"Tutorial level?" We both shouted at the same time. I was shocked, but Suze sounded annoyed in a totally different way.

"Did the quest fail for you too?" I asked while thinking of the hourglass.

Before she answered, my whole vision was covered by a black window with elaborate filigreed scrollwork along the edges that reminded me of Celtic knot-work, but was definitely different and uncanny like I had never seen its like. There was only just a smidge of the rest of the world visible around the edges. I moved my head and could somewhat see Suze and a globe of light, but only just a sliver.

In the darkness, foreboding music played with timpanis rumbling. The whole world beyond muted. A bright golden-coloured quote faded into view, taking up the middle of my vision.

Kaylee Smith hangs upon somebody else's legs. The future is in Suze not losing her balance during this Tutorial. -- The Funnel

"Oh, very funny." I said and even my own voice sounded far off like I was talking while wearing sound muffling headphones.

Text then scrolled up from the bottom of the black screen in that slow upwards scroll of Star Wars. A choir of voices sang with deep rumbling basses backed by an orchestra of sweeping sounds like howling winds and crashing waves.

In ages long past, magic belonged to every living creature. It was part of the air they breathed and the elements that threaded through the world. It was a time of unimaginable opportunity, harmony, and promise. All centered around a core of magic that pulsed out its power to all.

The music turned darker with crashing symbols and uncanny sounding instruments that were bizarre and I couldn't place what they were. Kinda like woodwinds, but deeper and creepier. Underneath it all was a thumping heart.

However, for one creature that was not enough. He amassed great power and strength, but wanted more. He wanted to control everything. He reached the great heart of the world and built an impassible tower around it. Darkness fell.

Then one lone soprano cut through the air. The soprano was forlorn and singing in a language I did not recognise.

She came as a ray of light. In her wisdom and knowledge, she stored magic to be doled out to those who were willing to clash with his forces of darkness. Light rises where she strides on her way to fight him and bring back magic for all.

Both seek allies in their battle.

Choose wisely.

I couldn't help it, as the window disappeared I said to Suze, "That was more like an intro screen than a tutorial. What did you see?"

"I just closed the window. Was looking in my inventory. And, ahh. Perfeito." A pile of nylon cord just appeared in Suze's hands. She wrapped it around herself with practiced ease. "Kaylee, please let me go." I did as she asked and refreshed the globes of light.

She continued talking. "I just climbed down a bit to see the apartment below us does have glass windows. So, then I climbed up and could see that there is an apartment above us that also has no glass windows like ours. If we can't leave through the door and if the apartment below us is likely filled with spiders, then I'd rather go up and not down, don't you?"

"Yes. Let's go up. Please let's go up! I just don't climb!"

"I do." Suze grinned and then added. "We also don't have much time left before this place is overrun with spiders. The door is not a door. The window is not a window, it's a door. I solved it."

"Awesome. But you're forgetting there is a death abyss below us."

"When I climbed up the first time, I thought about how much it would be better to actually have my window cleaning gear with me. Well, wasn't it lucky that inside the window of the apartment above us was a glowing box. I opened it up and it was a pretty good imitation of my gear. So what I'll do is put you in the harness, climb up and anchor the rope above and I'll pull you up. Fácil."

"No, no. You say fácil when it is not actually going to be easy. That time you decided to cook a turkey for Thanksgiving. Do you remember that? It was frozen in the middle."

"Hey. That was my first turkey so-- What does it matter now? I may not know cooking, but I do know climbing."

Suze gripped the windowsill and then hoisted herself up. I knew she bouldered, but watching her hang from the top of the window really made it a legit thing. She gritted her teeth and I decided not to admonish her for not reading whatever that intro text was for her.

She climbed hand over hand up the wall and out of sight. I leaned out the window opening to see her climbing further up to the floor above. She pulled herself into that window and disappeared from view.

"Please don't die on me!" I called up.

The floor beneath me quaked. I gripped the window ledge.

I heard sounds of crackling gunfire. Pop. Pop. Pop. Like really loud Pop Rocks fizzing and crackling as maybe hundreds of somethings were exploding beneath the floor.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

Then started a shrieking that grew in a crescendo. Rising like some kind of siren of murder, death, kill and we were the targets.

The hourglass quest. Crud.

They were coming.

I peered up, looking up at the minimap to see if Suze's dot would give me an idea of what she was doing up there.

A black window popped up, covering my vision again. Golden text phased in.

In your upper right corner is your mini-map. It can be resized and moved.

I mentally closed the window.

You can close windows with your mind. Once a window is closed, it cannot be opened again. Should you want to save the information in the window, you can minimize it. Minimized windows will remain in your vision until they have been closed. Be warned as windows can block your field of vision.

Tell me something I didn't know.

I snarled and closed that window. I didn't need instructions on the UI. When we had some time where spiders-like monsters were not screeching underneath my feet about to come murder me, then maybe I would read the tutorial.

"Look, Funnel!" I yelled up and out the window at the dark cavern above. "I get it. Stop blocking my vision with windows. I can do this when I'm not about to die."

A rope dropped down and something that was attached to it clunked me on my head. "Sorry!" Suze called out.

A window popped up.

You have taken 1 point damage. Your health meter is located to the upper left of your HUD. Health only regenerates through first-aid, magical healing, food, rest, or items such as potions and spells. Some creatures have abilities that...

I closed the window before the text finished.

"What did you drop on me?"

"A harness. Put it on around your legs and arms. I'll pull you up!"

I should have gone with her the bunch of times she offered to take me to the climbing gym.

"I trust that this is not going to kill me!" I called it out to try to deny the fear in my heart. I climbed into the harness hopeful that I'd done it correctly. The rope tangled up around my arms and neck, but somehow it didn't strangle me.

"Tug on the rope when you're ready."

I took a deep breath.

A window popped up.

You have activated a skill related to your occupation of ASMR Content Creator: Calming Breath. Autonomous sensory meridian response creates a mild form of euphoria. This is an area of affect skill and non-magical. You may be able to view the skill's information sheet once you have received a permanent class...

I closed the window feeling like I was about to miss something important, but I could read it later. I can't read when I'm dead.

I tugged the rope. It went taut automatically.

"Get on the ledge. I've got you."

I whimpered and climbed up onto the window ledge while trying not to fall to my absolute doom. Thinking about a plummet to the death, I was surprised to find that I felt really mellow about it. Calming Breath, what a thing.

I climbed up on the ledge and focused on looking up at Suze. I really wanted to tell her, "No pressure," but I kept it to myself. I gripped at the window as tight as my hands could.

"Don't look down."

"Yeah. Sure. Right." I smiled really wide at her. Her frown told me that I looked like a psychopath.

The rope pulled taut, and I jerked a little as it pulled me upward and then she was out of sight again in the room above. A few jerks and then the rope began to move smoothly as let my last grip of the window go and I was just hanging. Over nothing. My stomach flipped. I felt woozy.

The abyss beneath me went further than my balls of light could go. I couldn't even imagine falling that far.

The world tilted. I scrambled and clawed for the window or anything to get my hands on. I swung crazily while I tried so hard to get any purchase on the wall or window ledge with my feet.

"Stop!" I shouted up.

"Don't freak out on me now. Come on. You can do this."

Suze climbed up and actually stood -- albeit in an awkward angle -- in the window above. She leaned out. "Keep looking at me. I have you." The nylon rope wrapped around her and she was somehow pulling me with it.

"You can let go. I'm going to pull you up. Ready?"

I'm not ready. I swallowed some bile.

"Here we go!"

I was again about to cry out to stop, but then I saw that back in my room where one of the globes was just kinda chilling, a wave of spider legs and bodies and eyes pushed into the doorway. A tsunami of black and ochre and purple and basically obsidian limbs and fuzz and mandibles or whatever it was that spiders had for anatomy. Chittering, shrieking, insecty sounds filled the air.

Spiders crawling over every surface. I don't like spiders. I really don't like spiders. What's worse is that every single one of them was labeled a --

A window popped into my vision.

You have looked at a monster. You will see its name located in a bar above its head. The glowing red bar is its health bar. Foamy Giant Baby Spider's health is currently at 100%.

I was about to close the window with my thoughts, but the text continued and I forced myself to stop, somehow.

Some abilities or skills will make it so you can see more information about the monster, including monster category, attitude, special attacks, abilities, skills, cooldowns and debuffs.

I waited for more information, but that was it. I closed the window to find myself dangling over the abyss and being hauled up smoothly, but maybe not fast enough. The swarm of spiders -- the cluster or clutter of them -- engulfed the empty room, a wall of limbs rushing toward the window.

If one single of those petrificus totalis attacks hit, it was all that was required to freeze me.

How did you even counter such an attack? I only had a few things on hand. One healing spell that required touch. One blooming light spell that didn't seem to want to progress at all. And a skill to basically take a chill pill. I needed something that would bridge the gap from utility to combat because at the moment, only Suze had any kind of combat skill and I didn't want her to change her focus from hauling me up from certain death drop.

I didn't get combat skills when I used the mannequin arm to beat that spider to a pulp. It hadn't even seemed to give experience points or whatever was required in this game to level up. So that would not help. What else was there?

Toilet paper. Nope. I would hold onto that stuff until the very last square was used. Besides, Suze had that.

Hangers. Nope. Suze, again.

My bunny slippers dangling from my toes. Nope.

Something in my years of gaming and a few rough semesters of school had to help with this.

Well, what was petrificus totalis? Latin and not the actual name of their ability. That was Paralysis Stare. What kind of attack was it? Maybe psychic? It required sight so some kind of gaze attack.

What did I know about gaze attacks? In mythology, gaze attacks could be countered by reflective surfaces. Like what happened with Medusa and Jason or was it Hercules? Didn't matter.

I yelled up. "Suze! Suze! Did you loot the mirror in the bathroom? Give it to me!"

"How am I supposed to drop a mirror down to you while I'm hauling you up here?"

Good point. What else did I have in my inventory?

All I had left was the mirror. It appeared in my hand.

I paused a moment in confusion because I knew I had a mirror, but it felt like I didn't understand why I had a mirror. I did not remember it being in my inventory, but concentrating on it I saw that it indeed was labeled:

Mirror of the Moon. Conjured by Kaylee. Level 1 item.

A black window appeared. Really?