, she was surprised her amulet didn’t react.

Rayna laughed. “Fifteen Endurance, remember?”

Emma released her immediately, taking a step back. “Sorry.”

Rayna shook her head. “I was joking. Are you all right?” She looked Emma up and down, but she couldn’t find any evidence of recent injuries.

Although, with the ridiculously powerful healing magic on Ember, that didn’t mean much.

“Am I all right?” Emma asked incredulously. “I’m not the one who picked the week-long mystery trial. Janet couldn’t tell me anything, so I expect full details.” She looked at Rayna’s name tag with a frown. “You didn’t level up?”

“It’s a long story,” Rayna said. She was saved from having to tell it all right there by a System notification.

Welcome back to the tutorial!

Along with the notification, two large portals appeared in the courtyard. They were similar to the first trial portals, except that they had writing above them. Over the left portal was the word ‘real’ and over the right one was ‘simulated’.

Rayna wasn’t sure what that meant, so she turned back to the notification.

The following is an explanation of the adjusted tutorial. Instead of a series of trials, the tutorial will now consist of a single trial that will take place over the course of the next 30 days.

The Trial

There are two portals. Participants may enter either of these doors a total of 100 times during the tutorial period. A failed attempt will still count as an attempt. Note: there will be no penalties for choosing not to participate, but it is strongly suggested that each player attempt the trial at least once.

The portal on the right leads to simulated monsters, while the portal on the left leads to real monsters. The simulated monsters cannot kill you, but attacks from them will still cause pain. If your simulated HP falls to zero, you will have failed the attempt.

The enemies will not be random. Instead, the player will choose the level and species of their opponent. In the case of real monsters, if a suitable monster cannot be found, the trial taker will be asked to choose again.

Additionally, in the case of real monsters, you may not challenge a monster that is more than two levels higher than yourself. There are no limitations on the simulation but be aware that a failed attempt will not give any rewards.

Entering in Teams

The trial may be taken in groups of up to five players. The rewards for the trial will be split evenly between every member that landed a blow on a monster or supported a teammate during the trial.

Attempting Multiple Monsters Simultaneously

In the case of teams, you may choose one monster for every one player that attempts the trial. The monsters may differ in level, but they cannot consist of more than one species. In other words, a team of two players may choose to fight a Level 1 Robi and a Level 2 Robi simultaneously, but they cannot challenge a Level 1 Robi and a Level 1 Cruennix Wolf.

Trial Rewards

The simulated trial will only award 10% of the Experience that one would receive upon killing a real monster of the same species and level. The real monsters will award full Experience, as well as a coin reward. The number of coins awarded will depend on the level and species of the monster.

!!Caution!! For this trial, there will be less protections than in the previous one. The System will be unable to teleport a player out of the trial regardless of their situation. Attempting more than you can handle may lead to serious injury or death.

All of this information, as well as a record of your attempts and rewards, can be found in the trial section that has been added to your System Menu.

Finally, the System Administrator would like to apologize for the misunderstanding that led to this unfortunate situation. While he is unable to send you home, he hopes that helping you grow will show that he bears no ill will against Earth or any of its inhabitants. He has heard your feedback over the past week and wishes to know more so he can figure out how best to rectify the situation. As such, the forums will remain open for the duration of the tutorial.

Thank you for your understanding.

“We don’t have to fight anymore?” someone asked in a hopeful voice. “That’s what it’s saying, isn’t it? ‘There will be no penalties for choosing not to participate’. We can just wait it out.”

“Why would you do that?” a man asked. “The description says that simulations can’t kill you. Didn’t this just turn back into a video game?”

“But they only give a tenth of the Experience,” a woman said. “The Level 1 Robi I killed didn’t even get me to Level 2. It would take forever to level that way.”

Conversations erupted all over the courtyard, everyone shouting to be heard over the rest. Rayna prepared to retreat toward the stair sin the event this turned into a full out brawl.

“Quiet!” a woman shouted, taking a few steps out of the group to stand in front of the two portals.

Silence fell immediately. Rayna blinked, looking around in confusion until she noticed the woman’s name tag.

[Janet Lindale — Level 1]

[Tutorial Leader]

So, this was their Tutorial Leader. Janet Lindale adjusted her glasses, her long brown hair pulled back in a neat ponytail.

“As far as I can tell, the System is giving us a chance to prepare ourselves for life outside of the tutorial. You can take that opportunity or you can leave it, but it’s up to each individual to decide. I recommend forming teams, each with at least one Healer and one damage dealer.

“No one will stop you from attempting real monsters, but remember the events of the first trial when you’re deciding what level to challenge. I have three copies of each of the bestiaries, which will be available to read in the courtyard only, so we can make sure people have a chance to properly research before making their attempts.

“Finally, while I won’t try to talk you out of attempting the trial right away, I suggest you pace yourselves. A hundred attempts over thirty days is only three attempts per day, meaning you can take a few days to prepare first without hurting your chances of success.”

She looked over the crowd and nodded encouragingly. “This trial is the best case scenario, everyone. Be safe, and don’t approach the left portal unless you’re confident you can come back alive. I’ll be available in the courtyard from sunrise to sunset if you have any questions about the trial.”

“What about you?” a concerned voice asked from somewhere in the crowd. “Aren’t you not allowed to participate in the trials?”

A few voices echoed the woman’s concern.

The Tutorial Leader smiled. “The ban has been lifted in light of the changes to the tutorial,” she said. “I will be able to fight alongside you all, but I’m a bit behind so I hope you’ll all take good care of me.”

There were a few chuckles and some nodding heads as the mood of the crowd improved drastically from the near panic a few minutes before.

“I can see why the Administrator made her Tutorial Leader,” Rayna said. “She turned everything around in less than five minutes.”

Emma grinned. “She’s a bit of a handful at times, but well worth it.”

Rayna raised an eyebrow. “Look at the pot calling the kettle black.”

Emma stuck her tongue out as the crowd started to filter out of the courtyard. It seemed most people were taking Janet’s advice to take it easy, while a few people headed to an empty part of the courtyard to discuss strategies.

Rayna grabbed Emma’s arm and pulled her toward the stairs. “Come on, I have so much to tell you. And you need to tell me everything!”

“You’re not going to try out the trial tonight?” Emma asked.

Rayna snorted. “I’m not trying anything until a few people have gone through. In the first trial I got stuck with an awl pike that I could barely pick up because I didn’t realize weapon choices were final.”

Emma looked concerned. “You mean you’re going in without a weapon?”

Rayna shook her head. “I got a couple points in Strength from a title. It’s more manageable now. The point is, I don’t want to be the one making dumb mistakes this time.”

“That is surprisingly sensible of you.”

Rayna stopped, turning to frown at her friend. “What’s that supposed to mean.”

Emma crossed her arms. “Miss I-got-myself-stuck-in-a-week-long-death-trial is really asking me that?”

“But I didn’t meet a single monster during that week, so I’d say I chose correctly.”

They climbed the stairs, Rayna having to rely on Emma’s memory to get back to her room. She had only been in it once and that was two weeks ago.

Rayna sat down on her bed, laying back with a contented sigh.

“What, they didn’t have beds in Overflow?” Emma teased, sitting down next to Rayna.

“Overflow?”

“It’s just what we called City 15,” Emma explained.

“Ah. Well, we had them, but the tutorial beds are nicer. They don’t smell like mothballs.”

“All right, spill it,” Emma said, pulling Rayna back up to a sitting position. “I’ve been waiting two weeks for this explanation, it better be good.”