The Sun was setting behind the horizon. A train moving through the mountainous terrain heading south.
Aaron played Stardew Valley, planting some fairy roses for Sophia. On the table also lay his ticket and a bottle filled with juice.
On his way to the main office, like every Sunday, not getting why he had to go there every week. They only wanted him there for about an hour anyway.
Already looking forward to the next day when he could return to the coast. There was a …
He fell unconscious without any warning.
***
Aaron stood on top of a hill. In total, unnatural, silence.
One moment he had been sitting on the train, the next he had stood on this hill overlooking a sizable grassland surrounded by a forest.
In front of him hovered a text box.
*68th Expansion in Progress*
A Universe has achieved the threshold and will now be integrated into the System. All civilized lifeforms have been transported into System tutorials.
Quest Added: System tutorial.
Tutorial Goal: Defense
Tutorial ID: 3402
Duration: 84 Days
Tutorial Information: The moon-horn rabbits lived a peaceful life, free of any worry. But then the hunters appeared. They leave the forest every night to kill the moon-horn rabbits. Protect the moon-horn rabbits from the hunters. Who knows, you might find out who is behind them.
Loss conditions:
* All moon-horn rabbits are killed
or
* All participants are killed
Win conditions:
* At least one moon-horn rabbit survives the entire duration
or
* All hunters are eliminated
Survive, fight, explore, grow. The tutorial grants many opportunities for improvement.
Remaining moon-horn rabbits: 5000/5000
Remaining participants: 500/500
All contestants must choose their starting skill for the tutorial to start.
Waiting for: 500/500 participants
Aaron reads the window stumped. This seemed like some kind of tutorial quest for a game, only it involved a ton of people. So, each of them would have to protect 10 horned rabbits at night. He shudders at the thought, what those hunters could be. Other humans? Or some kind of monster? He didn't know, and he wasn't sure, that he wanted to know.
He looked back at the window. Rereading it, he noticed one number changing.
Waiting for: 497/500 participants
It seemed, that some had come to a decision, while he hadn't even figured out how to do it.
Please choose a Skill.
* …
* Analyze (Inferior)
* …
* Basic Bow Mastery (Inferior)
* …
* Basic Dagger Mastery (Inferior)
* …
* Basic Herbology (Inferior)
* …
* Mana Bolt (Inferior)
* …
* Basic Marksmanship (Inferior)
* …
* Basic Riding (Inferior)
* …
* Basic Stealth (Inferior)
* …
* Basic Sword Mastery (Inferior)
* …
A new window opened in front of him the moment he thought about how he could select a skill.
The list consisted mostly of skills with the basic prefix. They were ordered alphabetically, the prefix getting ignored. And all of them had written (Inferior) behind them, Aaron assuming it to be some kind of rating.
He began thinking about what kind of skill he wanted, the skills he didn't want moving themselves to the back of the list.
First, he got rid off melee type skills, knowing that he didn't have the stomach to battle with other humans, or even inflict unnecessary suffering to animals.
That left ranged, crafting, and magic type skills. The magic ones stood out due to not having the basic prefix. And Aaron knew that, for him, there was only one real option. Magic.
[Analyze (Inferior)]
The most basic information gathering skill. Analyzes a target and displays basic information. Information gained increases with familiarity with target. Adds a miniscule bonus to the effectiveness of perception, while using the skill.
A bit boring, thought Aaron. It seemed very vague about what information could be gained with it. And looking at the other spells he selected, it didn't seem to be a spell at all. Still, he decided to get it in the near future, if he could.
[Mana Bolt (Inferior)]
The most basic form of magic attack, creating and shooting a bolt of concentrated mana, causing blunt damage.
Adds a miniscule bonus to the effectiveness of intelligence for the creation of the bolt.
Adds a miniscule bonus to the effectiveness of perception for the firing of the bolt.
Next was Mana Bolt, the name basically telling everything he needed to know. It seemed to be the only straight-up attacking spell. This made it high priority, since combat seemed inevitable.
[Lesser Illusion (Inferior)]
Creates small visual or auditory illusions that can be seen by one target.
Adds a miniscule bonus to the effectiveness of intelligence, wisdom, and perception, when creating an illusion.
This skill seemed useful as a support skill; however, Aaron couldn't be sure how other people would choose. If he could get a second skill, he would certainly get this one.
[Create Water (Inferior)]
Creates a small amount of drinkable water from mana.
Adds a miniscule bonus to the effectiveness of intelligence and wisdom, when creating water.
This skill seemed situational, but not useful in the current environment. Hell, I think I can even see a stream from here, he thought, straining his eyes looking towards the forest.
Before locking in mana bolt, Aaron decided to check for something. Some skills had mentioned things that seemed like stats.
Do I have a character sheet?
Status
Name: Aaron Binder
Level: 0
Race: [Human (G)]
Class: N/A
Health Points (HP): 70/70
Mana Points (MP): 80/80
Stamina Points (SP): 40/40
Stats
Strength: 6
Agility: 4
Endurance: 4
Vitality: 7
Toughness: 8
Wisdom: 8
Intelligence: 9
Perception: 5
Willpower: 9
Free Points: 0
Quests
System tutorial
Discovering his stats only enforced Aaron's decision to choose the mana bolt, since it would scale with one of his highest stats, intelligence. Sadly, he would have to work on his perception to increase the advantages of the skill.
But man, I really am out of shape. Didn’t need the reminder, though, he thought, looking at his low agility, endurance, and stamina.
“I choose mana bolt.”
Acquired Skill: [Mana Bolt (Inferior)]
***
Aaron found himself once again in a different place, only this time he wasn't alone.
He was on another hill very much like the previous one, together with 9 other people. They were dressed in fantasy-ish clothing. Only at this point did he notice that his own cloths had changed.
He still wore a shirt and pants combo, but they had changed material and style. He previously had worn blue jeans with many pockets. They had been exchanged with simple loose cotton pants, that somehow fit even better than his usual ones. The same was true of his shirt, being replaced with a cotton vest. His shoes replaced with leather boots. Lastly, he had lost his wristwatch and gained a plain iron ring on his right index finger.
“Do all of you speak English? Please raise your hand, if you do.”, asked a man, while Aaron, still paralyzed, analyzed the situation.
Five hands shot up almost instantly, followed by the other four, including Aaron's, going up one by one.
“Good to know, that we can all at least talk to each other. Now let us introduce ourselves. My name is Dylan Davies. I'm from upstate New York. I work as a manager for a Fortune 500 company, got a team of 120. For my skill, I chose [Basic Shield Mastery (Inferior)].”, continued Dylan, introducing himself.
Dylan wore a simple leather armor, covering his torso, with cloths like Aaron's own underneath. Additionally, he had a wooden shield with a metal trim, and an iron short sword.
Dylan looked around, searching. He stopped and pointed at one of the people who had raised their hands quickly before. The man somehow straightened up even more, despite already standing stiff as a stick.
“Kai Benton, 23 Years, private first class in service to the United States of America. Chose marksmanship.”
Kai wore the same clothes as everyone else, his being different in having a cloak, a quiver, and a bow.
Aaron's mind started drifting as the rest of the people introduced themselves. He only paid them half a mind, while he immersed himself in the feeling he got while thinking about his Skill, [Mana Bolt].
Thump
Only three more introductions needed to be made, when there was an interruption, all eyes turning towards Aaron. There was a small indentation on the ground besides him.
“Er, my turn, I guess?”, said Aaron awkwardly.
“I'm Aaron, a programmer, and I chose mana bolt.”, he gestures at the indent, “Obviously.”
A pause.
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
“Ok, a mage, then. Next up …”, Dylan looks between the two remaining members, a boy and a girl, both probably still underage.
He stopped and looked at the girl.
“…, how about you.”
“Helene Haalman, I also choose mana bolt. I'm 17 years old.”
“I'm 16, but I'll be 17 next month on the 18., that's what”, the last remaining member began counting on his fingers,” only 20 days' away. Name's Kurt.”
“Ok, Kurt, and what is your skill? Probably something like sword- or one-handed weapon mastery, right?”, asked Dylan.
“Nope, I in fact have a skill that none of you could dream to get.”, he drew his sword from its sheath and took a stance.
Kurt made a fast swing. The grass in a two-meter distance in front of Kurt had been cut down to the ground, somehow even cutting behind a rock.
“This is my common rarity skill, long slash.”
Kurt practically gleamed from pride.
This was quite the surprise for Aaron. He hadn't even considered the possibility of getting a better skill from the start.
"Awesome right? I'm part of a club where we read medieval manuscript, and train with swords. Got training dummies and a bunch of different swords.”
“So, to get back on track. You have prior experience with swords. In a safe environment.”, said Dylan dryly.
Dylan looks at Kurt, until he calms down and nods in affirmation, returning to his more reserved behavior.
“So, we got 6 frontline fighters, 1 sword, 3 sword and shield, two daggers and one spear. Additionally, we have 4 backrow fighters with two archers and two mages. The only one amongst us with actual fighting experience”, he indicates Kai,” doesn't have access to their usual weapons. So, I suggest we first familiarize ourselves with our new capabilities and weapons. Let's meet back up in roughly one hour, over there.”
He points towards a close by hill. Aaron saw that it was home to a natural spring.
The group disperses into smaller groups, according to the weapons, leaving only Kurt and a girl with a spear without a partner.
***
“So, how did you do it?”, asked Helene.
“I don't really know? I just kinda thought about the skill and ...”, he snaps his fingers.
“Accident? How could it be so easy? You just point your hand and think hard?”, she demonstratively points her hand towards Aaron.
Aaron saw a light, Helene's ring appearing brighter for just a moment.
Then. Pain.
Aaron felt like he had been punched. Not the hardest he had ever been, but it was still up there.
He, slowly, lowered himself into a sitting posture and began to massage his left shoulder, still numb from pain. Doesn't feel dislocated.
Helene stared at him in shock, she clearly hadn't intended to fire the mana bolt. Snapping out of her own shock, to rush over to him.
“How did that happen? Why would our spells go of at seemingly random times?”, she asked shakily.
“I'm not sure, but I did see something shortly before getting hit. Your ring flashed for a moment before firing.”
“Really? I didn't see anything.”, she said, looking at the ring.
“Wait. So, assuming you saw right, that would mean that the bolt originated from the ring. Does that mean we need the ring to cast spells? Will I need a ring for each spell I'll learn, or will I only need this ring?”
“Calm down, there is no use thinking about things that probably won't affect us in the near future. For now, we need to figure out how to use it reliably. Wait a second, let me just look something up.”
Status
Health Points (HP): 70/60
Mana Points (MP): 76/80
Stamina Points (SP): 40/40
“That mana bolt really took a number on me, shaved 10 HP of cleanly. Could you tell me how much MP you lost? I think I have a hunch.”
“Seriously? Let me look. Aaaaaaand I currently have 45 MP, meaning I used 5 MP.”
“Interesting, I have 4 less than Max, but I might have recovered some in the downtime.”
“Isn't this kind of obvious? Spells cost MP, when you take damage it lowers your HP, and I would bet with you, that Kurt uses SP for his long slash. And I also bet he needs his sword to do it.”
“True, these are simple assumptions to make. But be aware, they still are assumptions. Don't just run in front of someone, who threatens to use mana bolt on you, only because they aren't wearing a ring. There might be other ways.”
“Killjoy.”, insulted Helene.
“Pragmatist. Returning back to topic. We still need to figure mana bolt out.”, countered Aaron.
“How about we say the name with the intent to fire one? It seems to be the most straightforward. The System might not be the most forthcoming with information, but by making your intent clear, you usually get some kind of response.”
“Like with looking at my status?”
“Right, and with looking at the description of your skill.”
“Hold up! What do you mean?”
“You know. When you want to look up your skill description.”, she said nonchalantly.
“I didn't know that one. That could have been helpful, for the group.”
“It's so easy, they'll figure it out on their own.”
“Revelations aside, let's do it. Mana Bolt”, Aaron tried casting the spell.
Nothing happened.
“Let me try. [Mana Bolt]”, continued Helene
Thump
“See? Easy. I even got a feeling. It is weird. I just know that I can't cast again for a few seconds. Wait, I'm ready again. [Mana Bolt]”
She quickly fired off another bolt, this time going off into the distance.
***
20 Minutes of trying later
“[Mana Bolt]”
Aaron finally succeeded in casting mana bolt. He understood, what Helene had meant. There was a feeling in the back of his mind, telling him, that he wouldn't succeed in creating another bolt, for now.
21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29
21, 22, 23, 24, 2 ...
So, about 15 seconds between casts.
That was just as fast, as Helene's recovery.
Aaron checked his status and confirmed, that indeed it had cost him 5 MP. He had checked his mana after every attempt. While he had no tool to precisely measure time, he was pretty sure, that he had recovered 1 Mana every 10 Minutes. Doing some calculation in his head, he realized, that it would take him 13 hours to recover his whole MP pool.
“You were right, all it took is one successful cast. Now I know. I could cast it at any point in time. Wanna go back to the meeting point? We can just as easily shoot over there.”
Helene thought about his suggestion shortly, before nodding in affirmation.
***
“Did you see that?”, asked Aaron.
“No, what?”, asked Helene back.
“There was some movement over there.”, he said, pointing to their left.
“Do we ignore it for now and meet back up with the team?”
“It doesn't seem too big, I doubt it could hurt us, even if it were aggressive. Besides, do you think the System would drop us so close to something overly dangerous?”, encouraged Aaron.
They slowly walked toward the movement Aaron had seen. Only to find a white rabbit sitting in the tall grass, back turned towards them, eating some grass.
“False alarm. Only a rabbit.”
The rabbit turned around, exposing its forehead. Centered on its forehead was a smooth, curved up horn, ending in a sharp point.
Before they could even react, it dashed towards them. Aaron avoiding the charge narrowly by luck.
“[Mana Bolt]”
Helene was ready by the time the rabbit turned around to charge again. The mana bolt hit the rabbit in the side, making it lose its footing.
Aaron charged over and grabbed it by the scruff, holding it in place.
“[Mana Bolt]”
Aaron finished the rabbit off with a mana bolt directly to the neck.
Killed [moon-horn rabbit LV 1] - Additional experience awarded for killing a foe above your level
You have killed a [moon-horn rabbit] - The tutorial awards you with a [Tutorial Lockbox (Common)]
“Well shit. Hey, did you also get a notification from the system?”, asked Aaron.
“Yes, said that I assisted in the killing of a moon-horn rabbit. Did we just kill one of the rabbits, that we are supposed to protect? Did we fail the tutorial?”
“Don't think so. But even worse, I got something as a reward. For killing it.”
Aaron shows her the box, that had appeared alongside the notification.
He shook the box, but couldn't feel weight shifting, or hear things hitting the walls.
“It has a rating, just as our skills. It's common”, he says, while opening it.
Aaron looked inside and found a ring, made from braided grass. He grabbed it. The moment he touched it; the box dematerialized.
“Do you think it allows you to learn a new spell”, asked Helene, from behind his back.
He inspected the ring for any clue. A feeling overcame him. He knew that he could call up information about this ring.
[Ring of Plains (Common)]
A ring created by braiding the longest stalks of grass on the plain into one ring. Created by the plains hunter tribe, a nomadic tribe originating from southern Fanquim. They worship not gods, but the spirits of the lands they travel on. Rings like this one are the first attempts of small children. It is flawed but filled with determination.
Increases the efficiency for earth, water, and wind magic by a small amount.
Stats: +1 Endurance, Vitality, and Perception
Requirements: Any Humanoid Race
“Hey, this is interesting. This gives stat points if it's equipped. It is also improving, earth, water, and wind magic.”
Aaron pulls of his iron ring and places the plant one in its place. The plains ring resizes in the progress, fitting perfectly, just like his cloths.
At first, he didn't feel anything but over the course of 2 minutes, he felt more energetic.
Looking at his stats, he saw that his perception and Endurance had been raised by one each, and he now had 48/50 SP. Probably lost some from dashing.
“[Mana Bolt]”
Nothing happened.
“You wanna try it on?”
“Are you sure?”
“I mean, I already trusted you, didn't I?”
He hands her the ring, and she puts it on her left pointer without hesitation.
“Wow, this thing increases stats by 4 Points, that is an increase of what 7-8%?”, she says, reading the description.
“Seems to take a moment, though. It didn't raise them immediately.”
“What kind of scam is this? It only raised my endurance by 1.”
“Same thing with me, I think there might be a limit how high you can raise your stats with items. Also, the moment you put the ring on I lost my stats, that I got from it.”
“So, no cheesing it? Too bad.”
“Could you give it back, please? I promise you that, if I ever come into the possession of another lockbox, I will give it to you, no questions asked.”
“Alright.”, she says, throwing the ring back to Aaron.
He fails to catch it and searches the grass for it, quickly finding it. He begins taking off one of his shoes.
“How do you think it will go if we tell the rest of the team about this? I didn't really get a read on most of them yet.”, asked Aaron.
“I think Kurt would go to hunt down as many as he could. Dylan would try his best to restrain him. Kai, I don't know. He doesn't really seem to have opinions of his own, but he also doesn't follow Dylan.”
Arron had by then already put the grass ring around his big toe and put his shoe back on.
“You got all that, from that short meeting? Impressive. But I can tell you something, Dylan has no clue of what to do next. At least not back then. He just asserted social dominance, taking charge, and when Kurt showed promise he downplayed the achievement. This doesn't mean, that he is a bad person. It only means, that he works in an ultra-competitive environment, where you are either his subordinate, or his competitor. Only time will tell. I'm in favor of not telling the group for now and leaving the bunny corps back here.”
***
“So, you guys’ figure something out?”, asked Aaron Kai the moment he was within earshot.
“Yes, marksmanship improves aim. Bow mastery improves the familiarity with bows. Will had never picked up a bow previously, but now he shoots one way better than me.”
“We also figured out how to use our skill.”
Aaron points his hand towards the ground.
“[Mana Bolt]”
Thump
“We can do it every 15 seconds, up to 8 times in a row, but we would need to rest 12 hours after that.”
“Any idea how powerful it is?”
“Actually yes”, Arron indicates his left shoulder, “I got hit here and it took a clean 10 HP off.”
“Your shoulder doesn't seem to be in the kind of state, that could be created by an attack, that could kill you in ten hits.”
“Less actually, HP seems to scale with vitality, 10 HP for each point in vitality.
“Huh, didn't know that. Will, how much HP do you have?”
“60”
They continued doing some small talk. Dylan returned with the rest of the shield warriors and had the dagger users in tow. However, there were accompanied by 10 more people. At a glance 6 Melee, 3 Ranged, and one he couldn't place.
It was an older man standing next to Dylan. In place of the more or less sensible clothing, that everyone else had, he wore a white robe going down to his feet. He also had a messenger bag made out of leather.
“Sorry for being late. As you can see, we had the luck of running into another group. And they have someone, that we are lacking.”
The older man standing next to Dylan spoke out next.
“Alex von Possel. I chose the basic herbology skill. I can find plants that can heal you, even restore your MP and SP. If I have the right plants”
The rest of the group introduced themselves. Aaron only took note of the mage, Ryan. Ryan had taken the minor illusion skill.
The old and the new members continued to intermingle. Helene showed Ryan their process. Ryan was able to create illusions at will only 15 minutes later. The limit was quite hard, however. The visual illusions could only be basic geometric shapes, and the auditory ones were limited to half a second, and he needed to have heard the noise recently himself, or it needed to be a simple sound.
A loud whistle called everyone’s attention back to Dylan.
“I will now share, what we all have discovered.”
“You can still look at the description of your skills. You just need to focus the skill, while looking at your status.”
“You can also look up information about your species. As humans, we get 1 point in each of our stats. It also says that we have improved stamina recovery.”
Aaron checked the information for himself.
Human (G) — The lowest level of human in the system. Can only be born in regions that had been mana less for countless generations. The human race is one of the most balanced races in the multiverse. Their lack of great innate abilities is a two-sided sword. They can go down any path in the multiverse, but they need to work way harder, than those that have innate talents.
Stat bonuses per level: +1 to all stats, +1 free point
Innate Ability: Miniscule improvement to stamina recovery
After the announcement he returned to talking with Helene and Ryan.
Ryan came from Scotland and worked there as a tourist guide and bus driver, giving tours of the highlands.
During one of Ryan’s stories, they heard a scream from the other side of the impromptu camp.
They ran over to help, but were greeted not with a fight, but with the return of Kurt and the spear girl. Aaron’s eyes were on the thing that had probably caused the scream. They had dragged a bloody corpse of a large animal behind them.
Dylan was already onsite, angry about Kurt dragging a bloody corpse towards their camp. Kurt being late by over an hour also came up
Kurt didn't seem to be intimidated, however. Instead, he seemed to enjoy the attention of all those gathered.
Kurt made an announcement.
“Let me introduce myself, to those that are new. I am Kurt. Back in the old world I was training to become a swordsman. As a reward I was able to start off with a better skill than the rest of you.”
He demonstrates his long slash, cutting down the grass in a long line in front of him.
“This is a screaming lama, that I and Mia have hunted, it was level 5. We killed 6 of them, and we leveled. Currently I am level 3 and Mia is level 2. When we reached level 1, we got to choose another skill.”, a murmur goes through the crowd.
“Bear witness to my new skill! [Wide Slash]”
He slashes in the direction of the bloody Lama, cutting it in half horizontally.
“This is the power you can obtain if you are willing to follow me to the forest. Just protecting the rabbits won't be enough. We will need to hunt the hunters. Grow powerful enough that no one can touch us.”
Aaron mulled it over. He didn't know how to feel. He disliked the casual violence committed by Kurt; it was quite the red flag. He had also noticed Kurt's new sword and belt with bottles dangling from it, as well as Mia’s spear. The spear still looked the same, but it gave off the same feeling as Kurt's sword and his own ring. The feeling was hard to describe, the items just felt more real than everything else.
“Hey girl, care to demonstrate that new skill of yours?”, came a call from behind the crowd.
Kai hadn't moved since before Dylan's arrival.
“No, like basic spear mastery, it is a skill doing its work in the background and can't really be demonstrated without a fight.”
Kai jumped into a standing position, without using his arms.
“Fine by me, I'll be your sparring partner. Just make sure to use the blunt end of that spear. I'll use my fists.”, he said haughtily.
***
They moved away from the group and took up position. Mia taking a defensive stance.
Kai didn't wait for a further invitation, rushing towards her. Mia thrusted her spear, Kai dodging at the last moment, using his momentum to step inside her radius. She reacted by hitting him with her backhand, letting go of the front of the spear for just a moment. He, visibly staggered by the punch, still managed to grab the end of the spear with both hands and pulled. Only to get uppercut by his own hands, as Mia pulled up the spear with one hand, easily overpowering Kai in the process.
That forced him to let go of the spear, allowing Mia to pull the spear back. Only to thrust it once again, this time hitting him square on the nose. Blood began seeping out of his nose, and he crouched down in pain.
Mia lowered her spear and took one step towards him, to help him up.
Kai shot up like a rocket, uppercutting her. Grabbing her while she was blindsided and hit her in the stomach with his knee, before putting her in an armlock and forcing her onto the ground, sitting himself onto her back.
“Good fight. Has been a while, since I had to fight against someone stronger than myself.”, Kai growled.
Mia still tried to free herself, only to be punished by Kai, twisting her arm.
“How about you give up, I can do this all day long. Would be a shame if I had to break your arm.”
Mia looked horrified, both by the threat, and the implications given the current situation.
She began to slow her resistance, Kai grinning at her submission.
Only to be thrown of, as Mia rolled around. Mia now free, wasted no time. Ignoring her spear, she jumped on top of Kai, and kicked him repeatedly.
Kai had lost every opportunity to defend himself and was forced to endure the onslaught, until he couldn't take it anymore and screamed.
“Medic!”
“Asshole, this fight was already over before you pulled me to the ground.”
Alex went over to the two fighters, first treating Kai. Alex searched through his bag, to pull out two different kinds of leaves. One had a dark red tinge, having a hard and brittle makeup, with a sharp looking edge. The other one looking more like the first leaves of the year, soft and a vibrant green. Alex put them in between both of his hands and rubbed his hands together hard, to produce a small amount of pulp. He then forced the pulp into Kai's mouth. Alex then gave Kai a bottle of water to wash it down with.
“There, now to the next patient. How about you, need any help?”
Mia looked at the residues of the healing pulp with disgust and looked towards Kurt. Kurt shrugged.
“No need, he wasn't able to hurt me too badly, I'll be alright by tomorrow. Better keep it for an emergency.”
“With this interruption finished, I ask you once again. Come with me to the forest, there you can grow as powerful as Mia. If you stay here, you will stagnate and die. Look at the tutorial screen. Six people are already dead. To escape that fate, you will have to level and gain skills.”
Kurt makes a dramatic pause, to allow everyone to check for themselves.
Quest: System tutorial.
Tutorial Goal: Defense
Tutorial ID: 3402
Duration: 84 Days
Tutorial Information: The moon-horn rabbits lived a peaceful life, free of any worry. But then the hunters appeared. The leave the forest every night to kill the moon-horn rabbits. Protect the moon-horn rabbits from the hunters. Who knows, you might find out who is behind them.
Loss conditions:
* All moon-horn rabbits are killed
or
* All participants are killed
Win conditions:
* At least one moon-horn rabbit survives the entire duration
or
* All hunters are eliminated
Survive, fight, explore, grow. The tutorial grants many opportunities for improvement.
Remaining moon-horn rabbits: 4957/5000
Remaining participants: 494/500
Remaining Time: 83:21:38:21
It was horrifying that six people were already dead, only two hours in. However, what caught his attention was the fact that 43 of the rabbits had been killed.
He was certain, that this was done by humans, and that meant that more knew about the lockboxes. If the lockboxes became common knowledge, they might lose without being able to do anything about it.
The next person to speak was Dylan.
“Kurt is right. We should stick together and grow our levels. Who knows what kind of monsters those hunters might be? So, I propose setting up a base closer to the forest and organize daily excursions. Grow so strong, that we can safely wait out the rest of the tutorial.”
With Dylan voicing support for Kurt there wasn't really anything holding the rest of the people back.
And so began their march towards the forest’s edge.