AuthorShawnWilson

(Not So) Easy Mode - Beta - Chapters 7 - 9

Added 2024-10-29 11:27:27 +0000 UTC

7 - Third Time’s the Charm

[ Welcome to the Tutorial Zone, Challenger! Would you like to learn more about how the Tutorial Zone works? ]

[ Yes ] [ No ]

“Fuck!” I shout.

It wasn’t checking on its friend. It was acquiring a weapon. How did it even swing it around so fast? Those ogres had to weigh at least a half ton.

[ Looks like someone got a little ogre-confident :D ]

“I thought you couldn’t send any more messages,” I say, immediately regretting it. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped.”

[ What do you mean? This is my first one. ]

I sigh. I was so close. If I had just been more cautious, I would have won. Even if I had been more reckless, I would have won. If I had waited closer, I would have been able to shoot it before it picked up the other one.

I look up at the blue window and sigh again. No.

[ Calibrating Status Window… ]

[ Calibration failed! Attempting recalibration {1 of 5} ]

[ Calibration failed! Attempting recalibration {2 of 5} ]

[ Calibration failed! Attempting recalibration {3 of 5} ]

[ Calibration failed! Attempting recalibration {4 of 5} ]

[ Calibration failed! Attempting recalibration {5 of 5} ]

[ Recalibration failed! Contacting support. Please be patient as we work to resolve this issue. ]

It’s just like last time. My Soul must have gone up again. I wish I knew what that meant.

[ Thank you for your patience. The error has been resolved.

Error: Player’s actual stats did not match initial measurement.

Status: Resolved

Developer comments:

Resolved ]

[ Status Window set! Would you like to view it? ]

[ Yes ] [ No ]

Yes.

[ Name: Xavier Wilson ]

[ Floor: 0 ]

[ Points: 0 ]

[ Class: None ]

[ Titles: 0/3 ]

[ (empty title slot) ]

[ Mind ] [ Base: 18 ] [ Bonus: 0 ] [ Total: 18 ]

[ Body ] [ Base: 9 ] [ Bonus: 0 ] [ Total: 9 ]

[ Soul ] [ Base: 24 ] [ Bonus: 0 ] [ Total: 24 ]

[ Passive Skills: 0/4 ]

[ (empty skill slot) ] [ Tier: - ] [ Upgrade Cost: - ]

[ Active Skills: 0/8 ]

[ (empty skill slot) ] [ Tier: - ] [ Upgrade Cost: - ]

[ When you are ready to continue, please say or think “Continue” ]

[ Super Secret Special Skills: ]

[ Respawn (0 remaining) ] [ Tier: The highest one, duh ] [ Upgrade Cost: You can’t upgrade perfection ]

0 remaining. If I die again here, I’m dead for good. I can’t afford to make the same mistakes again. I will succeed this time.

I let the System continue its spiel while I prepare my weapons. Despite the fact that I could die for good this time, I feel strangely calm. I already know how to succeed. Shoot one in the back of the knee. Shoot the other while it’s confused. Wait for the other to get closer, and blow its knee out too. Take the shotgun to its throat. Walk away. Let the next one approach. Shotgun to the throat. Walk away, down the hill so the last one can’t get to its fallen comrades. When it gets close enough, shotgun to the throat.

It’s simple, really. As long as I don’t make a dumb mistake, it should be easy. If I was just going through the motions without the enemies, I wouldn’t even break a sweat. I might not even break a sweat this time. My mind feels sharper than ever.

[ Please don’t die again. I won’t be able to save you if you do. :.( ]

“I won’t,” I reply, and I mean it.

The System finishes its explanation, and the timer begins. I already have my weapons set up, and I’m already lying in position. With nothing else to do, my mind turns back to the situation as a whole. I selected Easy mode, but this is clearly not easy. That means one of two things. Either the Interdimensional Council doesn’t know what “Easy” means, and almost everyone from Earth is dead, or there is some kind of bug, and I got put into the wrong tutorial. Regardless of which is true, I’ve got a bone to pick with these people.

If it wasn’t for whoever’s behind the purple windows, I would be dead. If this is a bug that affects me only, I am going to have to give them a piece of my mind. If they just slaughtered every human on Earth… If Mom is dead… Well, I’ll be giving them more than a piece.

I don’t know how I’d get to them, or whether I’d even be able to do anything if I got there, but I do know that I’m not going to just take this lying down. I was on my way to early retirement, and they took that from me. I was on my way to enjoying a nice, easy tutorial, and they took that from me too. I finally started to repair my relationship with Mom, and they might have taken that from me too.

The purple window person must have sensed my mood, because the entire time the timer is ticking down, they say nothing. When it finally reaches 0 and the ogres appear, I get to work.

The ogres move in the same circular pattern as the first 2 times. I take aim and fire at its leg. I don’t bother to keep aiming at it. I know my shot will hit its mark. I shift over to the next one, and right as it stops moving, I pull the trigger again. It falls to its knees.

The third ogre sees the muzzle flash and charges up the hill. I wait, aiming at its knee, and when it’s halfway up the hill, I pull the trigger again. It faceplants into the dirt, just like before. I have one bullet left in the magazine, so I aim back at the first one and take out its other knee before switching to my shotgun.

Just like last time, I get to the ogre on the hill while it’s struggling to its feet. Two shells and it’s down. The one I shot twice is crawling toward me while the other limps. I circle around the downed one toward the limping one, and wait for it to get in range. It covers its face again, so I blow out its knee, then its throat, then keep moving down the hill toward the last one.

To make it to that one, I need to go past the portal. Except, going into the portal is all I need to do to complete the trial. Should I just remove the rest of the risk and walk in now? No, that would be a waste. I’ve already taken care of two of them, and the last one is crippled. The risk is almost none, and it will double my rewards.

I approach the last one as it crawls. It keeps trying to get back to its feet, but its legs won’t support its weight anymore. Ironically, with the constant elevation changes, of its throat, that actually makes it the hardest to hit. However, it doesn’t know that.

As I approach, it stops its lurching and raises one hand to protect its head and neck. I shoot its elbow, and its arm drops. It leans back onto its damaged knees, and blocks with its other hand. I shoot that elbow too. As I reload, it growls and inches closer, squirming like an ugly, oversized worm. It’s arms and legs are disables, but not totally paralyzed. It’s swinging them around a bit. If it decides to use a sudden surge of strength to swing them at me like clubs, I could die. I’m not taking any chances.

I back up a few steps, and point at its head, waiting for an opportunity. The opportunity arrives a few seconds later, when it raises its head to get a better look at me. I don’t hesitate. Its face turns into a bloody mess, and it roars in pain. It doesn’t stop trying to get me though. The counter for the bonus quest shows that both of the other ogres have now died. This is the last one, and even if I don’t do anything else, it might die on its own. I’m not that cruel though.

Now blinded, it doesn’t know where I am. It doesn’t seem to have good hearing either, and doesn’t notice as I walk around to the side. It just keeps crawling forward, trying to get to where I was. I line up my shot and shoot its neck, hitting it right in the spine. Its whole body goes limp and I hear a ding as a blue window appears.

[ You’ve completed the bonus quest! +1000 Points ]

I stare at the screen for a few seconds, barely comprehending, then look back down at the final corpse. Then I vomit. Whatever odd state of hyperfocus I was just in is gone. I can hear the ringing in my ears. I can smell the ogre’s blood. I can see the bits of bone and muscle peeking out from the bloody holes.

[ Congratulations! ]

I stare at the purple window for a moment, then look down to vomit again. That seems to be the end of it, so I stand back up, and wipe my mouth. I’ve killed the ogres. They’ve all stopped moving, and the blue window confirmed they were dead. That means I can just walk into the portal, and I’ll pass the trial. I start towards it, but another purple window appears, making me stop in my tracks.

[ Don’t go in yet. If you do, we won’t be able to speak freely, and there’s still something I need to discuss with you. ]

I’m taken aback a bit by the sudden change in tone. No emojis, no jokes, and a serious request.

“What is it?” I ask.

[ Form a contract with me. If you do, you’ll be able to keep using my powers. You won’t be able to survive without them. ]

“A contract to do what? What do I have to do for you?”

[ I can’t tell you until you sign the contract. However, I promise that it is something you will want to do anyway. ]

“If I’ll want to do it anyway, why not just tell me now?”

[ I can’t. You’ll just have to trust me. I hope that bringing you back to life twice was enough to earn that trust. ]

“Why do we need a contract? Why can’t you just keep helping me like you have been?”

[ I can’t do that either. I am an outsider. In Floor 0, they don’t pay attention, but if I keep helping you like this, they’ll notice my interference. You need to let me into your soul so that I can help from within ]

“Let you into my soul?” That sounds way too dangerous. “Are you a demon?”

[ I am not a demon. I will not do anything to harm you. I promise that signing this contract will only be good for you. ]

I hesitate. If I reject this, does that mean no more extra lives? That would make rejecting it suicide. However, there are things worse than death, and letting whoever or whatever this is into my soul could be one of them. I don’t even know what a soul is. What does it mean to let this person inside mine?

However, they did save my life. Twice. They’re definitely suspicious, but they also definitely helped me. If they’re telling the truth, and I reject it, I would be throwing my life away for nothing. I will almost definitely die on the next floor without their help, and if not then, I’ll die on the floor after that, or the one after that. If I die, I’ll never see Mom again. If Mom is already dead, I’d never be able to get revenge.

“Fine,” I say. “I’ll sign.”

[ Good choice! ]

A much larger purple window appears with the details of the contract. It’s a bit long, and the timer for the trial is counting down, so I don’t have time to read as thoroughly as I would like, but aside from the nebulous clause that has me swearing to do my utmost to accomplish whatever mysterious goal this person has, and the other one that says they will be living in my soul, it doesn’t seem too bad…

Okay, both of those things sound really bad, but I’ve already committed to them, so I sign anyway. When I do, I feel something like a binding on my soul. I have never felt my soul before, nor do I know what a binding on it would feel like, but I somehow know without a doubt that that is exactly what I just experienced.

“So, now that I’ve signed the contract, can you tell me what you want me to do?”

8 - The In Between

[ What I want us to do. We’re going to destroy the Interdimensional Council ]

“Destroy the-?” I stop myself. That’s probably not good to say out loud. “Why?”

Did they really kill everyone on Earth? Did everyone experience the same “Easy” mode that I did?

[ They did not bring the people of your planet here to protect them from an impending apocalypse. They are the apocalypse. ]

“Does that mean that everyone else is… dead?”

[ Not yet. Only a few people were as unlucky as you. Most are still alive. However the “apocalypse” that the Interdimensional Council brought you here to “train you to defend yourselves from” is one that they themselves cause. Some of your people will die here. Many more will die when you return. All of it is directly caused by the Interdimensional Council ]

“So everyone else in Easy Mode is still alive?”

[ Most likely. ]

It feels like a massive weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Mom is fine. Probably. If the purple screens are right and I was just unlucky, that means she’s probably dealing with something she can easily handle.

“Why would they do that though?” I ask.

[ To bring your dimension under their control. They make you dependent on their System, and sign your most talented people to their ranks so they can continue their expansion. ]

“Expansion to where?”

[ Everywhere. They’ve ruined countless worlds and enslaved countless peoples, including my own, and now yours as well. If they aren’t stopped, they will continue to expand until they are unstoppable. ]

“How do I know you’re not the apocalypse, and you’re trying to get me to… do what you want so you can destroy my world without interference.”

[ You don’t. Not yet, at least. But you’ll see. For now, you should go in the portal. I didn’t sign a contract with you just for you to fail the first trial because you forgot to finish it ]

I glance up at the timer. It’s down to 2 minutes now.

[ Also, when you get inside, check your status window. I gave you a signing bonus. ]

I don’t know how to open my status window, but if it’s anything like the stories I’ve read, thinking “Status” should be enough. Yep, that did it. The blue default window looks the same as before, but there is one change in the purple addendum below it.

[ Super Secret Special Skills: ]

[ Respawn (4 remaining) ] [ Tier: The highest one, duh ] [ Upgrade Cost: You can’t upgrade perfection ]

“Why didn’t you make me sign before?” I ask. “I could have had more lives.”

[ I couldn’t have given them to you before. I’ll explain later. Hurry up and go through the portal. And don’t talk to me once you’re through. They’ll be listening ]

The timer’s down to one minute. There’s a lot more I want to ask, but whoever they are, they’re right. I need to go. I have more lives, but it would be incredibly stupid to waste one like that.

“One last thing,” I say. “Now that we’re working together, I should at least know your name, right?”

[ Call me E ]

That’s not much of a name, but it will have to do. I doubt I’ll get anything more out of them right now. I walk over to the portal, then take a deep breath. When I step inside, my vision turns white and my body feels weightless.

And it stays white. I wait a bit longer for the white to fade like it did when I first got teleported here, but it doesn't look like that will be happening. After a few seconds, I notice that the weightless feeling is gone. I look down to see myself, standing on what feels like perfectly smooth stone. Also, I’m not wearing any clothes. I move my hands to cover up my groin area, but a moment later, a purple window appears.

[ O_O ]

I grit my teeth, but don’t respond. It’s embarrassing, but it did say that all my possessions would be confiscated when I cleared the floor. I should have known that would include clothes. I’ll just have to hope they provide me with more clothes soon, because I’d rather not do this whole thing naked.

For now though, what’s going on? Shouldn’t something have happened by now? Where am I? It’s nothing but pure white all around. I can feel the floor, but I can’t tell where the floor ends and everything else begins. The light seems to be ambient, creating no shadows, and giving me no hints about what kind of place I’m in.

I spin in a full circle, seeing more and more nothing until I return to my starting point and almost fall over in surprise. There was nothing there before, but now there’s a person. No, it’s not a person. It looks like a human-shaped doll with smooth features and ball joints. It’s pitch black, so much so that it looks two dimensional.

“Welcome, Challenger,” says a voice originating around where the doll’s head is. “I am TA-24. I am an Assistant created by the Interdimensional Council to guide Challengers on their path to the end of the Tutorial. From now until you complete the Tutorial, I will be right here to assist you and answer any questions you may have regarding the Tutorial, the System, and the Interdimensional Council. In just a moment, I will begin the explanation about classes, but before that, do you have any questions for me?”

“Where am I?” I ask.

“You are currently In Between. This space is yours to spend your leisure time in between trials. It is empty now, but in the future, you may customize your In Between using the Points you’ve earned during the trials. Do you have any further questions?”

“Can I have some clothes?”

“You will be given new clothing upon selecting your class. Would you like me to begin the- the- the- the-”

The doll’s head cocks to the side as it continues to repeat “the” over and over again.

“What’s going on?”

“-the- the- the- the-e-e-eeee”

I hastily step back as the doll spasms violently, then falls to the floor, twitching. What just happened. Did I do something? I didn’t even touch it though. Why did it break?

Suddenly, a portal opens too my left, and something comes out of it, moving toward the broken doll. I have no idea what I’m looking at, but I know that I’m terrified. It has a body like a snake, but instead of scales, it’s segmented like an insect. It’s like a giant legless centipede, and when it slithers, its carapace scrapes on the floor, sounding like nails on a chalkboard.

The upper portion of its body is vaguely humanoid, but rather than arms, it has a few dozen tentacles, twisting about in the air like they have minds of their own. It’s facing away from me, so I can’t see it clearly, but its head looks somewhat human. It’s a bit misshapen, but it has short hair and human-ish ears.

I freeze, not knowing what to do as it approaches the malfunctioning doll and leans down. It moves around a bit, inspecting from different angles, occasionally making humming noises.

“What the heck?” it mutters.

It speaks English? What even is it? What is it doing here? It’s inspecting the doll, so does that mean it’s the one that created the doll? Is this thing a member of the Interdimensional Council.

It turns its head a bit to the side, and we both flinch. I flinch because I see its face, and it’s disturbing, and it flinches because it apparently hadn’t noticed I was there.

“How did you get here?” it asks.

It has a voice that sounds like a perfectly normal human man, but seeing its mouth move, it’s hard to bring myself to believe that it’s actually speaking. It has the jaws of a praying mantis, with two massive mandibles taking the place of its chin. It has insect-like eyes, bigger and much higher up on its head than a human’s would be.

“How did you get here?” it repeats.

“I- I don’t know. I just completed the Floor 0 trial, and now I’m here.”

“That shouldn’t be possible. Hold on. Gimme a second.”

Its tentacles start moving in a different way. It’s more purposeful now. After a few seconds of watching, I decide that it’s probably typing. The way it’s occasionally pausing while it’s eyes scan back and forth make it seem like it’s looking at a screen that’s not there. Is that how I look when I’m looking at E’s messages? That’s really obvious. I’ll need to be more careful.

“Well, I have some bad news,” says the insect thing. “You’re in the wrong Tutorial.”

“Can you send me to the right Tutorial?”

“I cannot.”

“So I’m stuck here?”

“You’re stuck here.”

“How did this even happen?”

“Well, it’s a bit complicated to explain, but long story short, it’s a bug. Unfortunately, we don’t have the infrastructure in place to send you where you’re supposed to be, and this bug only affected a few thousand people, so we’re just going to leave you be and patch the bug so the next batch of people isn’t affected.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, I know, right? It sucks. But, hey man, I don’t make the decisions ‘round here. I just fix broken shit. Real tough luck for you, but hey. Look on the bright side. You probably won’t be stuck here for very long.”

“Why not?”

“The tutorial you’re in is our experimental ‘Impossible’ difficulty tutorial. It’s designed so that no one can survive it. The fact that you even made it out of Floor 0 is probably just luck. Sorry about the mix-up, but you won’t have to deal with it for long, and your death will probably be so fast you don’t feel anything. Anyway, I have to get back to work. It looks like your TA is broken, so I’ll have to bring in one of the original assistants to fill in.”

“The original assistants?”

The insect thing doesn’t respond, instead going back to his typing. A moment later, another portal appears, this one much smaller. The thing reaches a tentacle into it, and when the tentacle returns, it has a tiny woman wrapped in it.

“Ah, let me go, ye inbred bastard before Ah blow yer head off!” she shouts in a thick Scottish accent.

“This is Ninaya,” says the alien. “She’ll be your assistant. She’s a fairy.”

“Ah’m not assistin’ anyone! Ah’m retired! Don’t ye braindead cunts know what that word means?”

“Sorry, Ninaya, but you have to fulfill your contract now.”

“Ah dinnae give a shite.”

“How unfortunate. Anyway, Xavier, sorry about all this, but I need to get back to work now. I hope your death is swift and painless.”

He lets go of Ninaya, and the tiny woman sprouts wings and flies up into the air, wiping her body down. It seems that that alien insect thing’s tentacles aren’t dry, and whatever was on them has left her completely soaked. She’s wearing what looks like a nightgown and slippers, with a tiny hat that has a poofy ball on the top.

The alien thing turns and extends its tentacles to pick up the black doll, then slithers back through the portal it came. Ninaya watches it the whole way out, but despite her earlier protests, makes no move to follow. When it’s gone and the portal closes, she turns to me with a look of undisguised disgust. She studies me for a few seconds, then huffs.

“Alright, listen here, ye wee cockroach bastard,” she says. “Ah’m contractually obligated tae disclose certain information tae ye, but ah’m personally obligated not tae give ye another word, so ye’d best listen close, ‘cause Ah’m only gonnae say this once.

“Ye’ve got three stats: Mind, Body, an’ Soul. Mind determines the strength of yer will, the clarity of yer memory, an’ yer ability to control mana. Body determines yer physical strength, speed, and coordination. Soul determines your sensitivity tae other souls, an’ yer ability tae exert yer will on ‘em. Got that?”

“I-”

“Ah dinnae care. Movin’ on. There are three class trees, one correspondin’ tae each stat. Ye’ve got Mage fer Mind, Warrior fer Body, an’ Mystic fer Soul. What class tree ye choose determines what kinda stat points ye get when ye clear each floor. Simple, right? Well, it better be, ‘cause ah’m not sayin’ more than that.

“Ye also get some equipment when ye choose yer class. Ye’ll get some robes an’ a wand or a staff if ye choose mage, simple armor an’ a weapon if ye choose Warrior, an’ some different robes an’ a different staff fer Mystic. To be perfectly honest, Ah don’t know why they dinnae just give ye the same fer Mystic an’ Mage. Ah guess they want tae color code ye or somethin’. It’s waste of money if ye ask me.

“Now, hurry up an’ pick somethin’. Ah dinnae wannae be here all day.”

“...What?”

9 - Eeny Meeny Miny Moe

“Ah said, ‘hurry up an’ pick somethin’. Ah dinnae wannae be here all day.’”

“What?”

“Are ye deaf, or just stupid? Ah’m not gonnae say it again.”

I recognize that her explanation was technically in English, but I understood maybe a quarter of those words. I have only a vague idea of what my class options are, and almost no idea of what the benefits of choosing them are.

[ There are 3 classes, Mage, Warrior, and Mystic, corresponding to your stats, Mind, Body and Soul. Whichever you pick, you’ll get clothes and gear relating to them. ]

I silently thank E for the translation. I had gathered that much, but having confirmation was nice. It still didn’t help me pick which one. Mage and Warrior seemed to be pretty self-explanatory, but I’m still not sure what Mystic does.

[ They have sort of a Rock Paper Scissors relationship. Mystics beat Warriors, Warriors beat Mages, and Mages beat Mystics. It’s not guaranteed, but given equal skill levels, that’s how the fights would turn out 9 times out of 10. ]

[ The real differences between them are a bit more nuanced though. Warriors have by far the most raw power. An attack from a Warrior is almost always more destructive than anything a Mage or Mystic can do. Mages are easily the most versatile. A skilled mage can do just about everything you could possibly need to do. Mystics are the most subtle, and the most deadly. No matter how strong the Body is, or how much mana the Mind can control, if a Mystic gets close enough to perform a Soul attack, their target will die. ]

[ Mystics can be pretty versatile too though. As I mentioned, they’re subtle, so it’s not always obvious what they do, but a good Mystic can also do whatever needs doing, just maybe not as directly as a Mage can. They can also fight at melee range just as well as a Warrior can. ]

I read through E’s messages, all the while keeping an eye on Ninaya, who is now regarding me with suspicion. I’m trying not to be obvious about what I’m doing, but I doubt she’s fooled.

“Are ye lookin’ at yer status window?”

“Y-yes?”

“Why? There’s nothin’ there. Jus’ pick somethin’ already if ye wannae see some skills.”

“I’m comparing my stats to decide which class to pick.”

“Fer goodness’ sake, there’re only three numbers! Jus’ pick whichever’s the highest!”

That’s not a bad idea. Right now, my Soul is the highest, and if it goes up every time I die, it will probably only get higher. Plus, I’m getting the feeling that E is partial toward Mystics. If I could do Soul attacks, I might have been able to take out the ogres more cleanly. I open my mouth to say “Mystic”, but a new purple window appears before I can say anything.

[ You should pick Warrior ]

Warrior? Why would E want me to pick Warrior? My Body is my weakest stat. If I take the class, I guess I’ll get more points in it, but still, it’s a lower starting point, and I’m not exactly a top athlete.

“Well?” said Ninaya. “You gonnae make a choice or what?”

I realized my mouth is still open so I close it, but then I have an idea. I can’t talk to E directly, but maybe I can talk to Ninaya in a way that E get’s the question I’m trying to ask.

“Well, I’m having trouble deciding,” I say. “Warrior seems pretty cool, but I feel like I’m leaning toward Mystic.”

“Then pick it. Stop wastin’ mah time.”

[ You don’t need the Mystic class. You have me. ;) ]

“I don’t know. It’d be nice if I knew what kind of skills each class would give me.”

“Jus’ pick and ye’ll find oot.”

[ Just take Warrior! >:( Your body is too weak to survive if you pick Mystic ]

I look down at my scrawny self. E has a point.

“I choose Warrior.”

“Finally.”

Ninaya snaps her fingers, and suddenly I’m clothed. I pull my hand away from my groin and stand up straight, observing my new outfit. As far as I can tell, it’s just some basic leather armor over clothes made of some kind of coarse fabric. It’s not particularly comfortable, but it all fits perfectly, so it’s not uncomfortable either.

In addition to the clothes, I also notice that my body feels way better than it did before. My shoulder was a little bit sore from the recoil of the guns, but that’s gone now. I didn’t notice before, but I guess how little sleep I got last night had me a bit drowsy, but I feel wide awake now. I check my Status window to confirm my suspicions. My body stat has gone up by a full 15, making it my highest stat at 24.

I flex my legs to test it out a bit. I’ve never felt so balanced or strong. I do a quick pistol squat, marveling at how effortless it is, then jump as high as I can in the air.

“Woah!”

I must have gone at least 6 feet up. I think my feet were at the level that my head usually is. That makes me superhuman, right? I don’t think it’s physically possible to jump that high normally. Are stats really this powerful? I haven’t even cleared the first floor, and I’m already superhuman. How much stronger will I get by the end?

“Ye done?” asks Ninaya, looking incredibly annoyed.

I want to jump around more, but I hold myself back. There’s probably more I need to learn.

“Yeah, I’m done.”

“Good. Now, say ‘Inventory.’”

“Inventory,” I repeat, causing a new screen to appear in front of me.

Inventory

“As ye can see, ye’ve got an Inventory now,” says Ninaya. “Ye get 3 slots tae start, an’ ye get another every time ye clear a floor. Ye can put anything non-livin’ inside, as long as ye can carry it. Now, say ‘Equipment’.”

“Equipment”

Equipment

Wearables

Name

Stat

Bonus

Passive Effect(s)

(empty)

Leather Cap

(empty)

Leather Shirt

(empty)

Leather Pants

(empty)

Leather Boots

(empty)

Weapons and Tools

Name

Passive Effect(s)

Active Effect(s)

(empty)

“Now, this one is basically an extension of yer Inventory…”

Ninaya launches into a long explanation talking too fast and with too thick an accent for me to understand. Fortunately, E is translating everything for me as she speaks, so I can get a good idea of the situation.

It’s actually pretty straightforward. As Ninay mentioned, the Equipment window is an extension of the Inventory in that it is an extra-dimensional space, but it has a couple bonus features. Anything that goes inside can be instantly donned and doffed, which I test with my cap. For higher-tier equipment, I can also enjoy the benefits of bonus effects, such as stat increases and resistances.

There are 6 rarities of items: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary, and Unique. Unique items are literally unique, in that there can only be one of them throughout all Tutorials. The higher the rarity the better the effects. Some of the highest rarity equipment would even let me use extra skills, allowing me to get around what’s apparently a hard cap on the number of skills.

“Ye got all that?” finishes Ninaya.

“Uh….” I say, finishing reading the last of E’s messages. “I think so.”

“Good. Now, fer the last thing: as a Warrior, ye get tae pick a weapon, an’ when ye do, ye get yer first skill tae help ye use yer weapon. Yer options are spear, sword, bow, an’ mace.”

“I get a skill when I pick my weapon?”

“Aye, that’s what I said, innit?”

“And the skill will help me use the weapon?”

“Aye.”

“Like if I don’t know how to use them, I’ll suddenly know how?”

“Are ye fookin’ deaf? Aye! Yes! That’s how it works.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

“Ah swear…”

I have never used any of those weapons before. The closest I’ve ever gotten would probably be the sword, but I don’t think that play fighting with sticks in elementary school counts as experience. That would probably limit me to just the spear or the mace, because they seem like they require the least skill. However, if I get a skill to help me handle them better, that changes things. I’d be hopeless with a bow without a skill, but with it, it might be my best choice.

[ Swords are the hottest ]

I stare at the purple screen. What does E mean? Are they telling me to pick the sword? What do they mean by “hottest”? Is there some hidden aspect to these weapons that Ninaya didn’t tell me about?

[ Archers are generally weirdos, but you’re a weirdo, so it might suit you ]

What? What the hell are they talking about? I wish I could ask, but Ninaya is staring straight at me. Even just reading these messages is probably making her suspicious. There’s only so much time I could reasonably spend looking at my status screen.

I’ll just ignore the messages for now and weigh my options. A spear still probably beats out a sword, especially if I have to fight ogres again. Even with my body boosted by my added Body, I wouldn’t want to get in sword range against one of them. But if I’m going for range, the bow beats out both of them. The bow has its own issues though. If something gets too close, and I only have a bow, I’m screwed. And there’s also the problem of limited ammo. Wait.

“Does the bow come with arrows?”

“Why wouldn’t it?”

“Just making sure.”

So the bow does come with ammo, which means I won’t be screwed over and get stuck with a weird stick instead of a weapon. Probably. The limited nature of it is still a problem though. Unless…

“Can I put arrows into my weapon slots?”

“Aye.”

Ninaya looks incredibly annoyed, but she’s still answering my questions. She said earlier that she wouldn’t say any more than the basic explanations. Was she just bluffing? Is answering questions like these also a part of her contract? Or maybe she just knows that answering is the way to get this over with fastest.

Whatever the case, that actually solves the ammo problem. Even if one of my arrows breaks, I can just load four up in my weapon slots, and I can summon them back once they’ve been shot. I think that makes the bow the best choice then, right? If something gets close, I’m screwed, but against something like an ogre, it would probably be the same with any of the melee weapons too.

[ Spears are boring. And maces are only used by meatheads ]

Is E just giving their personal opinions on the weapons? Whatever. It doesn’t matter. I’ll go with the bow for now. If it turns out I’ve made a mistake… Well, I’ll get to pick again.

“I want the bow.”

“Finally,” said Ninaya.

[ Weirdo ]

She snapped her fingers, and a bow appears in my right hand and a quiver of arrows in my left. A glance tells me there are around 20 arrows, but Ninaya is talking again, so I don’t have time to count them all out right now.

“Now that ye’ve got yer weapon, ye should also have a skill fer basic proficiency in yer chosen weapon. It’s a passive, so unless yer an idiot an’ disable it, it should always be active. It won’t make ye a master, but it’ll let ye hit some shots.

“Ye’ll also notice that ye can upgrade yer skill in yer status window with Points. Ye can also use yer Points in the Point Shop to buy other skills or items, or upgrades fer yer In Between once ye’ve cleared the fifth Floor. Anyway, that’s all. Ye’ve got 12 hours before ye’ll be taken tae the next floor. Ah’m gonna sleep. Don’t wake me up.”

She flies away in the opposite direction far enough that she becomes little more than a speck and floats to the ground and stops moving. I wait a few seconds to make sure she’s actually staying over there, then turn to my status window. As promised, I have a new skill labeled as [ Basic Bow Proficiency (C) ].

I look down at the bow in my hand. I’ve never handled one before, but it feels oddly familiar, probably due to the skill. It’s a simple curved piece of wood with a string made of something I don’t recognize. It doesn’t seem like anything special, but it feels sturdy.

The quiver in my other hand has a belt attached to it, so I move to wrap it around my waist. It too seems to be fairly simple. It’s basically just a wood and leather bucket, and the arrows inside are similarly unremarkable. I stand still for a moment, looking down at my new gear. I feel pretty cool, actually. It’s not much, but I feel like a real fantasy adventurer right now.

I lift the bow and draw the string back halfway as a test. It’s got a lot of resistance, but with how high my Body stat is, I can pull it back. It’s not as easy as I’d like, but that might actually be better. More resistance means it’s stronger, and the arrows will penetrate better, which I’ll need. I summon my Equipment window and see that to my surprise, the System has already done what I planned to do, and it’s put my bow and 4 arrows in my weapon slots. How can I tell which arrow is in the slot though…?

Oh, I can just summon them back in, right? I concentrate for a second, and the quiver shifts as one one of the arrows disappears. Its row in the Equipment window is now bolded, which is convenient. I summon the other three into the Equipment window as well, then do the same for my bow. Now all five slots are bolded, and my hands are empty.

I summon the bow back out into my left hand, and one of the arrows into my right. I put the arrow against the string and draw it back. After making sure that I’m facing away from Ninaya, I draw back a bit further, then fire. The arrow rockets off into the distance, so far I can’t even see it anymore. This bow is strong.

I start toward where I shot, then stop myself. I can just summon the arrow back, right? A moment later, and that feature is confirmed. The text is now bolded, and a quick test of summoning all 4 from their slots confirms that all are back.

[ Alright, I think she’s asleep now. You can talk to me, but make sure you whisper. ]

“Okay,” I whisper.

I glance back to make sure Ninaya is still sleeping. She’s a bit far away, so it’s hard to tell, but she doesn’t seem to be moving.

[ Perfect. Now, put your new toy away. We have work to do ]

“What kind of work?”

[ You’re going to learn how to use your Soul ]

Current Status Window for your convenience:

Status

Name

Xavier Wilson

Level

Points