“Shut up Octavia.” Derrick said, as he rushed over to Julia. Her face was pale,and she was shivering. Yet, she held onto a long blade and large shield that was almost her entire body size. “You alright Jules?” He asked as he bent over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Yeah. It’s just a lot to take in.” She whispered as she steadied herself.

“Tell us about it. Octavia is acting all big and bad. I’m shoving down my stress and anxiety as far as I can. Tonight, when we find a base camp, we can fall apart together and work through the trauma, yeah?” he extended a hand to the girl, helping her up.

“Sounds good to me.” She didn’t sound all that relaxed as she stood up. Her long black hair spilled across her face, standing in stark contrast to her pale skin.

“Nice gear, by the way. Better than what I have, and better than that Hoolahoop Octavia has.” He helped the black haired woman stand up before dusting off his robe.

“Hey now, respect the Hoolahoop. How else do you think I maintain this figure?” She waved a hand over her body to defend herself and show off her hard earned curves.

“Please, I’ve seen road kill with a better body than you.” The man snorted as he drew back and looked around the area.

“Wow, is that how you treat a woman, Derrick?” Octavia asked with a raised brow and a smirk on her face.

“Guys, enough. Do we know what’s going on? I mean, I got the tutorial notification on this damn screen, but still. The information feels a little lacking.” Julia sheathed her sword and picked her tower shield up and sauntered to the edge of the platform to get a better look into the forest.

"You know as much as I do. My advisor said that we would be placed in a team. Though I figured we would be split up or something. So, the question is, will we be a trio, or will a fourth be added in?” Octavia walked over towards Julia to join her in looking into the forest. Her mind swam with all the steps they would have to take to survive. Like finding shelter and fending off the beasts.

Congratulations! Your last teammate has arrived! As the system has recognized that you three are friends and were near each other when the conversion started, it has prioritized placing you together. Work as a team, and dive into the depths of the Deep Dungeon and reveal its secrets.

As you all have decided to walk the path of growth through combat, you must learn to sustain yourselves alone. In recognition of this, when you reach your level five class milestone, you will be rewarded with the Path of Combat skill tree.

Remember, your rewards are based on how deep into the dungeon you get! Happy hunting.

Time before the barrier expires: 5 minutes.

“Well, that answers that question. I guess it’s just us. Not that it matters. We all get along well enough, I believe.” Octavia turned away from the forest. “So, for starters, what did everyone select? Derrick, I see you are a mage. Anything specific?”

“I chose hydro-blast as my first spell, so more than likely I will follow that path.”

“Good, good, Jules, what did you choose?”

“I went with the tank class. A little weird I know, but whenever I played DnD it was my go to.” Julia flashed an impish grin as she bashed her sword against her tower shield. The sound of metal striking metal filled the air as she stood there menacingly.

“Weird, I’d never take you for a front liner. But it works. For me, well, I went with a rogue, but I did select the chakram as my weapon, so I have some range. Up close as well, if we need to.” As if to emphasise her words, she swung it around in a wide arc before bringing it back up to rest on her shoulder.

“What a strange weapon. It looks like a pain in the ass to carry around.” Derrick shrugged as he brought his wand back out. “Unlike this baby right here, it sits right in my robes’ arm pockets, and with a flick of my wrist, it’s ready to be used.”

“Sure thing, Harry, whatever you say. Anyway, seeing as we only have three minutes left, we need to get a game plan. Once the barrier drops, there is no telling what is going to happen. So Jules, you take the front, I can switch between range and melee, while our chosen one bombards whatever we need to from range.” Octavia fell naturally into leading. She knew what needed to be done, even if this world was new to her. Failure was not an option, and she wouldn’t let her friends perish. This was the last bit of family she had left since her parents died, and she’d be damned if anything happened to them.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Got it. Since I have a water based spell, I think we can use that for water in the future. That would leave hunting for a food source, which, if this tutorial is to be trusted, we won’t be short on anytime soon. I can take care of cooking as well.” Derrick stepped forward and brandished his wand.

“I’ll help when and where I can.” A nervous chuckle escaped from Julia’s lips as she spoke. Her fingers were bone white as they held onto the hilt of her sword.

“That’s fine. Let’s just get through this and find a place to camp out for the night.” Octavia let her chakram fall from her shoulder and back into her hand, pulling it up into a guard across her body. The information that had come from the system helped position her feet and adjust her grip. It was lacking, mostly, and everything had to be practiced, but now wasn’t the time. With the barrier falling soon, things could get hairy pretty quickly.

“No matter what, we stick together. No lone wolf shit right now. I’d rather not see you guys die.” Octavia whispered as she eyed the message, watching the time tick down with agonizing slowness. There was just over a minute left and no telling what would happen once it was gone.

The other two both responded in agreement as they waited. Thirty seconds in, a howl filled the air. One that sounded like a wolf. The forest trembled with activity as sets of eyes appeared in the shrouded lights. Octavia clenched her teeth as she gripped her weapon tighter. Damn wolves, it just had to be wolves. What a shitty way to start this.

Her calm demeanor slipped as doubt flowed into her mind. She was acting strong, but in all reality, she was actually scared. Her entire world was turned upside down by a strange system, thrusting her into this tutorial. But the fear was good. It meant she was alive. The only way open was forward, and she would take it.

The timer struck fifteen seconds, and the eyes moved in closer. A quick count showed that there were four, which was far less than what the group expected. A few scant seconds later, instead of wolves like Octavia assumed it was four rabbits that looked to be a meter and a half tall. They had puffy fur that was as white as snow, and blood-red eyes that glimmered hungrily in the light. The furthest one on the left twisted its small head towards the sky and let out another howl as they jumped towards the barrier. Octavia stared at them, and the familiar words floated through her vision.

[?] Lvl 1

[?] Lvl 2

[?] Lvl 1

[?] Lvl 1

Before anyone could comment on the absurdity of the situation, the sound of glass cracking filled the air, and hundreds of yellow, glasslike shards fell around the small team in a storm. The three of them stared at the group of bunnies, and the seconds ticked by slowly. Nothing moved as the two sides stared at each other.

“There, there, good bunnies.” Julia broke the silence as she took a step forward. In an instant, the four bunnies threw themselves into action.

The closest one howled and threw itself at the tower shield. The others lept towards Octavia, who instinctively took a step back. Her eyes widened as she tried to move farther, but she found her legs frozen. The balls of murderous death lunged with large clacking teeth and loose spittle. Her life flashed before her eyes as she watched those large teeth come to take it from her.

Was this how she died? To an overgrown rabbit? Was she so weak that this was her fate? Her grip faltered as time seemed to slow down. Those clacking teeth and blank eyes that promised death neared. Everything seemed to filter down to a single point in time, and in that moment, all that existed was her and her emotions.

“No.” The word hung on her lips as time came to a screeching halt. Sweat beaded on her forehead, only to turn to ice from the chill of fear. Despair sunk its claws into her heart with loving slowness as the murder rabbit lunged towards her.

“I..refuse…to..die..here.” Her words came out as time moved again. She twisted her wrist as she brought her chakram down in a savage motion. The grey metal parted the fur and flesh of the first rabbit with sickening ease as she stepped forward. Electricity sparked through her soul as defiance exploded within her like a bomb.

Her focus narrowed on the other two monsters as she took another step forward. She was already twisting her body, as the knowledge of how to move the chakram took over her muscles. The blade whistled as it came back around, cutting through the meat of the first rabbit's shoulder. The metallic smell of blood filled the air, as did the sound of a pained squeal as the rabbit fell into a crumpled heap.

The sound of rushing water filled her ears as a spout of water shot past her, slamming into a rabbit that was about to sink its teeth into her leg. She stepped to the side, twisting her body once more as she brought the chakram around in a tight circle around her. The blade screamed as it cut through the air and then slammed into the second rabbit. The metal easily passed through the jaw and muscle with nothing but the soft sound of metal parting flesh.

The overgrown ball of murder hissed as it caught itself at the last second and jumped back. Blood dripped from its mouth and pooled onto its fur, staining it. Hatred filled its eyes as it stomped on the ground and stared at Octavia. Almost like it was trying to challenge her.

“You wanna dance, fucker? Then let's dance.” She hissed as she rushed forward. Her weapon was already gliding through the air, and she lunged at the creature.