Chapter 1:
It was just another dull Monday morning. The heavy rainfall did nothing to stir the man from his heavy sleep, it was only when an intruder entered his serene sanctuary that he was forced back into consciousness.
“… han, Ethan. Wake up honey, you have a doctor’s appointment this morning, remember?”
As the lady continued to speak in tongues, she checked her phone before planting a quick kiss on the young man’s forehead.
“I’ve got to run, or I’ll be late, Dad will pick you up from the hospital. Bye honey, love you.”
“Mhmm love you too Mum.” Finally coming to, Ethan gave his Mum a drowsy farewell as she ran off to her 9-5. Pulled from his sweet dreams, Ethan couldn’t help the expectation that had bubbled up from within. Just moments ago, he had been back running, swimming, cycling, doing all the things he loved, and it had felt so, so real. Now firmly back in the present, Ethan forced his heavy legs over the side of the bed to where his wheelchair was waiting.
A messy bed of overgrown brown hair and an unkempt appearance, Ethan appeared quite run-down as the young man stared at himself through his full body mirror. Now permanently stuck in the lower half of the mirror, Ethan saw two tired looking eyes staring back at him as he wheeled himself away from his depressing reality.
Out of all the changes that had occurred within the house since the injury, his forced dependence on this accursed thing was what Ethan despised the most. Every time he was forced to wheel himself around to even go across his room, it was like a punch in the gut reminding him that this would be for the rest of his life. Sure, maybe some miracle surgery could one day fuse his spine back into place, but when would that be? And how much would that cost? Ethan knew his family was already scraping the bottom of the barrel with all his treatment costs and it wasn’t like a doctor was just going to operate for free.
Although these errant thoughts instilled a sadness inside Ethan, all his tears had long been used up. Sulking about the harsh reality any longer would just make it even harder for everyone else. Speaking of family, Ethan decided to go bid his dearest sister a visit, what better way to cheer up than for some familial bonding.
Sneaking across the hallway as stealthily as one could in a wheelchair, Ethan gently pushed open the door labelled as “Stacie’s Room”. The large door-sign was printed with a bright pink background full of flowers, why couldn’t his sister’s actual personality be like that? Welcoming himself into the dimly lit room, Ethan gently woke his precious sister up. Blasting the original iPhone alarm sound at max volume was considered gentle, right?
With even Ethan cringing at the unpleasant sound, Stacie showed an even worse reaction as she slammed her pillows over her head, trying to block out the noise.
“AHHHH Fuck off Ethan!” Ahh… Sibling bonding at its finest. Deciding that any more would put him at serious bodily risk, Ethan switched off the blaring alarm as Stacie warily removed her improvised ear protection.
“Come on we’ve got a check-up in two hours, why aren’t you ready yet?”
“… I hate you so much.” His sisters voice, tinged with irritation, floated from the depths of her pillow fort.
Feeling victorious Ethan scurried out of the room with a gremlin-like laugh, if he didn’t want to find himself smothered to death in his sleep than it’d be best to stop his antics here. Now fully awake, Ethan rolled down to the kitchen to go fix Stacie and himself a quick breaky. Only being out of hospital for a couple of weeks, he was still getting used to the slopes his family had installed to cover up the stairs. It was just another show of love that instilled a warm feeling within himself.
Buttering up four pieces of toast Ethan lightly spread a layer of thin vegemite on one piece and a thick slathering on the other to suit his and his sisters’ preferences. Leaving the other two plain, Ethan wheeled himself into his designated spot at the table before digging into the simple but satisfying meal. Just as he had finished up, Stacie finally came down looking haggard as ever. Her tangled blonde hair and sleep bags under her hazel eyes made her look like she had arisen from the dead, not that she cared since her current focus was solely on the warm toast in front of her.
Like Ethan was pre-injury, Stacie took after their parents and trained every day to be fit, or she used to before university had started ramping up in intensity. Now with a week off mid-semester break she seemed more than eager to spend it catching up on sleep and polishing off what assignments she had left.
Ignoring the death-stare Stacie sent his way, Ethan rolled himself to the bathroom and went through his regular morning routine. After waiting around for another hour, it was finally time to head to the hospital. It never hurt to get there early, and the sooner Ethan could leave, the better. A multiple month-long stay had created a natural hatred for the place, from the smell to the sounds, everything had become a triggering memory for Ethan as he found himself wishing he had the ability to time skip.
Leaving the wheelchair folded up in the trunk, the siblings made their way to the hospital in Stacie’s beat-up corolla.
“Who’s picking you up? I’m going round to Riley’s after.”
“Oh, Dad is, you home for dinner then? Mum said something about take-away.”
“Hmm maybe, if its Indian than yeah I’ll be home.”
Following along with the mundane conversation, Stacie continued to drive through the Monday-morning traffic as Ethan looked blankly out the window. In the far distance, a black dot appeared amidst the dark rain clouds. Watching it, the dot grew and grew, and grew before it consumed the entire sky. Left in darkness, the last thing Ethan felt was his sisters trembling hand gently squeezing his, before his consciousness was cut and darkness engulfed him entirely.
*TELEPORTING*
*Teleportation Successful, Welcome Human of… Earth. The Tutorial will commence briefly*
With a feeling of déjà vu, Ethan woke up for the second time that morning, but unlike earlier he no longer found himself in the familiar environment of his room. Noticing himself lying down Ethan was able to see his naked body perfectly as he panicked to cover himself up. Luckily the only thing around him was darkness, it surrounded him as nothing else was visible in sight.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Am I… Dead?”
Remembering that he had been in the car with his sister before blacking out, threatened to overwhelm Ethan. Was Stacie dead too?
“No Human, you are not dead.”
A disjointed voice cut through the silence, robotic and devoid of any emotion. Startled by the sudden intrusion, a figure appeared before Ethan. This… thing, had no distinct shape or form as it seamlessly blended into the darkness around it. The only indication of something being there at all was an indistinct silhouette, constantly shifting and wavering like a mirage. Ethan wasn’t sure if it was transparent or just naturally the same colour as the room around it, but it certainly wasn’t human.
“So uh, where are we?” Ethan asked trying to hide the tremble in his voice.
The figure remained silent for a moment before responding, adding to its unsettling presence.
“That is of no importance. You will be momentarily moved to the Tutorial but before that, I will bestow a blessing upon you. Lie still.”
Well not like I can move much anyway. Ethan was tempted to respond with his usual childish banter, but pissing off the mystery figure that was speaking nonsense seemed like a great way to die early. Choosing to keep his mouth shut, a sensation shot up Ethan's body. An electric tingle moved from his heart and spread to every direction, his head, his fingers, his toes, the sensation tickled every part of his body.
Wait, my… legs? For the first time in months Ethan felt his legs. Scared of losing this feeling or messing up whatever was causing this, Ethan remained still as he was told to. After a few more moments, the feeling dissipated as an empty feeling was left within him. Thinking it was too good to be true Ethan kicked his foot down in a show or irritation.
Not reacting for a second, he sat up incredulously. His legs, they were working. Feeling his back, Ethan felt nothing out of place. The only somewhat logical answer was the ‘blessing’ the black figure was talking about. Just about ready to sink to his knees in thanks, Ethan's actions were interrupted by his saviours next words.
“You have been blessed and will now be transported to the Tutorial.”
Without even a tinge of warmth or emotion at all, the voice spoke out once again before disappearing back into the darkness. Just seconds later, a vertigo-like sensation overcame Ethan as he forced himself down lest he fall over. Standing was posing no problems so far, but he still had his concerns about the sudden miracle treatment he had received. Sitting down, a world of colour embraced Ethan as he suddenly found himself surrounded by people.
Filling up the solid concrete square, people started popping up out of nowhere around him. Everyone else appeared equally startled by this development as a cacophony of voices overlapped. Everyone was screaming as a myriad of different languages filled the room, and just as it hit a crescendo, silence once again reigned supreme. As much as they tried, the people around Ethan were currently just opening their mouths without sound, and it looked quite silly.
Naturally, Ethan also tested it out just to hear absolutely nothing. As curios as he was about this sudden phenomenon, the large blue screen appearing before him was suitable enough of a distraction. Reading through the message, Ethan slowly came to a shallow understanding of the circumstances he found himself in.
Welcome Humans of Earth!
As your planet is undergoing Ascension, you will be required to complete the Tutorial before being sent back to your world.
Progressing further into the Tutorial will grant you rewards able to be taken back to your planet!
For more information, please read through the supplied pamphlet courtesy of ‘The System’.
Well, this is certainly not what Ethan had expected when waking up this morning. Every part of the message invoked curiosity, what did Earth’s Ascension entail? How do we complete the tutorial? What rewards are we talking about here? Questions flooded Ethans mind as his attention shifted to the foreign object which suddenly entered his hand. Surprised by the sensation, Ethan jumped back just to see the same reaction being mimicked by others around him. At least he wasn’t the only one who got spooked.
Although he wanted to read through the pamphlet as told by the message, a second blue window appeared replacing the initial one.
You have received: System’s Blessing (EX)
A blessing provided to all races under the System’s guidance, granting a variety of boons that allow world to prosper in unity.
- Grants Skill: Linguists Gift (EX): Allows the bearer to understand and communicate in all languages.
- Grants One-Time Boon: Full Heal: Instantly restores the bearer to full health, healing all injuries and ailments.
Well now I know why I’m able to stand normally just like this then. With this second message, it became clear that his recovery had been thanks to the full heal provided by the ‘System’s blessing’. Getting kidnapped and sent into a void-like dimension certainly wasn’t the best way to start a relationship, but healing a dislocated spine was definitely getting them on the right track. With no other screens popping up to distract him, Ethan started his read through of the pamphlet that had magically appeared in his hands.
Welcome Humans of Earth!
This handout is designed to give YOU an understand of what comes next!
1. Primary Objective: Your only goal is to reach the highest floor possible, by any means necessary.
2. Time Limit: Participants are given a maximum time of one week per floor. Use your time wisely.
3. Permitted Actions: All forms of violence are permitted. Be prepared for both monster and human adversaries.
4. Earning Points: As you progress through the Tutorial, you will earn points which can be used at any shop or after the completion of the tutorial.
5. Point transferability: Points are transferrable between participants, if you slay another participant you earn 50% of their current points.
After reading this, you will be teleported in a brief moment.
Good Luck!
Well that gave Ethan something to think about. Stuffing the pamphlet in his pants, he braced for impact… until nothing came. As everyone else around him also started looking on in curiosity, the room started thinning out as people started vanishing. Just as fast as they appeared, people were once again being teleported away. As Ethan watched someone next to him suddenly vanish leaving empty space, his surroundings went through a blender as a wave of vertigo hit him. Brought toppling to the ground, Ethan found himself sitting on soft dirt that stuck to the hair on his legs. Pushing himself up, he observed his surroundings.
Sound once again returned as Ethan found himself surrounded by a sea of green and brown. Smack dab in the middle of a forest, birds sung their sweet melodies as nature surrounded him. Out of all the things he had missed stuck in that damn chair, this right here was one of the things he missed most. After his gruelling training, Ethan would often take some time to cooldown and destress by going for a walk along the trails near their house, it was always a pleasant way to pass the time.
Reliving the times he had thought he could never experience again, Ethan was too caught up in his serene thoughts to hear the light footsteps that had appeared behind him.
*KYAAAAAAA*
A scream pierced through the area as something came bursting through the foliage behind him, without ample time to react, Ethan found himself diving head first away from the little green blob that had appeared in his peripheral vision. With that failed ambush, Ethan managed to lay his eyes on his attacker.
Yes, he had just stumbled upon a feral looking goblin.