Initializing…
All Earth Lore has now been integrated.
Scanning…
All biological life is parsed.
Congratulations, and welcome to the System.
As an intelligent lifeform living on a newly integrated world, you now have involuntary access to an exclusive Earth-based System tutorial.
This tutorial will provide a basic understanding of the System and how it relates to the multiverse at large with additional rewards based on performance.
Compete for exclusive titles, achievements, and glory against other species in your galaxy to begin your story.
As a new initiate you gain the Title: [Babel] You can understand any foreign language as well as the language you are most proficient in.
You have 10 minutes until the beginning of the tutorial at which point you will select a starter class and be transported to a system realm with whatever you are carrying up to 500kg.
Your 10 minutes begin now.
As soon as the blue screen appeared in his vision Andrew comprehended the full content of the messages.
Before anything else, Andrew turned towards John who was slightly zoning out, and asked: “You're seeing this too right?” As soon as Andrew started to speak to him the fog in John's eyes disappeared and a cool calm came over him before he nodded slowly.
After taking a moment to think clearly about what to say next he responded “We need to grab food and essentials in our room now and then rush to the rental to grab our gear. Let’s talk there, time to move!”
As he was finishing they both rushed into motion grabbing a few items that they'd taken out of their bags and shoving them back in as they quickly scanned the room for anything useful.
John quickly snagged two smaller blankets from the closet as Andrew raided the mini-fridge for water bottles before going to the bathroom to grab all the toiletries, hurriedly tossing them into his bag before they both bolted out the door.
“No time for the elevator, we need to find the stairs,” John said as he quickly exited the room. Running through the hall they passed an older couple peaking outside their door. Slowing down only slightly they asked as they were going by “Did you see the blue screens too?.”
Only hearing a muted response in the affirmative they kept moving while Andrew shouted behind them “Make sure to grab what you can. If you follow us we might have some things that may help but move fast!”
Not wanting to delay anymore they quickly found the stairwell and bounded down taking three to four steps at a time. Thankfully they were only on the third floor but it felt like an eternity as the clock in the top right of Andrew's vision slowly ticked down.
9:12, 9:11, 9;10, 9:09, 9:08…
After noticing the clock in the top right of his vision, Andrew's phone started buzzing. Not having time to check it he continued moving waiting until he was outside to see who called although he had a pretty good idea that it was his wife
Reaching the bottom Andrew grabbed the rail to swing himself towards the exit door. As he did so he was painfully reminded of the injury on his back.
“Duck“John yelled as Andrew almost took out the exit sign with his face.
Thankful for the quick save he continued through the long hall.
8:57, 8:56, 8:55, 8:54…
Come on, we need to get to the rental. Pumping their legs John and Andrew practically flew through the hall bursting out the main doors and startling the timid receptionist who checked them in previously and John had middling success respectfully flirting with.
Once outside it didn’t take long to make it over the their rental SUV where they had all their gear from the tournament.
8:34, 8:33, 8:32…
Andrew had pulled ahead slightly and tossed his bags to the side as he scrabbled to find the keys. As soon as John heard the click of the locks he opened the trunk and started pulling their massive gear bags out and sorting them into piles.
While John sorted the gear Andrew popped his head into the front and looked around for anything they might use when he had a crazy idea. It sure wouldn’t hurt to have a car with us…
Medieval armor was not the easiest to put on at the best of times and now was certainly not the best of times. Thankfully everything was still organized and could be donned semi-quickly. There was no time to put on the full armor which depending on the skill and number of those helping could take between 15-30 minutes.
Once all the bags were out they hurriedly took off their shoes and started putting on the gear. They started by setting out all of the underlayers they could quickly get on trying to maximize their initial protection. The armor that required intricate lacing and layering would have to wait until during the tutorial.
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7:59, 7:58, 7:57…
Andrew’s phone started buzzing again and seeing it was his Wife Bri he quickly answered putting it on speaker as he continued getting dressed saying, “Hey baby, I meant to answer earlier but was running to our vehicle here. Did you get the same message?”
“It’s so good to hear your voice! Yes, I received the same message. You don’t think it’s a joke do you?” Bri responded somewhat sounding frantic at first before calming and coming across cautiously optimistic.
“I would love for it to be a joke but I think we need to treat this seriously. John and I are getting geared up with our armor from the tournament just in case.” said Andrew as John cut in saying “Hi Bri! When we find you bring cookies.”
Laughing Bri says “Of course John there'll be your favorite cookies waiting for you both assuming I can find everything. Make sure Andrew doesn’t do anything too stupid on his quest to find me.”
“The only promise I can make is that we’ll be sleeping together a lot more so don’t get too jealous,” said John.
Ignoring the regular banter from John Bri continued “Honey I love you, we found each other before and we will again. I’ll be waiting for you. Use our code if you can to help us find one another.”
“I will Baby, grab whatever you can that you want to save, who knows what’ll happen next. No matter what I love you and I’ll find you. Don’t get too far ahead of us in the tutorial. Hopefully, this is all a joke but I don’t think so. Be careful, goodbye Tendie.”
Click.
“Don’t worry I’ll take good care of you” said John deadpan.
6:35, 6:34…
After the conversation with Bri, Andrew became somber. The seriousness of the situation was starting to settle in.
I need to be prepared for anything here who knows how this will play out? Part of me was excited at first. A System! Powers? Then the pessimistic thoughts came unbidden. What if it's grimdark?… Or horror? Need to focus on existential crises later.
Securing the first easy layers Andrew went over to John to help him get his mail coat on over his gambeson. Once John was all set he returned the favor by helping Andrew into his mail.
As John was helping finish up with the last straps to secure his layers of mail. Andrew saw the receptionist from before approach with a small backpack and a trash bag full of water bottles, sports drinks, and random snacks from the kiosk at the front of the Hotel.
“Great thinking with the supplies, you never know what we might need,” said Andrew. After a more careful inspection of her nametag, he saw she was named Naomi. John followed up by saying “Naomi I know this is fast and we just yelled as we ran out but if you’d like we have some extra weapons. They are mostly blunted but we’ve got a whetstone around here somewhere.” Andrew said while gesturing over the bags in the middle.
“I'm surprised you remembered my name, I grabbed what I could and I’ve read enough manga to know what happens next,” she said sheepishly.
Looking through the bag of assorted weapons Andrew grabbed a mace and quickly looped it into his belt on the side while setting a shield and a pike to the side. After setting them out he took his trusty great axe and found a strap to sling it to his back.
He then found a short spear and handed it alongside a small sword to Naomi. As he was handing the weapons over he said “It's not much but it should get you started. We’ll go find our friends next and Mercy should have something for you to wear for more protection. She has at least a spare helmet.
John thrust a short sword about the length of a gladius into his belt before opening another large duffle bag and checking it. After confirming he had his favorite set of javelins he resealed it and loosened the straps before lifting it up and over his head and letting it drop before securing it to his back and shoulder.
“Don’t forget our bags with all of our repair materials” mentioned John as they sorted through the rest of their gear.
I would love to just take all our bags. How specific is the rule about what we can carry?
As he was finishing that thought the words of the notification appeared in his mind again:
*You have 10 minutes until the beginning of the tutorial at which point you will be brought to a system realm with whatever you can carry up to 500kg.*
Focusing on the message another section of text appeared stating:
*Anything above this limit may still be brought if the combined weight is less than the total capacity of those in contact with the objects excluding permanent structures.*
“Once you have your gear sorted see if you can find the others. Their vehicle should be nearby. If we can surround one of the SUVs it looks like we could take it with us. Even without fuel it could provide temporary shelter and let us bring more” said Andrew as they started to grab their bags and look for their friends.
4:16, 4:15…
Laden with heavy bags and looking exactly how they felt, like overburdened knights. along with a very out-of-place young woman with them, they started walking.
As they started moving John quickly called Mercy to let them know that we were on our way.
Looking around the parking lot they managed to find Mercy and the others from the reflection of the street lights off their recently dawned helmets and Charles frantic waving.
On their way, they saw the couple they had passed in the hallway and beckoned them to follow.
A few other people milled around the entrance seemingly unsure what to do.
Seeing the aimless people Andrew yelled out “Grab what you can from your vehicles and any food or supplies from nearby!”
I would love to do more but we don't have any time.
While they were walking Naomi showed them her phone saying how stories about the blue screens were all over the news and ClockClock with most people calling it a hoax or aliens.
Not sure what to think the group continued until they met up with Mercy, Zeke, and Charles.
They could hear Charles’ exuberant voice before they were anywhere near.
2:03…
They spent their last couple minutes calling family and friends before checking the equipment to make sure they didn’t forget anything. Ultimately there wasn't much time left.
Andrew quickly explained his idea about taking the car and the rest of the gear that they couldn't carry together along with a couple from the hotel whose names were Jacqueline and Hayden.
As the time reached only 10 seconds left the mismatched group started counting down together while surrounding half of Mercy's black SUV lifting it off the ground on one side while touching hands.
0:03, 0:02, 0:01, 0:00
Time is up.
Let the tutorial commence.
And it all went black.