《The Enlightened Blade》 1. My Drunk Friend and the End of the World Raj helplessly stared at the screen in front of him as he mentally cursed his English teacher. So much for getting a head start on my homework, he thought as he leaned back in his chair. He rubbed his weary eyes and glanced over at his phone. ¡°Damn, it¡¯s already 10 pm?¡± He said, partially shocked. ¡°Well, I suppose I can read a bit before I sleep.¡± Raj knew that it was his own fault that he had a terrible sleep schedule; he participated in a HEMA group nearby at least 3-4 times a week, and today was one of those days. He found the sword to be his weapon of choice, and despite most of his friends and foster family telling him it was a waste of time, the enjoyment it brought him made it worth it. It was just such a badass weapon. He opened up his favorite LitRPG book on his laptop and scrolled to the chapter he was on. I would love to be in one of these books, he thought for the umpteenth time. Slicing up monsters with a god-tier sword. Logically though, I know I would die in the first two seconds, considering that there is no way my nerdy ass survives against literal monsters. I am way too reliant on a modern lifestyle. I can dream though. On top of his geekiness, Raj knew he was not too special in the looks department. He had what he referred to as ¡°the typical Indian package¡±, which featured jet-black hair and dark brown eyes, along with chocolate brown skin. Raj kept scrolling through his favorite book series, smiling slightly as the main character absolutely pummeled a Chupacabra type monster. His smile quickly morphed into a smirk as the seemingly overpowered main character started running for the hills when the monster¡¯s hella strong mama popped out for a visit. Never get too cocky is the lesson this mc is currently learning, Raj mused. Raj took his eyes off of the screen for a moment to look around his small dorm room. It was mandatory for freshmen to stay in the dorms, which was the only reason Raj was doing it and not staying at his foster parents¡¯ house. His foster parents were not the greatest of people, but they had taken him in, and he had been with them for a record time of 2 years. They only lived about 25 minutes away from his college, so the commute was not bad. I just have to do this for one year, he said, in an attempt to console himself. He was snapped out of his musing when his phone started ringing. Who the hell is calling at this time, it is almost 10:30 pm, Raj wondered. Of course, it is this idiot. Raj answered the phone to hear his best friend Arjun on the other end. ¡°Yooooo, Raj. Besht buddy. Ya know I love you rightttt.¡± Arjun slurred. Immediately, Raj knew exactly where Arjun was. Raj and Arjun had been friends since elementary school, so they knew each other pretty well. He knew that Arjun was absolutely hammered. Though to be fair, I think anyone could figure that out. He must have drank everything in the cabinet the way he is talking. Raj also knew the reason why Arjun was calling. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Can you pick me uppp? Pretty plea¡ªuek.¡± Raj heard him start to throw up, and patiently waited for him to finish before allowing himself to tear Arjun a new one. ¡°Dude, just no. I swear to god, I am not your personal chauffeur service. Call an Uber or something, or better yet, just don¡¯t go to the goddamn parties. I swear, how drunk are you? I can hear how drunk you are. How does that even make sense?!¡± Raj berated. ¡°Also, do you even know how late it is? What makes you think I am going to drive across town to pick up your sorry ass?¡± ¡°Awww, come on, don¡¯t be like that, my numero uno familia. Jusht come on alllllll the way overr to here, give me upsies, and then we can party tomorrow!¡± He responded, making sure to put his bilingual talents to use. Raj just let out a groan. ¡°Greeatt! Shee you in a few!¡° Arjun cheerily replied. ¡°I hate you,¡± Raj replied as the call ended. He wanted nothing more than to forget about Arjun and keep reading, but he knew he could not just leave him drunk and alone at someone else¡¯s house. He would at least do him the favor of leaving him drunk and alone at his own dorm. Raj allowed himself a minute of respite before he forced himself up and out of his chair, and after a quick search for his car keys, he stepped out of his dorm and headed down the stairs. As he walked down the stairs, he was shocked to feel a slight tremor beneath his feet. An earthquake? On the East Coast? Then the tremor left as quickly as it came, leaving Raj wondering if the tremor had even happened in the first place. My sleep deprivation is finally catching up to me. He got into his car and started driving towards the party that he knew Arjun was at, sulking as he drove when he thought of the warmth and comfort of his bed that he could have been enjoying. It took about 10 minutes before he arrived at the house, and the sight that greeted him was a typical one for a college party. Raj¡¯s eyes narrowed in on Arjun though, who was leaning against the mailbox of the house. Raj hopped out of his car and all but dragged his drunk friend into the car. It took a ridiculous couple of minutes, and Arjun was twisted and turned around, but Raj finally got Arjun into his car. They did not make it far before Raj felt vibrations again, however, and this time they were much stronger. He could feel the car shake and groan. ¡°Yo, Arjun?¡± Raj nervously asked. ¡°Do you feel those tremors?¡± ¡°Dude, I can barely tell up from down, and everything is yellow. I really don¡¯t think I can¡ªwhat the fuck?¡± Arjun was interrupted by the car practically being thrown to the side due to the force of the tremors. ¡°Never mind, I feel them. Are they growing stronger?¡± ¡°Yeah, I think they are!¡± Raj replied. System Initializing¡­ Raj started freaking out. He had read enough books to know that the only reason a message like that could appear was if they were about to enter into a LitRPG-like system. Arjun tried to say something else, but his voice was drowned out by the earthquake. Suddenly, a white light as bright as the sun overtook his vision, effectively blinding him. The light somehow got brighter and brighter. Raj felt his body start to freefall somehow, and he desperately tried to grasp onto something, anything, but to no avail. Scanning Planet¡­ ¡°WHAT THE FU¡ª!¡± His words were suddenly stuck in his throat, and Raj saw one final flash of the white light before his vision went dark. User-2,021,864,094 has been transported to the tutorial. Planet ¡°Earth¡± has been successfully inducted into The Greater Collective. Planetary Level has been evaluated to be at ¡°E¡±. Welcome to the Fight. 2. The Tutorial: Brought to you by Creepy Robo-Alien #1 Raj came to a fully white room that was really messing with his mind. Am I dead? He wondered. Wait, no, that''s too cliche. It said that the System was initializing or something, which sounds exactly like the books that I read. So going off of that logic... this is a tutorial? And what were those messages at the end? What does welcome to the Fight mean? "Hello, human," A monotonous voice responded somewhere behind Raj. "Jesus!" Raj jumped as he all but felt his soul leave his body. He turned around, revealing an absolutely gorgeous red-haired woman, who seemed to be somewhere in her twenties. "Who are you?" He probed. "And why is this room eerily similar to things that I have read in my books? And is your appearance your real one?" "Those books of yours, among other things, were formulated based on the thoughts and ideas we fed down to your literary crafters. As for my identity, you may think of me as your tutorial guide. I am here to get you prepared for the coming tutorial, but I cannot help you once you enter it. As for my appearance, it is currently tailored to a form that I found to be appealing to you based on your thoughts,¡± She responded, her facial expressions and posture not moving an inch. Raj thought for a minute. Literary crafters were probably authors, but since authors wrote about a very wide variety of things, they must have only fed a small genre. Or maybe human nature prevented LitRPG from taking over. Despite having many more questions, Raj decided to satiate his curiosity later in favor of information necessary to his immediate survival. ¡°Alright, that makes sense,¡± he said. ¡°Is there anything you can tell me about the tutorial, or how to survive it? Is there anything you can give me?¡± ¡°Yes, there is. All members of The Greater Collective are given the same options and information. To begin with, you will need to select your class. To do so, please mentally concentrate on the word Status.¡± Raj mentally focused for a moment, and was shocked to find his vision cluttered with words only a second later. Status Name: Rajeev Narayanan Race: Human(H) Class: None Profession: None Titles: None HP: 100/100 MP: 80/80 SP: 90/90 Stats Strength: 8 Agility: 9 Vitality: 10 Endurance: 9 Intelligence: 8 Wisdom: 7 Free Points: 0 Class Skills: None Profession Skills: None General Skills: None Raj took a moment to process the information that had been dumped onto him. Most of it seemed pretty standard, with 10 in any stat probably being around the average. That meant that Raj was either average or below average in every stat. I guess that makes sense all things considered. I am just a normal college kid after all, but I wasn¡¯t terribly inactive either. Raj also concluded that his HP was his VIT times 10, with the same going for his SP and END, and his MP and INT. END was also probably a metric for how many hits he could take, and his WIS was probably either MP regen and/or mental defenses. STR and AGI were self-explanatory. Then, just after he processed his Status, another prompt popped up in his view. Class Selection: The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Warrior(Common-H): A warrior does not shy away from combat, using their weapon of choice to strike fear into the hearts of their opponents. As a warrior, you will gain 2 STR, 1 AGI, 2 VIT, 1 END, and 2 Free Points per level. You will gain 1 class skill upon selection of this class. Archer(Common-H): Hunt down your enemies, never letting them know where and when you will strike. Your arrow will always find its mark. As an archer, you will gain 1 STR, 2 AGI, 1 VIT, 1 END, 1 INT, and 2 Free Points per level. You will gain 1 class skill upon selection of this class. Mage(Common-H): Mana is your weapon. Obliterate your enemies with spells, control the battlefield, and crush all who stand against you. As a mage, you will gain 1 AGI, 1 VIT, 2 INT, 2 WIS, and 2 Free Points per level. You will gain 1 class skill upon selection of this class. Raj looked at his choices, noting down the benefits of each. Warrior sounds perfect for me, considering the fact that I love the sword, and it''s the only weapon I have any experience with. That being said, the Archer class gives the most well-balanced stats, and allows for stealth and distance kills, so less danger. The mage class is more of the same, but more diverse with the spells. But¡­ Raj stopped hesitating, and picked Warrior, deciding to trust his gut. He instantly felt a rush coursing through his body, akin to adrenaline. And then, as quickly as it came, it left his body. Another prompt flooded his vision. Skill Gained: Mana Slash(Common): Imbue your weapon with your mana, allowing you to create a slash of energy that deals damage to objects and enemies in its path. Cost: 10 MP Skill Gained: Identify(Common): Focus on any object or being and basic information will be provided to you. This is a basic skill given to users upon class selection. Cost: N/A Raj opened his Status once more to see the changes. Status Name: Rajeev Narayanan Race: Human(H) Class: Warrior[(Common-H) lvl 1] Profession: None Titles: None HP: 100/100 MP: 80/80 SP: 90/90 Stats Strength: 8 Agility: 9 Vitality: 10 Endurance: 9 Intelligence: 8 Wisdom: 7 Free Points: 0 Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) His Identify(Common) skill seemed pretty basic and simple, yet Raj was grateful that he got it. His Mana Slash(Common) skill was also pretty easy to understand, and Raj could not wait to try it out. Raj glanced back up at the tutorial lady, and she took the cue to continue her speech. ¡°Now that you have seen your status and selected your class, the next thing to discuss is the tutorial itself. Essentially, you will be thrust into a wilderness of sorts, with some open areas and resources. You and 99 others will be together in this iteration of the tutorial, with the rest of your planet being broken up into similar tutorials. Aside from you humans, there will be other non-sapients to contend with, or monsters, as you may refer to them as. There is also the issue of Tutorial Contribution, or TC. It is basically a points system, but you will not directly see the points. Rest assured, however, as actions such as slaying monsters or even your fellow humans will earn you tutorial contribution. Any Quests completed will also earn you TC. You can see Quests the same way as your Status,¡± she finished, with not even a hint of exhaustion apparent on her face. ¡°Were you able to understand that?¡± ¡°Um, yeah, thanks. That was really detailed,¡± Raj stammered, pleasantly surprised by the depth of the information provided to him. ¡°Very well. The final item for us to discuss is the weapon you would like to choose to take with you to the tutorial. They will be basic weapons, and you are likely to find better in the tutorial. Here are your options.¡± Once she finished talking, a light shone, and then 3 weapons suddenly appeared on the ground in front of him. Spear(Common-H): A basic spear that is capable of fending off attackers and keeping them at bay. Sword(Common-H): A basic sword with a sharp edge, capable of quick movements and dealing heavy damage. Axe(Common-H): A basic axe that is heavy and provides destructive force behind each swing. Raj looked through the options for a moment. It seemed as though the weapons provided were based on his class choice, which made sense. He picked the sword after only a moment¡¯s hesitation, causing the other two weapons to vanish. ¡°Excellent choice. Now that you have selected your weapon, our time here has come to an end. I wish you luck in the tutorial.¡± With that final note the tutorial lady disappeared. ¡°Wait!¡± Raj shouted at the now empty room. ¡°Well, I guess I am on my own now. Now, how do I even get to the tutorial in the first place?¡± As if reading his mind, the system filled his vision up with a prompt. Transporting to Tutorial¡­ And with that last prompt, Raj felt himself start to freefall once again. ¡°Really! Come on, at least give me a warningggg!¡± Tutorial Commencing¡­ 3. Sweet Sweet EXP Raj woke up for the second time that day, this time in a forest. A prompt greeted him as soon as he was able to process what was happening. Welcome to the Tutorial Information: The Tutorial will proceed for 30 days. The only required criteria for completion is survival. Anything else is extra and will thus be rewarded for. Tutorial Contribution(TC) will be given to all participants for any actions that impact the tutorial or the beings inside it. This includes slaying monsters or other humans, as well as completing or contributing to the completion of objectives. The leaders in terms of TC will be given rewards at the end of the tutorial in accordance to the amount of TC they have. TC is not visible as points by the participants. Objectives: A power lurks in the grassy plains to the East of the forest. Defeat the monstrosity and its 3 most powerful subordinates to complete the objective. ¡°Well, she did say wilderness, I guess this is what she meant,¡± Raj mumbled as he slowly rose to his feet. He looked around and found his new sword laying in the grass a few feet away. ¡°I just realized this doesn¡¯t come with a sheath,¡± Raj grumbled, picking his sword up. ¡°That¡¯s annoying. And it¡¯s pretty big too. Not as big as my sword though¡­ hehe.¡± Two-year-old humor aside, he took in his surroundings. To his right, he saw some trees. To his left, he saw some more trees. In front of him, he saw even more trees. And behind him there were¡­ more fucking trees! ¡°Where the hell am I supposed to go?¡± Raj wondered. ¡°I¡¯m not a survivalist, I don¡¯t know how I¡¯m going to survive out here in the forest.¡± He took a deep breath, and started thinking. He knew that the basic necessities of food, water, and shelter would be key. He did not know how big the forest was, but he knew that there were others, 99 others to be exact, so he should run into people eventually. I cannot count on that happening today though. Food should not be too big of an issue, seeing as how the robo-lady told me that they were monsters here. I am going to assume that I can eat at least something. Water is something I am going to have to search for. Shelter as well. Wait, don¡¯t I have a profession on my Status? ¡°Damn it,¡± Raj muttered, cursing his own stupidity. ¡°Why did I not ask her when I had the chance. What if I could get a profession to help me survive, or to get stronger?¡± Raj decided that he could not really gain anything from standing around any longer. He wanted to test out his Mana Slash(Common) skill, but he realized that he did not know anything about his MP in this world, or how fast it would regenerate. He did not want to waste a precious resource in the open, and he could also attract unwanted attention. After all, the tutorial probably had monsters that he could not even dream of taking on at his current strength. I should have asked her for information about what the stats do. I am actually so stupid. He started walking through the forest, making sure to stay on high alert. He wanted to be ready for anything that could come his way. Without a sheathe, his sword was held in both hands in front of him. His walk went on for 5 long but silent minutes, which eventually morphed into 10. His nerves were all but shot at this point, and his eyes started drooping. Raj realized that it was late night when he was inducted by the System, so he was pretty tired. That¡¯s when Raj remembered that Arjun had been right next to him when he got inducted in the first place! ¡°Shit! How the hell did I forget about my best friend!¡± Raj exclaimed. ¡°I must be more tired than I thought! I hope he is okay. Arjun has always been a fighter after all, and he works out. He should be able to survive until we can meet up. I hope he gets shaken out of his drunken stupor by the System, or he is screwed.¡± Raj then realized that he had said that out loud, and not in a whisper. He mentally berated himself for what seemed like the tenth time since he landed in the tutorial. That¡¯s when Raj heard a growl somewhere to his left. He froze, and then quickly turned to face the direction that the growl came from. Then, Raj saw the head of a fox emerge from the dense foliage. Raj was instantly fearful and glad. He was fearful because he was facing a predator. With a thought, Raj activated his skill Identify(Common) for the first time. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! [Fox - lvl 2] The information he got was pretty minimal, but at least he was able to identify the level and type of beast he was going up against. Raj raised his sword and charged at the fox. The fox lunged at him with surprising speed, causing Raj to halt his charge and dodge to the left. The fox¡¯s increased level means it probably has better stats than me. I have to remember that. He feinted a wide slash, and then spun around and sliced at the right flank of the fox. He was rewarded for his efforts, his sword biting deep into the flesh of the fox. He received a claw to the leg in retaliation, and he stepped back, pulling his sword out, causing blood to spray out from the wound. Raj winced at his wound. It was not deep, but still troublesome and limited his movement. The fox was definitely on the losing end of that exchange however, and it tried to limp back into the forest. Raj was still pretty far away from it, and the fox was fighting more defensively, which meant that Raj¡¯s chance of injury was increased. A crippling injury in this forest could spell death. Raj decided that it was time to try his Mana Slash(Common) skill out. He focused on his skill, and felt something drain out of him. His blade started shining with a blue light, and he quickly slashed horizontally in the direction of the fox. The effects were devastating. The slash of light sped towards the fox, leaving the injured animal no time to react. The fox was cut open at the chest; it was not fully bisected, but it was still cut deep into its organs. Life fled the beast¡¯s eyes, and Raj felt a surge of warmth flood into him. ¡°Woah,¡± He gasped after the rush subsided. He refocused and saw a prompt waiting for him. You have slain [Fox - lvl 2]. Bonus EXP for killing an enemy at a higher level than you. Congratulations! You have leveled up x1! Stats have been distributed. Raj took a moment to process the notification. So fighting higher-level opponents gives bonus EXP¡­ I guess that makes sense. Raj decided to assign his free point right away instead of waiting, seeing as how he would need all the strength he could get. I don¡¯t really need INT or WIS right now. My Mana Slash(Common) skill is my only mana drain so far, and I can cast it 8 times, which should be enough for any fight. No, I need some more physical stats. After some more thought, he decided to put 1 stat into AGI and one stat into VIT. A rush of power coursed through him once he confirmed the changes, and Raj felt like he could take on the world! He opened his new Status to see the changes. Status Name: Rajeev Narayanan Race: Human(H) Class: Warrior[(Common-H) lvl 2] Profession: None Titles: None HP: 117/130(bleeding, -1/sec) MP: 71/80 SP: 74/100 Stats Strength: 10 Agility: 11 Vitality: 13 Endurance: 10 Intelligence: 8 Wisdom: 7 Free Points: 0 Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) Raj winced when he realized that his health was being drained because of his leg wound. He quickly made a shoddy bandage out of the foliage around him, and his poor medical work was fortunately enough to stop the effect. My HP, MP, and SP all regenerate by themselves. HP is probably VIT for regen too, SP might be END as well, but MP might be WIS for regen. I don¡¯t know the exact numbers though. Raj decided not to waste more time in this area. He started walking, this time electing to go in the direction that the fox came from. He hoped that the fox would have made camp around a source of food, water, or shelter. Maybe a cave or a lake. Raj walked past the corpse of the fox. He felt sad that he had killed the fox, but he knew that he did not have a choice. He walked with a slight limp and watched his stats tick up slowly. I¡¯ll need all the HP, MP, and SP I can get if I want to survive. As Raj started to disappear into the thick forest greenery, he had one final thought. I wonder how Arjun is doing? 3.5. Interlude: Arjun Of course, Arjun thought. I get wasted and then get some cosmic karma thrown my way. This shit is exactly what Raj reads about. Too bad I was never into it. On the bright side, at least the apocalypse magically made me sober. Arjun checked his Status once more, still trying to make sense of it. Status Name: Arjun Sharma Race: Human(H) Class: Mage[(Common-H) lvl 1] Profession: None Titles: None HP: 80/80 MP: 70/70 SP: 90/90 Stats Strength: 10 Agility: 7 Vitality: 8 Endurance: 10 Intelligence: 7 Wisdom: 7 Free Points: 0 Class Skills: Mana Bolt(Common) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) Arjun just shook his head at himself as he trudged through the forest. He was built for a Warrior(Common-H) class, but he could not bring himself to pick it. He had always thought that mages were pretty cool in fantasy, and it seemed smarter anyway. Why charge into the fray when he could just sit back and cast spells. Besides, it did not seem like the starter stats were too relevant. A couple of levels would be enough to skew his stats to make them more mage-like. Besides, his skill was pretty cool. Mana Bolt(Common): Summon a bolt of pure mana that will be launched in the direction that the user wills it to. A low-level skill that is seen as the first stepping stone for mages as a whole. Cost: 10 MP It wasn¡¯t a bad skill. Arjun had tested it out against a tree when he had first arrived here, and it had shredded bark where it had landed, going about halfway through the tree with the explosion on impact. It was more of a single target spell, which meant that Arjun had to use it sparingly. He only had 7 chances to use it in a fight, and his mana regen wasn¡¯t fast enough to award him another use in a fight. Still, he had fully regenerated his MP just a couple minutes ago, and the hot lady had said that his mana regenerated at his WIS divided by 10 per minute. Same went for his HP and VIT, and his SP and END. Arjun kept walking through the dense thicket of trees, using his new staff to knock some branches out of the way. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Staff(Common-H): A basic wooden staff. While not too reliable in close combat, this staff acts as a conduit for low-level magic power, allowing for a 1% boost to casting speed. This staff was the epitome of basic equipment, with the 1% casting speed boost being basically nothing at all, and it was something he was definitely going to have to replace if he got stronger. But for now, it was good enough. Arjun realized that he was way better off teaming up with someone, especially in this kind of environment. All by himself, he was an easy target for any beasts who were lurking in the forest. Arjun suddenly heard a scream, which seemed to have come from directly in front of him. After only a moment of hesitation, he started moving towards it at a fast, yet cautious pace. As he got closer, he could hear what sounded like a fight. As he broke through the tree line into a small clearing, he saw a white man with brown hair, who looked to be about 6 feet tall and built. The man was holding an axe, and was facing off against a small creature. Arjun activated Identify(Common). [Squirrel - lvl 1] A squirrel? Arjun thought, squinting. How is that even a fight? His doubts were quickly dispelled when the squirrel jumped, faster than Arjun thought possible, and sunk its teeth into the man¡¯s left calf. The man screamed in pain, and Arjun noticed multiple such wounds on the man¡¯s body. He buckled, his leg unable to hold him up. The squirrel jumped back a few steps, and the man was unable to do anything against such a small critter. His axe is not doing him any favors in this match up. Arjun knew he had to do something, or else the man would most likely die. Arjun approached the squirrel, and then activated Mana Bolt(Common). He felt a rush of power leave him as 10 MP were drained from his reservoir and poured into the spell. The power was drawn through his body and into his staff, before finally exploding out of the top and racing towards the squirrel. The little animal had not even noticed Arjun before, having been fully focused on the man. Now, however, the squirrel seemed to have seen the spell racing toward it, and turned towards it. This caused the bolt to hit it in the chest, sealing its fate. You have slain [Squirrel - lvl 1]. Arjun ran over to the man, who had slumped down to the ground once the squirrel was dead. ¡°Hey,¡± Arjun called. ¡°You okay?¡± The man raised his head to respond. ¡°Yeah, thanks to you. You saved my life man. That looked like a mage type spell. As you could probably tell, my axe was not all that helpful against that quick little creature.¡± ¡°You did not look like you were having fun,¡± Arjun said in return. ¡°Are your wounds going to be okay?¡± ¡°Yeah, I should be fine. None of the wounds were big, but they are an annoyance. I am going to have to sit down for a moment and heal up,¡± The man said, groaning as he eased his way to a sitting position. With a thought, Arjun activated Identify(Common) again. [Human(Warrior-Common) lvl 1] Huh, Arjun mused. I can see his class on top of his race and level. Is it because we are the same species? Or is it because we have been friendly towards each other so far? Arjun waited for the man to heal up, making small talk to pass the time. As he talked, Arjun grinned when he thought of Raj, and he knew that Raj definitely picked warrior. He was also using a sword, no doubt about it. ¡°Alright, I am full HP now. My MP and SP are also topped off, so I am good to go. Do you maybe want to travel together?¡± The man said, looking at Arjun hopefully. ¡°Sure, why not. After all, I could definitely use someone to watch my back. And we complement each other pretty well in terms of classes,¡± Arjun replied, having expected the question. The man simply nodded back, and they both got up. ¡°Straight?¡± Arjun proposed. ¡°Sure,¡± The man replied. ¡°Say, what is your name?¡± Arjun inquired, slightly embarrassed for not asking sooner. ¡°It¡¯s George. What about you?¡± ¡°Arjun.¡± George just nodded again, and a tentative feeling of camaraderie and comfort in numbers enveloped them as they trekked through the forest. 4. Outmatched and Outnumbered = Win(Magic is OP) Raj continued to push on through the forest, all the while marveling at his new and improved healing. An injury like the one I had would have taken a while to heal up; my injury isn¡¯t even limiting me anymore. Raj¡¯s resource pools had also all filled up, meaning he was back to peak fighting condition. He was starting to get a bit jumpy, as his first fight had set him off. His eyes darted back and forth, constantly scanning the forest around him. He kept twirling his sword in his hand, making sure to keep warm and on the balls of his feet should he need it. The silence of the forest was keeping him in suspense. Thankfully, he did not have to wait long for a change, as after only a few more minutes, he came across a clearing much larger than the one he had encountered the fox at. In the middle of the clearing was a pristine lake that sparkled as the moonlight danced across its surface. Wait, moonlight? Raj, thought, slightly shocked. I guess I wasn¡¯t paying attention to the time of day. Kind of stupid, but in my defense, I have been in a really thick forest. He continued to scan the clearing, and saw a cave that sat on the opposite side of the clearing from him. The issue of water and shelter, two of the biggest necessities for survival, had just been checked off. All he needed was some food, and he could probably find some plants or maybe an animal that he could cook. His mouth practically salivated at the thought of food, and his stomach grumbled in anticipation. He knew this place was probably one of the best spots he would find, and he thanked whatever gods were out there for it. Just then, he noticed something odd. ¡°Why is there a boar corpse lying there?¡± He muttered. Just then, as if he was heard by the divine ones themselves, a pack of wolves emerged from the treeline, about 15 feet away from him. ¡°Are you fucking serious?¡± Raj exclaimed. ¡°Did my prayers piss you off that much? Of course it was too good to be true. I want whoever is orchestrating this to know that I will happily stick my foot up your¡ª¡± Whatever he may have been about to say was cut off by the wolves starting a slow approach towards his position. Raj counted five wolves, and he activated Identify(Common) five times in rapid succession. [Wolf - lvl 2] [Wolf - lvl 2] [Wolf - lvl 2] [Wolf - lvl 2] [Wolf - lvl 3] ¡°Ah shit.¡± Raj murmured helplessly. He assumed that the level 3 was the pack leader. He could barely beat the level 2 fox before, and it was just one creature. He did not see how he could beat the pack before him. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Still, he had to try. Focusing, Raj sprung into action. He knew that he could not let the pack get close to him with their numbers, as that would spell death. He had to try and thin the pack out a bit before they got too close. Raj activated Mana Slash(Common) and sent the horizontal slash straight towards the left-most wolf. He followed that up with another slash at the same wolf. He had just used a fourth of his MP, but he got the prompt he was hoping for. You have slain [Wolf - lvl 2]. The other wolves howled at the loss of their fallen comrade, and they charged towards him at once. Raj took a deep breath. The wolves had narrowed the gap between them and him to 10 feet now. Still, Raj waited. He knew that his Mana Slash(Common) was more accurate and lethal at closer range, and he could not afford to miss. The wolves crossed 5 feet. Then, they were on top of him. The two wolves on the right jumped at him together. That¡¯s when Raj blew them to hell. He sent a Mana Slash(Common) straight at their heads, and it rewarded him by mutilating their faces. They were flung backwards, not moving at all. Raj had no time to give them a second thought, and he quickly turned back to the last two wolves. They were too close to him however, so he could not muster any sort of response. They lunged together, and he desperately jumped backwards and braced himself. Raj felt claws rake against his forearms, drawing blood. Another set of claws found his legs, and he screamed in pain. He stumbled backwards, blood oozing from his wounds. The wolves were unrelenting however, and immediately pursued. Raj sent another two Mana Slash(Common) at the pack leader, but was shocked when the wolf twisted its body mid-air and was only grazed by one, while the other one missed entirely. Raj spun out of the reach of the other remaining wolf, and thrust his sword deep into its flank, not killing it but deeply wounding it. Instantly, Raj pulled his sword out and dove to the side in a fluid motion. His prediction was correct, as the pack leader dove a second later at the empty space he had been in. Raj engaged the pack leader, and did his best to keep him at arm''s length. He grazed the left flank of the wolf, and danced out of the way of a claw, immediately turning right to avoid its teeth. The damage he was inflicting was not enough, and he was running out of resources and energy. Raj had to take a gamble. He charged up a Mana Slash(Common), and took aim. The wolf reacted by jumping back slightly, but it was not the intended target of Raj¡¯s attack. The Mana Slash(Common) flew past the pack leader and buried itself deep into the flesh of the wolf that he had downed earlier, causing it to give one last shudder before exhaling its final breath. The pack leader howled, but had no time to retaliate, as the separation it had given Raj by jumping back was enough for him to send yet another Mana Slash(Common) at the alpha, and this time, it could not dodge. The slash cut through the wolf¡¯s front left leg, effectively crippling it. Raj wasted no time and followed this attack by sending his last Mana Slash at the wolf, which cut through its chest, finally ending its life. Raj started to keel over, both from the blood loss and sheer exhaustion. He forced himself to remain upright long enough to make the walk to the cave, so he would at least be relatively safe. Once there, he collapsed, and in only a matter of seconds, he had drifted off to sleep. 5. Numbers and Distractions Raj slowly opened his eyes, and was greeted by a beautiful morning view of his little clearing. I really needed that sleep, huh? Raj thought, stretching. He took a second to process what had happened the day before. It was almost unbelievable, but against all odds, he had managed to come out on top. A jolt of pain made him remember how the fight had ended. Superhuman healing can¡¯t fix everything I guess. Raj decided it was finally time to address the prompts that were cluttering his vision. You have slain [Wolf - lvl 2]. You have slain [Wolf - lvl 2]. You have slain [Wolf - lvl 2]. You have slain [Wolf - lvl 3]. Bonus EXP for killing an enemy at a higher level than you. Congratulations! You have leveled up x2! Stats have been distributed. Raj excitedly opened his Status to see the changes. Status Name: Rajeev Narayanan Race: Human(H) Class: Warrior[(Common-H) lvl 4] Profession: None Titles: None HP: 170/170 MP: 90/90 SP: 120/120 Stats Strength: 14 Agility: 15 Vitality: 17 Endurance: 12 Intelligence: 9 Wisdom: 8 Free Points: 0 Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common) Profession Skills: None The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. General Skills: Identify(Common) Numbers are crunching, and I am a happy man, Raj giddily thought as he rubbed his hands together in his most sinister impression. As for my Free Points¡­ Raj put 1 point into INT and 1 point into WIS immediately. He was close to running out of MP in the last fight, and he could always use the boosted mana regen. It seemed like all his regens were the correlated stat divided by 10, but Raj couldn¡¯t be sure. He then decided to dump both of his remaining points into AGI, and closed the screen. He could always use the speed. He preferred to not get hit by deadly attacks and weapons, though that was a personal preference. With that done, Raj checked on his wounds. His legs were mostly healed up, with only scars left to show. His arms on the other hand were still somewhat injured. They were gouged much deeper by the wolf claws, and would take a bit longer to heal. They were still fit enough for combat, however. and Raj could take the minimal pain. My time with Indian parents has upped my pain tolerance, after all. So I should be good. That thought made Raj shudder, deciding to not take that trip down memory lane. Instead, he decided to plan out his day. To start off with, he already had shelter, and the lake seemed like a good water source. So the most pressing issue was food. He hadn¡¯t eaten since early last night, and all the physical activity he had been doing had drained him. Raj vaguely remembered seeing some sort of animal carcass that looked like a boar relatively close to where he fought the wolves, so he made to leave the cave. As he got up however, something caught his eye. He turned to face the end of the cave, about 5 feet from where he currently stood, and saw a glint in the wall. Curious, he walked towards it and leaned forward. He was rewarded for his world-class detective work with a ring. With a thought, he activated Identify(Common). Spatial Ring(Common-H): A ring capable of storing items within a storage space. Items can be placed into the storage space, and summoned back out at will. ¡°HAHA, Jackpot!¡± Raj whooped excitedly, doing a little happy dance. A spatial bag, or ring in this case, was essentially a necessity if you wanted to survive and grow stronger. Based on everything Raj had ever read anyway. But even logically, a spatial storage could allow you to carry everything you need right on your person without having to either juggle all of your belongings, or leave some items behind. He slipped it on his ring finger, and started testing it out. After a couple of minutes of this testing, he finally determined that the storage space was about the size of a bathtub, so nothing too big, but still very handy. The rest of the ring was exactly as the description said. With the joy of his new ring still showing on his face, he decided it was time to finally address the food issue. He stepped out of the cave, and was immediately assaulted with the same morning sunlight that he was praising earlier. I wonder how much time has passed, Raj mused. That thought prompted him to open the tutorial page. Welcome to the Tutorial Information: The Tutorial will proceed for 30 days. The only required criteria for completion is survival. Anything else is extra and will thus be rewarded for. Countdown: 29 days, 13 hours and 43 minutes Tutorial Contribution(TC) will be given to all participants for any actions that impact the tutorial or the beings inside it. This includes slaying monsters or other humans, as well as completing or contributing to the completion of objectives. The leaders in terms of TC will be given rewards at the end of the tutorial in accordance to the amount of TC they have. TC is not visible as points by the participants. Objectives: A power lurks in the grassy plains to the East of the forest. Defeat the monstrosity and its 3 most powerful subordinates to complete the objective. A new countdown had been added to the page, which is what Raj had been hoping for. What he had not been hoping for, however, was the fact that, despite everything that he had been through, it had not even been half of a day. ¡°How is that even possible?¡± He bemoaned. ¡°Whatever, enough distractions. I am going to get some food, even if it kills me!¡± With that happy thought in mind, he started marching in the direction of the forest where the boar came from, his sword held tight in hand. 6. A Dancing Lizard Raj did not encounter any monsters or clearings on his walk, which made him slightly suspicious. Maybe they are running from something? He thought. After an entire half hour of tense forest walking, he finally saw a sliver of light cutting through the foliage. Excited, Raj made his way towards the break at a fast, yet still cautious, pace. When he finally got through, all of his suspicions and tensions were momentarily forgotten as he just stood there, dumbfounded and awestruck by the view. A brilliant blue sky looked down on a seemingly never-ending expanse of plains, filled with grass that was tall and vibrant. Not 20 feet away from Raj was a group of what looked to be the same boar-like creatures as the carcass back at the clearing. Curious, he identified one. [Boaralo - lvl 2] Raj stood there for a moment, stupefied. Boaralo? Why? Then he realized that the creature kind of looked like a cross between¡­ that¡¯s right, a boar and a buffalo. It was big and stocky, with two horns resting atop its head. It had a layer of fur, and a pig-like face with two pointed ears jutting out from the top of its head. There is no way this great cosmic entity, that can literally end a planet, and kidnap billions of people, and control a sizable chunk of the universe, has the naming sense of a literal toddler. Shaking his head, he realized that there were about fifty of the boaralos milling about in the field. He also realized that he only needed one. He wasn¡¯t exactly sure if they were safe to eat, but it was made of pig, so maybe? Wait, I don¡¯t eat red meat and pork. But to be fair, any sort of religious stuff like that is kind of tossed out in the face of this. My survival is more important to me than my religion, however, so¡­gimme some bacon! Without wasting any more time, he charged up a Mana Slash, and sent it flying towards what seemed to him like a healthy boaralo, and then, after the rest of the herd had started to panic and stampede he ran over to quickly finish it off and drag it into the forest before they could mount a counterattack. You have slain [Boaralo - lvl 2]. Bringing the carcass back to his clearing was a struggle. The boaralo was heavy! He had been walking for two minutes when he stopped. I am so stupid. There¡¯s no way I forgot that I had this item. I literally just found it! Embarrassed, he placed his meal in his storage ring, and started walking again. Whoops, he thought. At least I didn¡¯t walk too far like that. He was still a few minutes out, but the idea of a meal seemed to light a fire under him. Unfortunately for him, the tutorial wasn¡¯t going to let him have it easily. When he was roughly 2 minutes away from the clearing, he heard a noise from his left, and turned, only to find a deer-like animal bounding right at him. He firmly grasped his sword, ready to fight. He triggered Identify(Common). [Elk - lvl 3] The beast was strong, but he was still confident in his abilities, and he knew he could beat it. He was ready for the fight. However, the elk did not look to fight him. Rather, it bounded past him, leaving Raj confused, wondering what had just happened. The elk almost looked like it was scared. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Now, Raj was not the biggest genius in the world or anything, but even his brain was able to piece together what was happening, and it made him pale. The only real possibility was that the elk was spooked away by something stronger. It was at least his level, but Raj had a sneaking suspicion that it was higher. A couple seconds later, his suspicions were confirmed. A monstrosity of a behemoth stepped forth out of the shadows of the forest, immediately locking eyes with Raj. It had scales as black as night, claws sharper than a knife, razor-sharp teeth, and a somewhat intelligent look in its golden eyes. The cobra hood around its head spread itself wide. It looks like a mutated cross between a lizard and a king cobra on steroids. Raj identified the beast, and what he saw instantly made his heart stop cold. [Gorlax - lvl 8] Level 8?!? There was no way! The damn thing was double his own level! He tried to creep backwards into the forest, but the gorlax lunged at him so fast it was all he could do to throw himself to the side. He stumbled back onto his feet, and sent a Mana Slash(Common) at it. The gorlax turned right into the slash, and Raj started to internally cheer, only to see the gorlax balance on one leg and twist itself out of the way, only receiving a minor scratch. What the actual fuck! Raj mentally exclaimed. Did I just watch a mutated lizard fucking breakdance out of the way of my slash? He sent another horizontal Mana Slash(Common), and this time he did manage to get a proper hit. The slash slammed into the lizard¡¯s chest, and¡­ stopped. What? My Mana Slash(Common) isn¡¯t strong enough? It must have good natural defense with the scales. Raj did not relent, knowing that if he gave up on the offensive, he was as good as dead. He had to kill the gorlax before it could retaliate. He sent yet another slash at the gorlax this time aiming for its eyes to buy him a couple of precious seconds. He used the time to charge at the beast, and just as the lizard twisted to minimize the damage of the slash, Raj jumped on top of the monster. The lizard bucked and tried to throw him off, but Raj wildly stabbed down, once, twice, three times, and was rewarded as his blade struck true, piercing the scales of the gorlax and causing massive internal damage. The lizard roared in defiance, managing to shake him off, throwing him five feet away. Raj rolled a few times, but managed to quickly get up. He was shocked to find a line of blood that weaved its way down his chest. When did the gorlax scratch me? The wound was not life threatening, and did not limit his movement, so he just brushed it off. He sent three Mana Slash(Common) attacks at the lizard, all at different angles and places, trying to ensure he got a hit. The lizard surprised him by running into one of the Mana Slash(Common) attacks, and it charged straight towards him. Not expecting the move, Raj¡¯s reaction was delayed, and he paid for it dearly. Claws sank deep into his gut, and teeth sank into left shoulder. Raj gasped in pain, desperately trying to tear away. His vision started to dim, and he was losing consciousness and blood fast. Still, he knew had to do something. Mustering every last ounce of power he had, he sent a mana slash into the lizard¡¯s gut, making it recoil back. Raj followed the blow with a devastating strike through the still open mouth of the gorlax. He plunged his blade through the roof of its mouth, carving up the inside of its mouth and hoping to deal vital damage. His limbs started to fail him, and he started to fall. With one last desperate thrust, he finally found the damn thing¡¯s brain, and a rush of EXP flooded into him. As Raj started to fade out of consciousness, his last thought was to dump all of his free stats into VIT, praying that it would be enough to save his life. Announcement Hi everyone! Thanks for all the support you have shown The Enlightened Blade so far. Considering that I only have six chapters up(7 with the interlude), it is hard to believe. I just wanted to keep you guys informed about my plans for the future. I plan to have at least chapter 10 out by the end of this week, and I have plans to at least release up to chapter 20 at the bare minimum for this book. Any chapters after that would be decided at that point. As much as I am enjoying writing, it would not make sense for me to continue writing a story that is not well-liked. So if you are enjoying this book, try to support it as much as possible, so that it can be continued. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Thanks! 7. A Training Montage and Some Angry Sword Gods Raj woke up next to the dead gorlax, grimacing at the lingering pain in his abdomen. His shoulder stung a bit as well, but it was rapidly closing up. The extra VIT that he had added seemed to have allowed his body to heal most of his injuries. He did still have them however, and he estimated that he would have to take it easy for at least the next few hours, preferably the entire day. He sat up against the corpse of the gorlax, and addressed the slew of prompts that awaited him. You have slain [Gorlax - lvl 8]. Bonus EXP for killing an enemy at a higher level than you. Congratulations! You have leveled up x3! Stats have been distributed. You have been awarded the [Giant Slayer] title. Giant Slayer - Slay a foe that was double your level. +5% to all stats. You have been awarded the [Vitality I] title. Vitality I - Reach 25 base vitality. +3 VIT. Raj sat in stunned silence, amazed at the insane gains he had received. Not only had he leveled up 3 times, but he had also received 2 titles. The [Vitality I] title seemed pretty standard, and everyone should be able to get it in only a few levels. The [Giant Slayer] title on the other hand, seemed to be incredibly rare. A percentage boost to my stats is insane, Raj thought giddily. To be fair, killing an enemy double your level is probably close to impossible at higher levels, and even now I was seconds away from death. That thought put a damper on his happiness. While fighting higher level enemies was super beneficial, it was deadly, and even one slip-up would spell death. It would only get harder and harder to fight higher levels as he got stronger as well. He turned his attention to his Status, curious and excited to see the changes. Status Name: Rajeev Narayanan Race: Human(H) Class: Warrior[(Common-H) lvl 7] Profession: None Titles: Giant Slayer, Vitality I HP: 330/330 MP: 90/90 SP: 150/150 Stats Strength: 21(20) Agility: 18(18) Vitality: 33(32) Endurance: 15(15) Intelligence: 9(9) Wisdom: 8(8) Free Points: 0 Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) Raj was happy that his stats were going up, as any sane person would be. The only thing somewhat souring his mood was his insanely high VIT stat. Raj knew that it had been necessary for his survival, but at the same time, he did not want his VIT stat to be his main stat. He wanted to be relatively balanced, with his AGI being his dump stat, with the occasional Free Point into INT or WIS. That way he could keep his MP and mana regen high. STR and VIT already got 2 points per level, so if he wanted a high AGI, he would need to spend most of his Free Points there. At this point, the only way to fix it is to dump all but a couple free points into AGI, and then pray that the next class upgrade, or maybe my profession, focuses more on AGI. Speaking of, I wonder when I will unlock my profession? Raj closed his Status and brought the tutorial panel up. Welcome to the Tutorial Information: The Tutorial will proceed for 30 days. The only required criteria for completion is survival. Anything else is extra and will thus be rewarded for. Countdown: 28 days, 23 hours and 21 minutes Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Tutorial Contribution(TC) will be given to all participants for any actions that impact the tutorial or the beings inside it. This includes slaying monsters or other humans, as well as completing or contributing to the completion of objectives. The leaders in terms of TC will be given rewards at the end of the tutorial in accordance to the amount of TC they have. TC is not visible as points by the participants. Objectives: A power lurks in the grassy plains to the East of the forest. Defeat the monstrosity and its 3 most powerful subordinates to complete the objective. Raj¡¯s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when he realized how long he had been asleep. He had left the cave at around 13 hours left on the first day, and it had been around 14 hours! Raj was suddenly reminded that he was in the middle of the forest, which was full of dangerous creatures. How was I not attacked during my twelvish hours of sleep? He wondered. Then he realized that the credit lay with the enemy he had slain. The gorlax had probably scared most of the nearby creatures away, and that had allowed Raj to have an undisturbed sleep. Raj had never been one to push his luck however, so he immediately got up and left, pausing only to store the gorlax corpse. Who knows if it might come in handy? He thought. It was an uneventful, yet tense walk to the cave. He got there in just 2 minutes, but it may as well have been hours. He was especially on edge due to the fact that he was not in fighting shape just yet. When he finally broke into the clearing, he heaved an enormous sigh of relief. Suddenly, a wave of weakness washed over him. That¡¯s when he realized that he still had not had any food since before the tutorial! He walked to the front of the cave, and fished the boaralo corpse out. Wait, he thought. How do I get a fire going? He frantically searched the cave, furious with himself for not thinking about this issue sooner. If he could not even start a fire, then all of what he had went through to get the boaralo would have been for nothing. Well, not for nothing. I did get stronger. He searched for a few more minutes before finally finding what he was looking for. At least, it looked like what he was looking for. I really hope this is flint, or at least something that could work. He placed the flint in his spatial ring, and walked back out to the forest edge, scrounging up some sticks and kindling that he thought would be good for a fire. Jokes on you, you stupid cosmic deity, he thought. I watched Survivor. He threw the base of a campfire together, which took him about 10 minutes, and many tries, before he finally had something that he thought was acceptable. Just before lighting the fire, he sent up a prayer, begging for forgiveness. To any sword gods out there, please forgive me. He struck the flint-like rock against his sword, once, twice, thrice, four times, before finally seeing the sparks set the kindling and wood ablaze. He hurriedly dropped to all fours, blowing the fire and trying to spread it. After a few minutes of his frantic antics, he finally had a working fire. He whooped for joy, but his stomach reminded him to stay on track with a little grumble. He grabbed his sword and did his best to skin a section of the boaralo, before cutting it out. He fashioned a spit, and started roasting his poorly cut boaralo piece on it. Raj felt like he had been waiting for years when the boaralo finally looked somewhat ready to eat. Raj did not see any pink, so he hoped that¡¯s what it meant. Last thing I need is food poisoning. He took a tentative bite out of the meat, and moaned in happiness. He could feel his hunger satiating, and he tore into the remainder of the meat. He polished it off in only a minute or two, and then drank it down with the water from the lake. He just sprawled in the grass afterwards, basking in sheer happiness from just being alive. Sadly, he knew the moment could not last forever, and with a wince reminding him of his injuries, he got up. I can still be productive today despite my injuries, he thought firmly. Raj began by putting his current fire out, and gathering more kindling and firewood. He knew that while a fire would be nice, it was essentially a beacon, and the less attention it attracted, the better. ¡°That includes people,¡± he muttered darkly. The only person he could completely trust was Arjun, and he knew that some would kill him just to have this spot. He stored the firewood and kindling he had collected in his cave, and then started trying to re-sharpen his blade and fix some of the damage he had caused while making the fire. He used the same flint stone he had found, seeing as he did not have anything better, and tried the technique he had learnt from HEMA. After an entire 30 minutes of trying, he stopped. This is not at all effective, he mused. I am going to need to find a better stone or metal to use. At least I got the worst of the damage out. Afterwards, he got up and decided that even if he could not risk fighting yet, he could still train. So far, he had been very reliant on his Mana Slash(Common) spell, but he knew that it would lose effectiveness against stronger opponents. His slashes struggled against the scales of the gorlax, and as the monsters got stronger, they would be able to resist his spell more and more. Therefore, he started training with his sword. He ran through the basic katas, maintaining a steady breathing pattern throughout. Inhale. Move. Exhale. Slice. He kept going until his clothes were drenched in sweat, Then, he shifted to practicing quick slashes, sweeps and thrusts. These would be vital as he would need to adapt to any opponent he saw. He practiced different combinations of attacks at different speeds, wincing in pain each time he twisted his body. He knew pain tolerance would be very important in the future, which is why he was training through it. Better to do it in a controlled environment than against a monster. He finally stopped as the sun started to drop below the trees. He walked back to his cave, got another fire going, and skinned the rest of the boaralo the best he could. Once he had finished with that, he cut it up into pieces and roasted each of them, eating one of the pieces and storing the rest into his spatial ring. It seemed to keep food fresh, for at least a little while. He washed down his meal with water, and then walked back to the cave. He put out his fire and then leaned against the cave wall. Not a bad day, he thought. Then, exhaustion overtook him, and he drifted off to sleep. 8. A Game of Tag with a Dark Twist Raj awoke the next day, delighted that his wounds had more or less cleared up. While they may have seemed like devastating wounds, most of my important organs were protected, and VIT took care of the rest, he mused. He got up, doing some light stretches as he walked out of the cave. His first order of business was to eat breakfast, which had just been a piece of grilled boaralo meat and some lake water to wash it down. He wasn¡¯t exactly excited about the food, but it kept him alive. After eating his so-called breakfast, Raj pondered what he should do next. He knew that this world was dangerous, and his current lifestyle may be enough to live out the rest of the tutorial. Even if the beasts that the gorlax had scared away started to come back, he could avoid them for as long as he needed, only venturing out for food. That being said¡­ Raj knew how these LitRPG worlds worked. His books always described a world where power ruled supreme, while those who were weaker were stomped into the mud. Considering that the tutorial guide had said that those ideas had been fed down by whoever was running or managing the tutorial to begin with, it seemed like a good indicator as to what his current reality was. Raj knew he could not just hide away. He would have to hunt to gain levels in order to preserve his future. At the same time, I refuse to just run around like a banshee and pick a fight with everything that moves, he thought. With his mind set, he grabbed his sword out of his spatial ring and headed out into the forest, confident that he would succeed and return stronger than ever before. ***** Why? Why do I always have to be such a complete and utter idiot? Raj internally cursed, running through the forest, his visibility low despite the fact that it seemed to be mid-afternoon. His lack of vision kept causing him to trip over roots, and stumble his way across the uneven forest terrain. He quickly reviewed the notifications he had amassed over the past few hours of hunting. You have slain [Fox - lvl 3]. You have slain [Elk - lvl 3]. You have slain [Squirrel - lvl 2]. You have slain [Elk - lvl 2]. You have slain [Elk - lvl 3]. You have slain [Elk - lvl 2]. It had taken Raj roughly a few hours of hunting these lower-level beasts, and he was starting to truly understand why the people in his books loved to jump at higher-level foes. Still, he had finally received a reward for his efforts after he had killed the last elk. Congratulations! You have leveled up x1! Stats have been distributed. The EXP rush that he had felt at the time was largely staved off due to the large, hairy, four-legged beast chasing him. He had dumped his Free Points into AGI without thinking, partially because that is what he wanted to do, but also to get the living fuck away from the nightmarish abomination chasing him. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The damn thing had two snakeheads on the body of a gorilla with dog legs. Raj quickly turned his head, stumbling a bit over a root in his path, and used his Identify(Common) skill. [??? - lvl 22] The creature¡¯s level, coupled with the fact that he got question marks when he tried to identify it, had spurred him to even greater speeds. He had been running at first due to the sheer level of danger the thing exuded. I¡¯m fucked right? I¡¯m also going to assume that I can¡¯t see its species because it''s too high level for me to identify it properly. His own bravado had caused him to storm out into the forest like he owned it, and he had kept hunting monster after monster with no rest. That had kept his MP and SP in particular from being able to regenerate. Now, he was not sure if he could even get back to his camp, much less fight and beat the thing. His HP was fortunately pretty high, as the lower level creatures had not posed too much of a threat to him. Raj knew that the only reason he had not been caught by the monster yet was because of the forest itself. The huge creature¡¯s body kept ramming into the trees, and staggering over every bump in the ground. Raj¡¯s entire plan for his survival was to make the dumb beast get itself distracted or caught for a moment so that he could escape. He knew it was his only chance. Raj continued ducking and weaving through the trees, making sure not to hit one himself. This deadly chase continued for another 5 minutes before the damn thing finally ran straight into a large oak tree, both its snakeheads somehow becoming intertwined. Raj did not even know how that was possible outside of cartoons, but he decided to not spare another moment of his time and started running again. After what seemed like the longest 2 minute run of his life, he finally got to the clearing. He opened up his status to check the changes and his resources. Status Name: Rajeev Narayanan Race: Human(H) Class: Warrior[(Common-H) lvl 8] Profession: None Titles: Giant Slayer, Vitality I HP: 343/350 MP: 90/90 SP: 11/160 Stats Strength: 23(22) Agility: 22(21) Vitality: 35(34) Endurance: 16(16) Intelligence: 9(9) Wisdom: 8(8) Free Points: 0 Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) Just as he had suspected, his HP had remained high. His SP however was dangerously close to bottoming out. He just shook his head, knowing he would have to go out hunting again to get stronger, considering things like that existed in the tutorial. He just needed to space himself and give himself some rest in between. He chuckled slightly when he realized that something as simple as five minutes of rest could spell the difference between life and death. It¡¯s a punishing world, isn¡¯t it? He thought bitterly. Despite his internal turmoil, He knew his feelings about the subject did not matter in the long run. Ultimately, he knew the only thing he could do was adapt to the new, harsh reality he lived in. No, he thought. There is no could. I will adapt. I will not die, and I refuse to let Arjun go either. For better or for worse, that is my promise. 9. Training Montage 2.0 Raj had ultimately decided to eat and sleep, not wanting to risk anything else. His stomach wound had reopened when he had been getting chased, and it had gotten significantly worse. When Raj woke up the next day, he ultimately decided to adopt a training routine, similar to the one he had followed after his fight with the gorlax, for the next couple of days. He would rather be hunting, and he felt the pressure to get stronger. He knew that he had to abide by basic logic now and then however, and his grisly wound needed to heal. Enhanced VIT and healing could only do so much, and he ultimately found himself helpless as the only thing that could heal his wounds was time. So, Raj trained. His sword forms and attacks had been slightly rusty at first, due to the insane mental and physical changes he and his body had undergone over the last few days. He had always been sure to frequent the HEMA practice sessions however, so he quickly adjusted to his new and improved body. He would still need to continue practicing, as his body would constantly change. As Raj was training, however, he had made a discovery. Raj¡¯s swordsmanship was simply better. Far better than it should have been after only a few days. The only explanation he could come up with was that he had actual experience. Raj had trained a lot with swords, true, but most of it had been done in a safe, controlled environment with no danger. Since the start of the tutorial, Raj had been thrust into increasingly dangerous situations, which had forced him to adapt and evolve his skills with the sword in order to survive. The effects were apparent when he noticed, not only his increased skill, but also the change in how the sword felt in his hand. Before, Raj had seen the sword as a tool, and moved with it as though it were one. Now, however, Raj almost felt as though the sword was an extension of his body. He could practically feel the sword, as though he was one with the weapon. This has got to be the most cringe shit of all time, but it fucking works, so why not? Raj wondered in amazement. With that final thought, Raj turned back to his training. ***** Raj was sitting, eating the remaining pieces of his boaralo corpse after his second day of training, when he pulled up the tutorial panel. Welcome to the Tutorial Information: The Tutorial will proceed for 30 days. The only required criteria for completion is survival. Anything else is extra and will thus be rewarded for. Countdown: 24 days, 17 hours and 57 minutes Tutorial Contribution(TC) will be given to all participants for any actions that impact the tutorial or the beings inside it. This includes slaying monsters or other humans, as well as completing or contributing to the completion of objectives. The leaders in terms of TC will be given rewards at the end of the tutorial in accordance to the amount of TC they have. TC is not visible as points by the participants. Objectives: A power lurks in the grassy plains to the East of the forest. Defeat the monstrosity and its 3 most powerful subordinates to complete the objective. Damn, Raj thought. I have spent over five days in this hellhole, but for some reason¡­time almost seems to be flying by. Raj recalled his previous thoughts from just before the tutorial. I guess I was wrong, he mused. I can survive out in a LitRPG world, at least so far. I severely underestimated humankind''s ability to adapt in dangerous situations. Well, that and a lot of luck. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Raj knew that today was the day that he would set out once more. And, if he was being honest with himself, it was probably the last time he would be in the clearing. As safe and nice as the clearing was, he simply was too isolated. He had not met anyone, and had not gotten any closer to solving the objective. Raj felt a little sadness start to well up within, but he was quick to crush it. He could not let himself get distracted, as he knew that the monsters had returned. He had seen multiple curious sets of eyes peeking through the thick foliage of the forest surrounding his clearing recently, and he knew he had to be prepared to fight. Raj heaved himself up and off the ground with a sigh, ready to pack up his things and leave, before stopping. Wait, all my stuff is in my ring. I can just leave. As he was saying that, he was already walking towards the forest line once more, back turned to the clearing that had housed him for the past few days. He had just summoned his sword to his hand when he suddenly stopped. He squinted his eyes and peered at the distance, and then opened them in shock. Is that¡­ smoke? Raj was about to take off running before he calmed himself and started thinking. I am not sure if I should make a beeline for the smoke. I don¡¯t know anything about the people there. Hell, I don¡¯t know if they are even humans, and to top it all off, it is not at all a short walk. Raj pondered his situation for a moment before ultimately coming to a decision. He knew that he still wanted to investigate the area, so he would slowly make his way towards the smoke, hunting as he went. He would make sure to arrive at the smoke by sundown, so that he could investigate with some visibility, but still have some darkness to hide in. With a goal in mind, he started walking once more, eager to get stronger once more. ***** Raj glanced up at the sky as he sat on his latest kill, which had been a large chicken-looking animal that was called a pecker. It had been at level six, and it had given him just enough EXP to get to level nine. He pulled up his Status while noting the fact that sundown was fast approaching. Status Name: Rajeev Narayanan Race: Human(H) Class: Warrior[(Common-H) lvl 9] Profession: None Titles: Giant Slayer, Vitality I HP: 370/370 MP: 100/100 SP: 170/170 Stats Strength: 25(24) Agility: 24(23) Vitality: 37(36) Endurance: 17(17) Intelligence: 10(10) Wisdom: 8(8) Free Points: 0 Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) After some momentary internal deliberation, Raj had opted to throw 1 Free Point into AGI, and 1 into INT. He had to keep his MP up, after all. With his stat allocations finished, he closed his status and looked back up at the sky. The sun crept over the western horizon, growing closer, as though it was about to disappear. Raj got up, storing the weird chicken animal corpse into his ring, which was full of all sorts of creatures he had hunted. He turned, facing the direction from where the smoke had originated. With a sigh that masked a myriad of emotions, he started walking. For better or for worse, he thought, my isolation ends today. 10. Bigger is Better Raj made good time, traveling to the camp in roughly 20 minutes, his advanced body doing wonders for his stamina and speed. He ducked a branch, stepped over a root, and started to slow at the faint sight of what looked to be a camp. He still could not see it in full, so he approached what he now identified as yet another clearing at a cautious pace. As he approached the treeline, he was amazed to find an entirely functional camp on the other side. It had only been a few days, but somehow, this camp in front of him looked like it had been up and running for a while. Small tent-like structures that seemed to be made of animal pelts encircled a large, pristine lake. This clearing has the same stuff as mine did, Raj thought, But it is bigger. Raj also took into notice the large cave that lay in the middle of the tents. It was facing the lake, and Raj happened to be directly across from its entrance. He was able to see multiple people inside, along with some wounded. If I had to guess, the cave probably houses the leadership of the camp, and maybe acts as an infirmary as well. He continued scanning the camp, spotting guards patrolling the perimeter, and what might¡¯ve been hunters skinning animals and roasting them on a stick. That made Raj think it would be dinner soon. Just then, Raj¡¯s stomach growled, the mere thought of food serving as a reminder of the fact that he had not eaten in a while, and it would take him a while to set up a place to cook his food. After a moment of thought, his hunger and desire for human contact won out, and he walked out into the clearing slowly, hands held up. ¡°Hey!¡± Raj yelled. Immediately, at least 20 pairs of eyes locked onto his figure. Raj belatedly realized that there were around 30-40 people in this camp, which was around a third of the people who were even in the tutorial. It actually might be more than a third, seeing as how there have probably been some deaths. The archers of the camp raised their bows, and a few of the guards nearest to him raised their weapons. ¡°Wait!¡± Raj shouted, starting to panic. Him walking out into the open of the camp with no warning could have very well resulted in him getting shot down in an instant, but his realization came too little too late. ¡°I come in peace!¡± Raj tried, hoping that the cliche line would earn him some brownie points with the group. ¡°Who are you, and what do you want?¡± The guard at the forefront of their defense said, not letting his guard drop. ¡°And how is your level so high?¡± My level? How could they possibly¡­ With a thought, Raj activated Identify(Common) on the man speaking to him. [Human(Warrior-Common) lvl 4] Raj continued to scan the other defenders, and their classes varied, with a lot of guards and archers, and a few mages thrown into the mix as well. As he kept using Identify(Common), however, something became very apparent to him. They are weak, he thought. At least, compared to me they are. No wonder they are so nervous. In their defense, however, Raj had been through some insane battles, and luck was a large part of why he was even alive. By that logic, it made sense that he was a higher level than these people. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°I have been through some crazy shit, okay? I have been super lucky until now, and that luck carried me through a few hard battles. That¡¯s the reason I¡¯m so strong,¡± Raj said, reiterating his previous thoughts. The guard faltered, unsure of what to do. He eventually came to a decision, and, after whispering something in the nearest guard''s ear, he ran off. The other guards did not seem to want to talk to him, so Raj settled for a silent staredown. The tension was palpable, and Raj saw more than a few fingers twitch. Heh, he sniggered. That would be such a stupid way to go out. Thankfully, Raj¡¯s worries were assuaged when the guard from earlier returned, this time with another person in tow. Raj immediately could tell that this guy was one of, if not the only leader of the camp. He carried himself with confidence, and Raj was certain that the new guy was underestimating him. He wasn¡¯t even holding his weapon after all. Unbeknownst to the leader however, was the fact that Raj could summon his sword at a moment¡¯s notice from his spatial ring. Raj activated Identify(Common), trying to gleam some more information about the leader in front of him. [Human(Mage-Common) lvl 7] Raj¡¯s guard was immediately up, and he was slightly shocked to see the man¡¯s level. After a moment, however, he realized that it only made sense for the leader of the camp to be at a high level. He wasn¡¯t the only one who used Identify(Common), however. ¡°How the hell is your level so high?!?!?¡± The other man said, looking absolutely flabbergasted. He immediately brought up his hand, which looked like a harmless motion, but Raj remembered that the man was a mage, and he was probably ready to cast a spell. Trying to once again broker peace, he responded by saying, ¡°Like I told your guards, I had some crazy encounters with high level monsters. I was lucky to get out of there with my life, okay? So can we just calm down? Since you seem to be the leader, maybe we can take this to the cave or something?¡± The other man gave his words some thought, before honing in on his last two sentences. ¡°Haha, you think I¡¯m the leader?¡± He said, letting out a chuckle. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll take that as a compliment, I suppose. But no, I am not the leader. Our leader is stronger than even I am.¡± How the hell? Raj thought. Raj was genuinely curious at this point, and even a little excited to see that there were other strong people in this tutorial. Maybe we can survive and complete the objective if we work together. The other man continued talking, looking more excited now. ¡°Here, follow me. I can assure you that as long as you don¡¯t give us a reason, we won¡¯t harm you,¡± he said, turning towards the camp. ¡°Now, follow me.¡± Not seeing another choice, Raj followed, the rest of the guards following behind him. The man led him through camp, past the tents and the curious stares, and around the lake, until they eventually reached the cave. The rest of the guards stopped trailing them, and Raj entered the cave behind the man. After about half a minute of walking, Raj heard the man say, ¡°Hey boss. Got a new guy here. Came out of the forest, and he is strong.¡± Raj heard something shift in the distance, and a man emerged from the darkness, an axe held over his shoulder. ¡°Thanks Paul, I¡¯ll take it from here,¡± the man replied in a gruff voice. Raj used Identify(Common) on the man, and his eyebrows rose at what he was seeing. [Human(Warrior-Common) lvl 9] Now that is interesting, Raj thought, excitement shining in his eyes. The other man also cracked a small smile, evidently using Identify(Common) as well. The man suddenly brought his axe around, and shifted into a fighting stance. Raj did the same, summoning his sword and grasping it with both hands. Let¡¯s go, he thought. They both raised their weapons, and dashed towards the other, eager to determine who was really the strongest. 11. Pushing Forward ¡°WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK ARE YOU GUYS DOING!?!¡± Paul screamed, nearly tearing his hair out. Raj paused, as did the big man in front of him, both of them digesting his words. ¡°We¡¯re fighting,¡± the big man slowly replied, as though he was talking to a five-year-old. ¡°I can see that, you dumb brute. What I meant was why the hell are you fighting in the first place?¡± Paul said, bringing his scream down to a slight yell. ¡°I don¡¯t know, it felt right in the moment I guess,¡± Raj mumbled, lowering his weapon. ¡°¡®Felt right¡¯, he says. As if one of you battle junkies wasn¡¯t enough,¡± Paul grumbled, shaking his head. Raj wanted to protest, as he didn¡¯t think of himself as a battle junkie. Then he paused, realizing that he was currently acting like one. His fights and high level also added to the impression. Raj had always liked to think of himself as a smart, rational guy. He didn¡¯t like to see himself straying from that path, and he made an internal vow to integrate that intelligence into this new world. Just because the world basically ended didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t keep his head on straight. Raj was thrown out of his inner musings when Paul addressed him again, this time in a measured tone. ¡°I brought you here to not only meet the boss man, but also to trade information. I don¡¯t know how much you know, but we aren¡¯t the only major camp in the tutorial,¡± Paul said, causing Raj¡¯s eyebrows to shoot up. ¡°Makes sense,¡± Raj replied. ¡°But how many are there? And are they as large as this one?¡± Paul went to speak, and then hesitated, before ultimately shaking his head. ¡°We haven¡¯t been able to get a proper report of the other camps, as their locations are simply better than ours. We do know that there are 2 other major camps, with numbers similar to ours. The problem is that one camp lucked out and found a massive cave, which can easily house all of them. It also provides multiple entryways, so they can¡¯t get trapped, but they are small enough to guard with limited people.¡± Paul finished that thought with a deep inhale. After a moment, he continued. ¡°Additionally, we know the other camp lucked out with some really weird tree camp. They have housing in the treetops, and the tree itself is at the other end of the forest, where the trees are largest. It is hollow in the inside as well, and is surprisingly big, according to our scouts. There are, of course, a few rogues, similar to you. That is all the information we have been able to glean thus far.¡± Raj took a moment to digest the info dump he had been given. 2 other camps, huh? He thought, his expression turning into a grin. Knowing Arjun, he made friends with a big oaf on day one. He¡¯s probably at one of the camps, but I don¡¯t know which one. Raj knew those worries were at least a few days away from him, so he tried to keep Paul talking by asking a question. ¡°Have the camps shown any open hostility to each other yet?¡± He asked. Raj knew this was an important question to ask, as it was one of the things that would shape the rest of the tutorial, and how he proceeded. Paul¡¯s answer left him feeling slightly uneasy. ¡°At the moment, we kind of have a ceasefire in place, but it is very shaky, and it could break at any moment. None of the camps like the others very much, and the distrust is palpable,¡± Paul said, not seeming to like it any more than Raj did. Raj¡¯s hopes for a nice Kumbaya moment were dashed, and he wasn¡¯t sure if he wanted to stick around the large camps. His main concern was the fact that he might have to kill another person, but he also just didn¡¯t want to get slowed down in general. Additionally, if he wanted to find Arjun as fast as possible, he couldn¡¯t afford to stay tied down to a camp. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Raj had made sure to scan the camp when he had walked up, and he hadn¡¯t seen Arjun anywhere. Even a quick name drop didn¡¯t seem to ring any bells for Paul, who seemed to know everyone in the camp by name. Also¡­ I need to get stronger, he thought. As strong as possible. This tutorial will be unrelenting, and the real world will be even more so. I have no idea what will happen out there, so I have to be prepared to fight. Speaking of power-ups, I wonder when the first milestone is? Raj guessed that there were milestones because of the fact that his class, as well as his race, were both labeled at H-rank. Raj assumed that the upgrades would come with more stats, but anything else was unknown. ¡°So, Raj,¡± Paul said, making Raj focus his attention back onto the smaller man. Raj was at a decent height, standing at 5 foot 10 inches, but there were many people that he had gone up against when practicing with a sword that were taller and built bigger. Raj always dreamed of being the big, muscular hero that could cut anything that stood in his way. Alas, reality caused his dream to come crashing down, and the limitations of his build and physique would not allow him to utilize a build focused on STR. AGI would have to be his primary stat, with the others growing alongside it. Paul continued after a slight cough, and Raj took the hint. ¡°As I was saying, we were wondering if you were thinking about joining a camp. Specifically, our camp. You are very strong, perhaps even stronger than the boss, and with you, we would be able to take on stronger monsters, and take on the other camps with increased success,¡± Paul said, a hint of desperation leaking out from under the otherwise expressionless mask he called a face. ¡°Before I answer, I have a question of my own,¡± Raj said. Paul dipped his head slightly in response, and Raj kept talking. ¡°How do your scouts survive in the forest? It doesn¡¯t make any sense. I am much stronger, and I constantly run into deadly situations where I barely escape with my life intact.¡± Raj leaned forward after his last words, curious to find out if there was a trick he could apply himself. ¡°To tell you the truth, archers in general seem to possess an innate ability to better conceal themselves, and this dense jungle terrain is very good for it. Even so, we have lost half of the archers we have sent out, and not a single one returned without injury. Some were lighter wounds, while others were severe. The information we just gave you came at a price, and we simply cannot send any more scouts out right now without good reason,¡± Paul replied. Well, that makes more sense. Too bad I can¡¯t use the advantage myself, but those poor archers did not seem to be able to make much out of it with their low strength. There are simply too many powerhouse monsters that roamed the forest for safe travel to be guaranteed. Raj nodded in response, before saying, ¡°I understand what you are going through, I really do, but I got a person I have to find, and can¡¯t afford to let my search or my strength stagnate. I will view you guys as allies, and if I can help against a tough monster, I will.¡± Raj quickly raised a hand to stall Paul¡¯s inevitable question, and kept going. ¡°That being said, I refuse to fight against other human beings unless I myself determine them to be bad people. As nice as you have been, I simply can¡¯t go off of just your word.¡± The big man, who had been quiet until now, suddenly spoke. ¡°I understand your thoughts, and I honestly did not expect you to stay. I appreciate the sentiment about being allies. I wish you safe travels on your journey.¡± Raj stood there for a moment, before nodding at the axe wielder. He then turned to Paul, cracking a smile as he did so. ¡°Thanks for the information Paul, you guys have been really kind to me. I truly am sorry I can¡¯t stay and help. I wish you all the best of luck." Raj turned on his heel with that final remark, marching back out of the cave, and down the path, stopping only to accept a canteen of water along with some food at Paul''s insistence. Dozens of eyes stared at him as the people of the camp whispered furiously amongst themselves. After a few moments, he finally arrived back at the treeline. He stepped back into the jungle, and summoned his sword. He melted back into the surprisingly familiar foliage, and pressed on, never once looking back. 12. Dungeons and Stalkers I probably should¡¯ve asked a few more questions, Raj thought, already regretting his hasty exit from the camp. He hadn¡¯t asked Paul about classes, or anything on his status. He made a quick vow to remember that information when he ran into more people. Oh well, at least I managed to snag some cooked food. Should be enough to last a few days. He ducked under a branch, brushing leaves and debris off of his body as he went. He turned left after a while, as he had remembered Paul pointing in that direction when he was mentioning the other camps. I can investigate the camps, and determine the good from bad myself, he thought. Raj would then choose to go to whatever camp he determined to be the best, ally with all camps, or just go at it solo. Not the best option, but I would rather go at it by myself than with people I don¡¯t trust. It went without saying that Raj would only make a choice once he found Arjun, and figured out his friend¡¯s situation. He prayed with all his heart that Arjun was alive, safe, and hopefully somewhat strong. Raj glanced up at the sky, taking note of the fact that it was around midnight. With a thought, he pulled his tutorial panel up. Welcome to the Tutorial Information: The Tutorial will proceed for 30 days. The only required criteria for completion is survival. Anything else is extra and will thus be rewarded for. Countdown: 24 days, 6 hours and 3 minutes Tutorial Contribution(TC) will be given to all participants for any actions that impact the tutorial or the beings inside it. This includes slaying monsters or other humans, as well as completing or contributing to the completion of objectives. The leaders in terms of TC will be given rewards at the end of the tutorial in accordance to the amount of TC they have. TC is not visible as points by the participants. Objectives: A power lurks in the grassy plains to the East of the forest. Defeat the monstrosity and its 3 most powerful subordinates to complete the objective. It had been nearly 10 hours since he left his camp, but he somehow did not feel as tired as he thought he should be. After an entire day of physical activity, the fact that he had enough left in the tank to keep moving was insane. Then he realized that the cause of it was his increased stats. I knew that they would improve my body, but seeing it unfold right in front of me is unreal. He took a few more paces before suddenly freezing at the sound of a howl. He tensed for a moment, as it sounded very close to his position, and caught movement to his right. He sprung into action, taking a stance, and wasted no time using Identify(Common) on the four figures that were approaching him. [Wolf lvl 5] [Wolf lvl 5] [Wolf lvl 5] [Wolf lvl 7] Raj¡¯s eyebrows rose in surprise when he saw the levels of the beasts, but quickly determined that it wasn¡¯t too surprising, seeing as how the wolves would¡¯ve had to kill some creatures to survive this long. He was decently confident in his abilities, and knew he could kill the wolves. He had done it before, after all, and at a level disadvantage. That being said, the beasts were at a high enough level to inflict serious damage if he started getting complacent. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Raj opened the fight by burning all of his available MP in order to send out ten Mana Slash(Common) attacks; two slashes at each of the level 5 wolves, and three slashes at the alpha. The leader managed to dodge two of his slashes, but took a hit across its flank. Two of its subordinates had only taken one hit as well, but their injuries were more severe. One of the wolves had lost a leg completely, while the other had been cut deep into its abdomen. They were lucky in comparison to the last wolf, however, as it had jumped straight into both of his slashes, getting bisected at the stomach. It was currently off to the side, twitching. Raj faked a move towards the alpha before quickly spinning on his heel and lunging at the left-most wolf. The alpha had fallen for his trick, allowing him to break through their formation. He sliced at the wolf, and his sword connected. Raj barely had time to glimpse at the head that rolled next his foot before pivoting, narrowly dodging the ensuing attack that he knew was coming. Sure enough, the only other wolf aside from the alpha had tried to claw him, but he simply dismantled the wolf in record time, putting it down with a few clean strikes. He was given no time to breathe, however, as the alpha was already charging towards him, its eyes shining with rage. Raj sidestepped a swipe, and backed up from a bite. They played this game of cat and mouse for only a moment longer before Raj suddenly catapulted himself forward, using the momentum to shove his sword into the alpha¡¯s open mouth. The light in its eyes flickered for a second, and then the wolf collapsed. Raj yanked his sword out of the wolf¡¯s mouth, reflecting on the fight that had just happened. Those wolves were among the strongest animals I have faced in a fight thus far, and there were four of them. So why did that fight seem¡­ kind of easy? Do levels really make that big of a difference? Or was it in combination with my skills and experience? Raj just shook his head, and sat down on a nearby rock, waiting for his MP to regenerate. As he waited, he pulled up his notifications. You have slain [Wolf - lvl 5]. You have slain [Wolf - lvl 5]. You have slain [Wolf - lvl 5]. You have slain [Wolf - lvl 7]. Raj could literally feel how close he was to level 10. It seemed to be taking much more EXP than he had expected it too, so he hoped it was a milestone. He had noticed that after level 5, he had a better understanding of where he was in relation to the next level. After a few more minutes, he got up and started walking again, his MP almost fully regenerated. He walked for a few more uneventful minutes, never letting his guard drop. Only after another 15 minutes of this did Raj stop, this time because of something blocking his path. He hadn¡¯t seen it from a distance, but it was as obvious as a light in the darkness up close. A cave? Raj thought. It looked larger than the ones he had seen before in the tutorial. He walked towards the opening, only to be met with a prompt. You have found: Dungeon - Level 5 Any user attempting to enter must be at least level 5 to enter this dungeon. Rewards will be distributed upon completion of the dungeon. A dungeon. Raj had found a bona-fide dungeon. Oh hell yeah, Raj thought giddily. It was only level 5, but it was the first dungeon he had seen, so he was kind of happy for the lower level. He felt that he could definitely manage the creatures inside. He should also be able to level up from this dungeon, and maybe hit a milestone. More importantly however, were the rewards that the prompt had promised. ¡°Daddy needs his loot,¡± Raj happily said. He walked towards the entrance, and was enveloped by the darkness. If Raj had paid more attention to his surroundings, however, he might have spotted the pair of eyes that had been watching him, noting down his every move. The owner of the watchful gaze turned once he saw Raj enter the cave, and went to report his findings to his leader. 13. Boss Fight Raj felt slightly disoriented when he first stepped into the dungeon. It was as though he had been teleported somehow, but all he had done was walk through the entrance. Although, maybe it actually is teleportation, Raj pondered. It¡¯s a dungeon after all, and it is definitely something the system seems capable of. Raj took in his surroundings, noting that the cave looked¡­ normal. It looked exactly like he had expected it to, with the exception of it having tunnels branching off in different directions. Raj felt slightly disappointed; his inner child had hoped that the dungeon would be a completely different world. To be fair though, it might actually happen in later dungeons, but maybe these low-level ones are relatively normal. He started walking forward at a cautious pace. He didn¡¯t know exactly how the dungeons worked, as they could operate by having mobs stationed in different rooms, or they could just have mobs scattered all around the dungeon. His second theory was confirmed when he rounded a corner and saw a goblin sitting in his path. He quickly darted back behind the cave wall, and cast Identify(Common). [Goblin lvl 5] The goblin didn¡¯t seem to notice him yet, so he scanned the area to see if any other foes were lurking around. After seeing none, he refocused on the goblin. The creature looked exactly like he had thought it would. It didn¡¯t seem too strong, and held a single dagger, with baggy, brown clothes covering its green-skinned figure. The goblin¡¯s level made Raj reconsider how dungeons worked. The level shown on the prompt might have been a recommended level for the adventurer entering, the minimum level of the monsters in the dungeon, or the average level of the monsters in the dungeon. Or maybe even a combination of some sort. He would need more data to be sure, however. Raj decided to stop wasting time, and darted towards the goblin. It shrieked in alarm, and hastily raised its dagger to try and defend himself. Its efforts were for naught, however, as the sheer difference in stats and technique between the two resulted in the ensuing fight ending abruptly. Raj dodged the dagger and cut straight through the goblin in one move, feeling the EXP flooding into his body. Raj paused for a moment, as the weight of killing what seemed to be a sapient-like being hit him. Then, he shrugged it off. While it may have seemed cold of him, he realized that he would ultimately have to kill other sapient creatures in the wide universe. Hell, he would probably have to kill other humans. That thought left a sour taste in his mouth. He turned his attention back to the dungeon, and moved on. After a minute or so of walking, he came across another lone goblin. He once again cast Identify(Common) on the creature. [Goblin lvl 3] This all but confirmed his earlier theory that the level shown on the prompt was the average level of the monsters in the dungeon. That could lead to some interesting situations, Raj mused. If the regular mobs were weaker, it would mean a stronger boss, and vice versa. He kept pressing on, none of the goblins posing much of a threat to him. Aside from the one goblin at level 5, the rest had been at level 3. That meant that the EXP he was getting was a small sliver of what he would need to level 10. The increased EXP requirement was not doing him any favors, and he was getting slightly annoyed at how many more goblins he would need to kill. Despite being relatively close to level 10 before entering the dungeon, he would still need to kill another 50 or so goblins at the same level to advance. The real fight would be with the boss, however. At least, he assumed there was a boss fight on the horizon. He was about to lose his shit if there wasn¡¯t. As though his pleas were heard, a prompt suddenly filled his vision. You have entered the domain of the dungeon boss. You can not turn back until either you or the dungeon boss is slain. Well, that¡¯s interesting, he pondered. The only thing I can do now is kill the boss, I guess. He forged on, eager to kill the boss and finally level up. His joy was snuffed out when he found the creature, however. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. While the boss did still vaguely resemble a goblin, it was as though the face of the small creatures had been plastered onto a huge, hulking behemoth that was double Raj¡¯s size. He used his Identify(Common) skill, and the results shook him to the core. [??? - lvl 10] He audibly gulped, and then forced his nervousness down. He couldn¡¯t afford to let hesitation get in his way. His suspicions about level 10 being a milestone had just been confirmed, however. The monster in front of him was definitely stronger than him, and probably a grade higher. He was also trapped here until one of them was dead, which increased the danger levels of the fight exponentially. His train of thought was interrupted, as the boss had finally noticed him. The monster roared, and charged, giving Raj no time at all to prepare himself. He threw himself to the side, only narrowly avoiding the charge. Damn! Raj thought, already pushing himself back up. This thing is fast as hell! Those extra stats are doing him favors for sure. Raj jumped back, trying to give himself enough time to use his Mana Slash(Common) attack. He was unable to get it off in time, however, as the boss was already on him. He bobbed and weaved through the attacks, dancing on death¡¯s door. A single mistake would mean death here, and his full focus was on the creature in front of him. Win or lose, he would throw everything he had at the beast. He faked a high cut, and then rolled under the beast¡¯s legs. As he rolled, he managed to slice upwards, making the boss wail in pain. He ducked under the attack he knew was coming, dodging a huge fist. He flipped over another punch, and darted towards the boss. He jumped high, screaming in defiance. His sword struck, penetrating deep into the chest of the boss. His momentary celebration was suddenly cut short, and Raj blacked out for a moment before finding himself against the cave wall. He screamed out in pain, feeling multiple cracked ribs. His left arm hung limply at his side, and his sword remained embedded in the behemoth¡¯s chest. Shit! Raj thought in despair. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! The boss closed the gap between them in an instant. Raj closed his eyes, half-accepting his fate. He could feel himself drifting away, just another soul lost in the cold embrace of death. Raj¡¯s eyes snapped open, and he started to move. I refuse to be another cog in the machine that is the system, Raj thought, darting forward. I will rise to the top. I will forge my own path. And I. Will. Not. Falter! Earlier, when Raj had been mowing through the goblins, he had been idly picking up their daggers, hoping they would eventually have a use. Now, he was grateful for the wisdom of his past-self. He summoned one of those daggers to his hand, and flicked it at the boss¡¯s face. The dagger wasn¡¯t enough to even remotely damage the behemoth. That had not been a part of Raj¡¯s plan, however. The dagger¡¯s sole purpose was to be a distraction, and it delivered. The boss raised its hands to its face in an instinctive reaction. Unbeknownst to the creature, Raj had been banking on such a reaction, and used the opening to leap towards his sword. His mind had been cleared. The path forward was clear. He felt his hand clasp the hilt of his sword, and Raj used the momentum from his jump to push the sword deeper into the monster. He then quickly jumped to the ground, using the boss as a platform. He brought his sword with him, causing blood to spurt out of the wound. He wasted no time jumping back up this time aiming at the ugly creature¡¯s head. He leaped as high as he could, stretching his frame as far as it would go. He drew on every last bit of energy he had left, pushing it all into this one, final attack. Raj saw the light at the end of the tunnel. A way out of this with his life intact. His sword penetrated the soft skin under the monster¡¯s chin, and kept going. It went all the way through, exiting at the top of its skull. Raj started to freefall, and smiled, happy to have slayed the beast. Alas, Raj was not allowed to have a good moment. In the middle of his freefall, he suddenly felt pain wrack his body. He looked down, only to find his back impaled by the nails of the large goblin. It slumped forward a moment later, the light leaving its eyes. Even on the verge of death, it had made sure to deliver one, final blow. Raj gasped for air as he slammed into the ground, the claws getting forcefully torn out of his body. His eyes started to tear up, and all he felt was pain. His throat felt coarse, and he blatantly realized that he was screaming. He coughed, blood spilling out of his mouth. His eyes threatened to close, but Raj fought with everything he had to keep them open. Seeing as how the alternative was death, he was decently motivated. He lay still for what felt like hours, letting the wounds heal naturally. His VIT stat was high, and he knew he could recover if he gave it enough time to work. And time he gave. It felt like ages, but he was finally stabilized. He sat up, wincing in pain. He glanced over at the dead boss. At least I made it out better than that fucker, Raj thought, grinning. Then, he started to laugh. It was a maniacal sort of laugh, and if anyone had been there to hear it, they would have marked him as insane. He didn¡¯t care, however, and just poured out his emotions into his laugh. He laughed, and laughed, and then laughed some more. He eventually calmed down, and flipped the dead boss off for good measure. ¡°I did it,¡± Raj said. ¡°I FUCKING WON!!!!¡± 14. Raj 2.0: New and Improved A lone man stared at Raj¡¯s form for only a brief moment before shifting his attention to the rest of the tutorial contestants. He was one of the many Watchers, and his job was to monitor the situation within the tutorial. He also made sure to take note of every single contestant, as he would have to provide information to the factions. ¡°Hmm,¡± the man said, deep in thought. ¡°I will keep my eye on this ¡®Raj¡¯. He is not strong enough to warrant special attention yet, but I believe he is capable of many great things¡­¡± ***** Raj cracked open his eyes, trying to acclimate to the bright light he knew was coming. He opened them all the way, only to mentally slap himself in the face. His brief moment of embarrassment was washed away when the memories of recent events came flooding back to him. He grinned, and did a little dance. Raj danced his way over to the monster corpse, singing as he went. ¡°Suck it, you big, stupid dumbass. I won. You lost. I won. I¡¯m the best. Who¡¯s the best? This guy!¡± He finished by pointing towards himself. His antics may have seemed absurd to anyone looking at him, but Raj didn¡¯t care. He was still riding the dungeon clearing high. As he started to calm down, he noticed the hundred and one notifications he had gathered after the fight. He sat down once again, and started going through them. Now that he had cleared the dungeon, this was the safest place to do it. You have slain [Goblin Behemoth - lvl 10]. Bonus EXP for killing an enemy at a higher level than you. Congratulations! You have leveled up x1! Stats have been distributed. You have been awarded the Strength I title Raj decided to hold off on allocating his Free Points, and kept reading his prompts. Congratulations! You have tiered up(H - - - > G) You have been awarded the Enlightened One(G) title You have been awarded the Agility I title You have been awarded the Endurance I title Congratulations! Your class has tiered up(H - - - > G) Class Selection: Swordsman(Common-G): A swordsman is a warrior who has decided to specialize in the art of the blade. As a Swordsman, you will gain 3 STR, 4 AGI, 2 VIT, 2 END, and 5 Free Points per level. You will gain 1 class skill upon selection of this class. Survivalist(Common-G): A survivalist is adept at surviving in even the harshest terrains. As a survivalist, you will gain 2 STR, 4 AGI, 3 VIT, 3 END, and 4 Free Points per level. You will gain 1 class skill upon selection of this class. Dungeoneer(Uncommon-G): A dungeoneer works to dive and understand dungeons, with all of their intricacies. A dungeoneer must maintain a balance, and be prepared for anything they may encounter in a dungeon. As a dungeoneer, you will gain 4 STR, 4 AGI, 4 VIT, 4 END, and 2 Free Points per level. You will gain 1 class skill upon selection of this class. Raj paused for a moment, reviewing his class choices. Survivalist was immediately thrown out the window, as it just wasn¡¯t what he wanted to do. The Dungeoneer class made him hesitate, due to the uncommon tag that it came with. He ultimately selected Swordsman, however, as the extra stats didn¡¯t justify him picking the class. Additionally, if classes were given based on what he did in the previous tier, then he would definitely want to see some classes that were sword-based. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. A familiar rush of power coursed through his body upon his selection. He excitedly checked his new skill out. Skill Gained: Dash(Uncommon): Upon activation, move at an increased speed towards your destination. The maximum reach of your skill is 10 times the user¡¯s class level. Cost: 20 MP Raj¡¯s eyebrows shot up at this skill. It had an increased MP cost, but with the increased stats, he would still be able to use it. He would of course have to balance this skill with his Mana Slash(Common), but the implications of a movement skill were huge. Put simply, it was a game changer. It could be used in nearly any situation, and he could retreat with it, he could close the distance to attack with it, or it could be used to simply travel faster. Raj looked at his last few prompts, which he had purposefully saved until now. Dungeon cleared. Accept rewards? Raj mentally selected yes, excited to see what the dungeon would give him. A bright light descended out of nowhere, and left two items on the ground. Raj identified them. Sword(Uncommon-G): A good sword that has been forged from a durable metal. Agility Ring(Common-G): A ring that provides +5 AGI. These were awesome! The ring was great because it provided AGI, which was a stat he wanted high. The sword was the real prize, however. Raj¡¯s damage output was largely limited by his weapon, meaning that a stronger weapon would result in him being stronger in general. He slipped his old sword into his spatial ring, as he didn¡¯t want to discard it yet. He might need it as a backup down the line. It had also been his first sword, so the sentimental part of him wanted to save it as a memento. He slipped the ring onto his finger. It was a simple gold ring, with nothing else added on to it. With that finished, he looked at his new and improved status. Status Name: Rajeev Narayanan Race: Human(H) Class: Swordsman[(Common-G) lvl 10] Profession: None Titles: Giant Slayer, Vitality I, Strength I, Enlightened One(G), Agility I, Endurance I HP: 500/500 MP: 210/210 SP: 320/320 Stats Strength: 40(39) Agility: 43(37)(+5) Vitality: 50(48) Endurance: 32(31) Intelligence: 21(20) Wisdom: 18(18) Free Points: 2 Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common), Dash(Uncommon) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) Raj stared at his status. How the actual fuck are my stats so high?!?!? He thought. The one level-up I gained gave stats based on my prior class, and my Agility Ring gave +5 to AGI. I know I got Strength I, Agility I, and Endurance I, which probably gave me +3 to all of those stats. But it still doesn¡¯t warrant the insane increase in stats. Unless¡­ Raj recalled another title he had gained, and he quickly focused on the title. Enlightened One(G) - Improve your race to G-rank. +10 to all stats. The title had given him 10 of every stat. That was beyond broken. The gap between tiers suddenly seemed insurmountable. If his current self were to fight himself before he entered the dungeon, it wouldn¡¯t even be a fight. He could confidently say he was at least twice as strong as he was before. Raj just shook his head in disbelief, and reviewed the tutorial panel. Welcome to the Tutorial Information: The Tutorial will proceed for 30 days. The only required criteria for completion is survival. Anything else is extra and will thus be rewarded for. Countdown: 23 days, 20 hours and 15 minutes Tutorial Contribution(TC) will be given to all participants for any actions that impact the tutorial or the beings inside it. This includes slaying monsters or other humans, as well as completing or contributing to the completion of objectives. The leaders in terms of TC will be given rewards at the end of the tutorial in accordance to the amount of TC they have. TC is not visible as points by the participants. Objectives: A power lurks in the grassy plains to the East of the forest. Defeat the monstrosity and its 3 most powerful subordinates to complete the objective. It had been roughly 10 hours since the last time he had checked the panel, which had been right after he left the large camp. Raj heaved himself up with a grunt. His increased VIT was doing wonders, and he could practically feel his wounds healing. After some deliberation, Raj decided to put his 1 Free Point into AGI, and 1 into INT. Raj could feel the changes to his body, and he felt invincible. He managed to calm himself down, and he thought of the level 22 monster he had seen. He had been ridiculously lucky, as he now understood the sheer gap in stats there was between them. If it wasn¡¯t for the terrain, Raj would have been dead within seconds. With that gruesome thought, he started to trek out of the dungeon, new sword in hand. It doesn¡¯t matter who or what stands in my way, he thought. I will get stronger, and conquer the tutorial! Chapter 15: Man on a Mission What the ever-loving fuck, Raj thought as he walked into what seemed to be the 100th clearing of the tutorial. Seems to be a theme. I am somewhat grateful for it though. After all, repetition increases my survival chances tenfold. And there are still outliers like the dungeon, and that boss. Raj looked around. He had found another large camp, but this one seemed slightly different. After looking around for about 10 seconds, Raj pivoted on his heel and marched his ass right back into the forest. Only after he had walked for about 2 minutes did he allow himself to stop and process what he had just seen. Raj had been through a lot in this tutorial, and he knew there was a lot more coming. Still, all of his experiences and levels couldn¡¯t prepare him for the sheer brutality of that camp. Human heads, he thought, feeling slightly numb. Those god-damned lunatics put human heads on spears, and then strung them up like decorations. It¡¯s only been one week and everything has already gone to shit. Raj¡¯s insides churned just thinking about it, causing him to heave a little to the side, before managing to get himself under control. Once he was sure he wouldn¡¯t spill the contents of his stomach onto the forest floor, he started to chuckle. He had always been a believer in humanity, and had always disagreed with the barbaric nature of apocalypse movies. Having experienced an apocalyptic event himself, however, had made him rethink his views. Humanity was just as bad as the movies portrayed it to be. Raj sat down on the forest floor, wondering what the best course of action was now. He had originally wanted to search the camp for Arjun, but he now deemed it as pointless. He knew Arjun well enough, and he wasn¡¯t the type of person to associate with those psychopaths. He fiddled with his new Agility ring, deep in thought. On one hand, he could go scouring the forest for Arjun. There were definitely a few groups out there that were not associated with the camps. Raj would hopefully find Arjun in one of those small groups of survivors. Raj yearned to be with his best friend. He could practically feel himself being tugged in that direction. But still¡­ Deep down, he knew that going after Arjun was illogical. Considering the fact that it would take him at least a week or two to find the dumbass, he could easily lose his position of strength in the tutorial. It had only been a week so far, and he was already this strong. Another two weeks, however? He could easily get overtaken, especially as more people started to acclimatize to the nature of the tutorial. He had faith in Arjun to survive, so he needed to make sure that he was strong enough to keep him safe. His mind set, Raj got up and faced the forest. With a sigh, and a slight pull at his heartstrings, he started walking, this time deeper into the forest. ***** Raj leaned against a tree, gasping for air. He had no idea how long he had been fighting for, but it felt like forever. He checked the tutorial panel. Welcome to the Tutorial Information: The Tutorial will proceed for 30 days. The only required criteria for completion is survival. Anything else is extra and will thus be rewarded for. Countdown: 23 days, 15 hours and 15 minutes Tutorial Contribution(TC) will be given to all participants for any actions that impact the tutorial or the beings inside it. This includes slaying monsters or other humans, as well as completing or contributing to the completion of objectives. The leaders in terms of TC will be given rewards at the end of the tutorial in accordance to the amount of TC they have. TC is not visible as points by the participants. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Objectives: A power lurks in the grassy plains to the East of the forest. Defeat the monstrosity and its 3 most powerful subordinates to complete the objective. He had been fighting for roughly 2 hours. His walk had started off slow, with only the occasional monster. But the deeper he got into the forest, and the closer he got to the big tutorial boss, the stronger and more numerous the monsters became. He also hadn¡¯t come across any clearings yet, making him believe that he had been in a sort of ¡°starting area¡± before, and now he was in it for real. All this fighting hadn¡¯t been for nothing, however. He had been putting his new sword to work, and the difference was noticeable. Anything below his level just felt like wet tissue for his sword, and even things equal to or above his level were getting mauled by his uncommon sword. He pulled up his kill log for the past couple hours. You have slain [Wolf - lvl 7]. You have slain [Wolf - lvl 7]. You have slain [Wolf - lvl 8]. You have slain [Wolf - lvl 7]. You have slain [Wolf - lvl 8]. You have slain [Rock Goliath - lvl 9]. You have slain [Elemental - lvl 7]. You have slain [Fox - lvl 8]. You have slain [Fox - lvl 8]. Not only had the monsters been numerous and strong, they had also been different. He had seen some of the same, sure, but Elementals and Rock Goliaths were new. And that was just two hours into the new part of the forest. The Rock Goliath was easy to deal with, as it had rock worn like armor, so Raj just had to aim at the gaps. The Elemental had a core that had to be targeted, and Raj figured that out quickly due to his prior reading. He had also received some levels from the non-stop action. Congratulations! You have leveled up x2! Stats have been distributed. After some careful deliberation, he distributed 5 of his Free Points into INT, and the other 5 into WIS. He wanted to put it into his physical stats and power them up, but putting those points into his magic stats now took care of his mana troubles for a decent while. With that done, he pulled up his new status. Status Name: Rajeev Narayanan Race: Human(H) Class: Swordsman[(Common-G) lvl 12] Profession: None Titles: Giant Slayer, Vitality I, Strength I, Enlightened One(G), Agility I, Endurance I HP: 478/500 MP: 210/270 SP: 316/360 Stats Strength: 47(45) Agility: 53(46)(+5) Vitality: 54(52) Endurance: 36(35) Intelligence: 27(26) Wisdom: 24(23) Free Points: 0 Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common), Dash(Uncommon) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) He hadn¡¯t needed to use his new ability yet, nor did he want to. He only wanted to use it after he got to a safe place to test it. Probably should have done that before I entered the deeper forest, Raj thought sheepishly. Oh well. Raj took a quick bite of his very limited amount of food, before taking a swig out of his only canteen of water. He was going to need to replenish his supplies soon. For now though¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t stop. Can¡¯t stop. Won¡¯t stop!¡± He yelled, shooting up to his feet. ¡°Or something like that,¡± he muttered. He jogged into the forest, ready for his next fight. Chapter 16: Trickery and Frenemies ¡°Baby you light up my world like hmm hmmm hm hm,¡± Raj whispered, singing one of his favorite songs. If my friends heard this, I would get clowned on. Good thing nobody will ever see, read about, or even know about this particular moment. Not like my story is gonna get made into a book or something. What a ridiculous notion. Raj continued humming tunes as he walked through the forest. Raj suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, his last notes carried away by the wind. Directly in front of him lay the change in scenery he was desperately searching for. A small, cozy cottage rested in the middle of the newest clearing, with a brown thatched roof and a yellowish frame. That wasn¡¯t what caught his eyes, however. Off to the side of the house was a group of¡­ No way I''m seeing this right. But his eyes were not playing tricks on him. It was a group of genuine, bonafide, dragons. His growing excitement was quickly quelled, however, upon identifying the dragons. [Drake - lvl 16]. [Drake - lvl 16]. [Drake - lvl 18]. There was a lot of information to process. The first being the fact that they weren¡¯t even real dragons! ¡°Aww come on!¡± Raj exclaimed before quickly covering his mouth. He dove back into the treeline before quickly yelping in pain. ¡°Owwwwww! Stupid, stupid, stupid! What the fuck am I doing?¡± Raj furiously mumbled. ¡°How did I manage to put the dragons on alert, give up my location, and injure myself?¡± Raj got back to his feet, wondering how a man of such talent was allowed to exist. He crept closer to the dragons once again, seeing if they were still at the same spot. At least I didn¡¯t send them into a frenzy. But wait¡­ were there not 3 dragons before? So why do I only see 2¡­ The realization on his face quickly morphed into terror as he instinctively jumped to the right, narrowly avoiding what would have been a life-ending claw to the back. His eyes scanned the area, and saw that the other two dragons had stopped their Oscar-worthy acting and joined the fight. The next two minutes were perhaps some of the most chaotic and dangerous of Raj¡¯s life. Simply put, he was helpless. Not only was Raj outnumbered and out leveled, these drakes were also outmaneuvering him. Raj was sure he could take them individually, but they had numbers, and they were smart enough to use those numbers to their advantage. Raj smiled grimly as he got smacked to the ground, a memory of his mom yelling at him to memorize to study film for soccer. These drakes almost seemed to be using premeditated attacks on him. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Time seemed to blur as his vision grew cloudy. He was doing his best, activating Mana Slash(Common) over and over again. There was just nothing he could do. Raj had always been a stubborn person, and he always tried to follow his moral compass. This had gotten him into trouble more times than he could count, but he had always been able to feel sure of himself. Now, however? Raj felt every moment of hesitation, worry, and pain rush back to him at once. He started to question himself. What am I doing here? I¡¯m no superhero. I¡¯m still that same old college kid from before, and I''m in way over my head. He bitterly chuckled, coughing out blood. Raj fell down into a pose of acceptance, dawning a look of defeat. The drakes sensed this, and came in for the kill. ***** Foolish human, drake #1 thought. How dare you attempt to challenge we, the three brothers of Sneed! Drake #2¡¯s chuckles echoed through their mental bond. Another bumbling fleshling filled with arrogance. Drake #3 huffed impatiently. Brothers, let us quickly finish this fleshbag off! I hunger. The three drakes moved in for the kill on the weak, helpless human. Just as they jumped, however, the human disappeared. WHAAAATTTTTT! Drake #3 roared. WHERE DID THAT PESKY FLESHBAG GO! ***** Raj sprinted through the woods, jumping for joy. ¡°There¡¯s no fucking way that worked,¡± he happily exclaimed. ¡°I love my new ability. I basically teleported! Although, I probably could have used it earlier had I remembered about it,¡± he said, trailing off. Raj started to slow down as the adrenaline wore off. He had still been injured pretty severely, and he needed to find a spot to recuperate. After a few minutes of searching, all he could find was a small cave. Really? Anotha one? Raj thought in his best DJ Khaled impression. I guess I don¡¯t really have much of a choice. He inched his way forward, feeling like a chopped up clam with more back problems than a man in his nineties. He relaxed, happy to be in a safe space. All that running had made him exhausted. As he started to walk towards the wall of the cave, he suddenly felt senseless. His body turned cold, his hands clammy. Spots danced across his vision. That¡¯s when he noticed the overwhelming pain that seemed to radiate from his lower back. The pain intensified as something jerked his body forward, causing him to arch his back. He fell to the floor, writing in agony. He reached back with his hand, only to feel something warm and sticky. He brought his hand to his face, only to find the substance was blood. His blood. Raj¡¯s eyelids suddenly felt heavy, and he fought a losing battle, desperately trying to stay awake. He crawled in an attempt to create separation from him and his attacker. It was all in vain, however, as a foot pushed down on his neck, threatening to break his neck. Raj felt himself sink into darkness, an insatiable pit of despair. Just before he was completely submerged, he turned his head, his eyes widening at the familiar face. Is that¡­ Arj-? His thoughts were cut short as he passed out, and the last thing he felt was a chilling sense of betrayal. Chapter 17: Trust Issues Arjun withdrew his dagger from the back of his target, and stepped back. The familiar bile that rose in his throat was easily suppressed, and he turned just in time to watch Ernest walk in. ¡°Hehe, good work kid. That guy was a freebie. At this rate, all of us will get classes soon enough,¡± the tall, wiry man said, a menacing glint in his eyes. Arjun just nodded his head, his eyes blank, his gaze pointed at the ground. Ernest peered into his eyes for a moment before sneering, and calling over their third guy, who had been hiding behind a rock with their captive, George. ¡°Thatcher, it¡¯s all clear. You can drag our captive back out here. And throw this damn body out of our cave.¡± The man named Thatcher dragged a limp George into the open, and dropped him right next to the still form of Raj. ¡°I got it boss,¡± Thatcher said, leering at Raj. ¡°Serves him right for bargin¡¯ into our hideout like that.¡± Thatcher¡¯s deep voice was laced with a thick Southern accent, sharply contrasting the shrill sound of Ernest¡¯s voice. ¡°Hey boss, this one¡¯s got a ring. Should we take it?¡± ¡°No, there¡¯s no point. It¡¯s just some jewelry. It¡¯s worthless to us now,¡± Ernest replied dismissively. Ernest turned back to Arjun. ¡°Kid, you can go back now,¡± he said dismissively. He quickly whipped back around, however, catching Arjun just before he left to go deeper into the cave. ¡°Yes?¡± Arjun submissively replied. ¡°You remember the golden rule, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, I remember. Death awaits all those who use magic. But you said I can practice eventually, right?¡± Arjun reiterated for what seemed like the 100th time, the spark of hope within him burning strong. ¡°Y-Yeah, eventually,¡± Ernest responded, hesitating slightly before exchanging a smirk with Thatcher, his echoing footsteps signaling his return. Arjun, oblivious to the exchange, let a small smile find its way onto his mouth. He started to walk further back into the cave, his expression not faltering even slightly as he walked past the pleading eyes of George. ***** Raj awoke in midair. Am I flying? Or am I dying? I ain¡¯t lying. Your mama was- His inner monologue was interrupted when his face met with the ground. ¡°Eughh,¡± he groaned, spitting dirt out of his mouth. He sat up, turning around. Behind him was a small ledge, about five feet in height. ¡°Wow. Now that takes talent. In a matter of a couple seconds, I managed to process the fact that I was falling, and then start a rap about me falling. All while somehow twisting myself in a way that made me fall face first into a pile of muck.¡± Raj stopped for a moment, before finishing his thought, ¡°I am not okay.¡± Suddenly, it all rushed back to him. The cave, the pain, the knife, Arjun. And pain. Excruciating pain. Agony raced through his body as though it was just reminded of the fact that he had been mauled by dragons only a few hours ago. Physical pain wasn¡¯t the only thing he felt, however. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Why, Arjun? No, I must have not seen it correctly. Or maybe he slipped or something. Or was he held at gunpoint? Raj¡¯s ramblings grew more and more inane, his mind not able to grasp the fact that his best friend had done this to him. He opened his status to see his condition. Status Name: Rajeev Narayanan Race: Human(H) Class: Swordsman[(Common-G) lvl 12] Profession: None Titles: Giant Slayer, Vitality I, Strength I, Enlightened One(G), Agility I, Endurance I HP: 54/500 MP: 260/270 SP: 312/360 Stats Strength: 47(45) Agility: 53(46)(+5) Vitality: 54(52) Endurance: 36(35) Intelligence: 27(26) Wisdom: 24(23) Free Points: 0 Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common), Dash(Uncommon) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) Raj opened the tutorial panel in quick succession. Welcome to the Tutorial Information: The Tutorial will proceed for 30 days. The only required criteria for completion is survival. Anything else is extra and will thus be rewarded for. Countdown: 23 days, 13 hours and 58 minutes Tutorial Contribution(TC) will be given to all participants for any actions that impact the tutorial or the beings inside it. This includes slaying monsters or other humans, as well as completing or contributing to the completion of objectives. The leaders in terms of TC will be given rewards at the end of the tutorial in accordance to the amount of TC they have. TC is not visible as points by the participants. Objectives: A power lurks in the grassy plains to the East of the forest. Defeat the monstrosity and its 3 most powerful subordinates to complete the objective. Damn. It¡¯s only been an hour since I last checked, and somehow my entire world has been turned upside down for the second time this week. He reached into his ring, pulling out a few plants and stuffing them into his mouth in an attempt to quell the pangs of hunger flaring up from his stomach. It worked, at least partially. He leaned against a tree, trying to bring his emotions under control. He let out a sigh, before quickly turning his head. ¡°What was that? Who¡¯s there?¡± Raj asked, trying to push himself into a fighting stance. A pulse of green light emitting from a nearby tree had caught his eye. The forest, however, remained as quiet as ever. He cautiously approached the light, head on a swivel. It wasn¡¯t until he was right next to the tree that he realized that the light was coming from inside the tree. Making sure not to damage the object that was causing the light, he cut the tree in half. The light immediately intensified, no longer being constrained. It captivated Raj, demanding his unwavering attention. Tears began to well up in his eyes as flashes of beauty and nature ran through his head. Words were simply too inadequate to describe the emotions he felt. He willed a mental block into fruition, and he immediately broke away from the visions. That was dangerous. Being stuck like that next to a beacon of light could get me killed, especially in my weakened condition. He debated simply fleeing from the light, worry gnawing at him. His curiosity took over, however, and he grabbed the light. ¡°Is that¡­ a fairy?!?¡± FanFiction Competiton(Heads-Up) I feel like we are far enough into the book for me to be saying this. I am constantly seeing fanfiction everywhere these days, and some of them are actually good. it got me thinking: why not do that for my book? So, I came up with this cool, unique idea. Basically, at around chapter 100 or so(that is where I am planning to end book 1, around chapter 100), when book 1 is done, I will release a post, signaling the start of the fanfiction challenge. The idea is for a bunch of you readers who are interested to write a good fanfiction chapter, and I will pick the best one and put it at the end of book 1. I want to do this for every single book moving forward, but baby steps for now. It is still pretty early on, but I thought it would be nice to give everybody a heads up so that you guys can brainstorm. I will release a post later, so don''t worry about remembering all the details. I will also let you guys know how you can submit the chapters. As for the actual selection, I might pick anywhere from 1-3 chapters, I haven''t decided yet. Additionally, I am unsure how I should select the chapters. I might do a public voting process, or I might pick myself. Let me know down in the comments what I should do, and if this idea interests you! The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. This is a guaranteed thing as well, so regardless of what happens, I will make sure to do this competition. I will also feature whatever name the person wishes to be represented by under the chapter(discord name, real name, etc). Lastly, I will allow them to shout out whatever they want to shout out(youtube account, social media, and books they may be writing). I am doing this for you guys, not only as a fun competition, but also to show my dedication to this book. A lot of books get dropped on RR, and I hope to show to all of my readers that I am truly committed to seeing this book through. Otherwise, why would I commit to something 100 chapters from now? Like I mentioned before, let me know in the comments about how the selection process should go, or how many chapters I should pick. They should be good chapters as well, and no immature stuff. Any other thoughts can be put down in the comments as well, and I will do my best to respond to them all. Chapter 18: Decisions, Decisions Raj¡¯s disbelief morphed into excitement upon realizing what he had discovered. It seemed as though the deeper one went into the tutorial, the more fantastical it became. Seeing as his curiosity was peaked, he wasted no time identifying the transparent cocoon of light. [Fairy(N/A) lvl 1] What the hell does that mean? Raj wondered. More importantly, is it possible to take this fairy as a companion of sorts? Raj reached out to touch the cocoon, only to be met with a prompt. Would you like to bond with [Fairy]? WARNING! Bonding requires 12 hours of uninterrupted physical and mental contact between both parties. You have been advised. Raj immediately withdrew his hand. He was eager to bond with the fairy, but he did not want to do it out in the open forest. Even if the contact was interrupted, he had no idea if he would be able to fight back against any trouble. Not wanting to take any risks, Raj reluctantly backtracked through the forest towards the areas of lesser danger. While it was slightly annoying to lose a lot of forward progress, the fairy could provide him with an advantage going forward. And besides, he could probably work his way through the forest again, provided that he avoided that house with the dragons for the time being. Wearing a look of focus, Raj started to jog his way back through the forest, the occasional increase in speed the only hint of the excitement bubbling up within. ***** Raj¡¯s look of focus had long since morphed into one of visible agitation. Minutes seemed to stretch into hours, and he was acutely aware of each step he took. His body had started operating on autopilot less than 10 minutes into what could now only be considered an all-out sprint. The occasional screams of pain and despair shooting up from the surrounding foliage demanded Raj¡¯s unwavering attention, intruding into the grounds of the mental sanctuary he had built. Each step he took weighed him down, his previous excitement replaced by pure exhaustion. Raj only now realized that he had never truly stopped in the tutorial. He had never given himself time to process all the experiences he had been through. To put it simply, Raj had been through more adversity in this past week than most had in their lives. The constant brushes with danger and fighting had strung his mental state taut, and despite all the changes he had been through, his mind was still one of an Earth human. A week simply wasn¡¯t enough to morph a mentality completely, leaving him trying to keep up his improved body. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Yet, despite the fact that he was in a Hunger Games-esque situation, he wasn¡¯t fully in the unknown. Raj had never really been a thinker, even if he liked to say he was. In the heat of the moment, Raj had always been one to follow his gut. He had learned this through soccer. Thinking was okay when you had time with the ball, but when you were under pressure, or on a counterattack, or in the last moments of the game, thinking could be fatal. He had long-since learned to let his body take over, like he was currently doing right now. In his eyes, it had become a sort of system. Tactically, he made sure to understand the game fully. That allowed him to make plays or find passes that would otherwise not be caught out. In those situations, he also made sure never to have tunnel-vision. On the flip side, was when his instincts took over. Raj still had a modicum of control over that, however, as he always made sure to train his body so that when he was taken over, his body would never hit a wall in terms of physical capabilities. In this situation, however, he had trained and enhanced his body to a certain degree, even empowering it with skills and the like. However, tactically, he wasn¡¯t there yet, and he honestly didn¡¯t have enough practice with his skills to call himself a skilled fighter, despite his level. Most of his fights were against monsters with little in the way of strategy. The only time he had encountered any sentience was against the drakes, and he had been destroyed. He had been outplayed and was weaker. His only plan during fights was to get in, slice at them with his sword, and then throw out Mana Slash(Common)s until they died. It became even worse when he got that Dash(Uncommon) skill, which, while he was extremely grateful for, basically meant he could do whatever he wanted without worrying about being trapped. He knew this was only temporary, as he was currently fighting against monsters with little to no sentience, and lower levels. Once he advanced past the next threshold, and started fighting more sentient beings, his strategy of just throwing around skills wouldn¡¯t fly. To start with, others would have skills to do the exact same with. Monsters might even have skills, who knew? They would also be faster and better fighters, so his escape skill could be closed down pretty quickly, and his Mana Slash(Common) skill could honestly be blocked or redirected with a defensive skill. He needed to learn how to integrate his skills properly into his attack style. This was doubly true when one considered the fact that he would no doubt continue to receive skills and abilities, along with higher stats that needed to be accounted for. He snapped out of his inner musings upon realizing that he had reached a fairly safe clearing to bond. He scanned the surroundings first, wary of attackers. He would be incapacitated for half of a day, and he wanted to be as sure as possible that he would be safe. After walking the perimeter and not finding anything, he walked into the cave. He could never be fully safe anyways, and his bonding was a sort of gamble. The potential power boost and information in return for a chance of death and any other adverse effects. He went all the way down the cave, and then assumed a lotus position of meditation. He had no idea if it would help, but he looked all-knowing and wise, so it couldn¡¯t hurt. He mentally reached out with the still-glowing fairy orb, and established a connection. Would you like to bond with [Fairy]? WARNING! Bonding requires 12 hours of uninterrupted physical and mental contact between both parties. You have been advised. He mentally thought yes, and a wave of emotions washed over him again before he slipped into the bonding process. Just before he slipped out of reality, he almost felt as though he heard some sort of observer smack themselves in the face, as though they couldn¡¯t comprehend the magnitude of his stupidity. Ehh, it¡¯s probably nothing. Chapter 19: Anchored in Inspiration The Watcher of Tutorial 3,776 took a moment to marvel at the utter magnitude of stupidity displayed in front of him as he simultaneously opened the door for the impish messenger, took the mail, and started sifting through it. His higher level and power, while mostly useless to him as a Watcher, still helped him sort through the mundanities of life faster. He internally smirked, thinking about how the Earthlings would be blown away by the strength of some beings in the Multiverse. There had never been one true individual able to call themselves the king or queen of the realm, but the tenacity of cultivators to chase that dream created a meat grinder. The few that came out the other side were monstrous, and were the only ones who stood a chance at contending for that top spot. Nobody had been able to crown themselves simply because of how large the Multiverse was. There were always checks and balances, and there was always someone to counter you. Additionally, if one got too powerful, they would get ganged upon until they were either sufficiently incapacitated, or outright killed. Thus, the vicious cycle of blood and war continued, a seemingly infinite occurrence. Still, he understood the allure. Despite his many years of existence, he was also pulled by the desire to Rule the realm. If he did so, the [Throne] would be his¡­ He departed from such perilous thoughts quickly, having become quite adept at avoiding the allure of the pinnacle of existence. It wasn¡¯t a real, tangible pull. Atleast, that¡¯s what the best and brightest scholars and fighters had said. Instead, it was the greed and desire for power and adventure that spurred this reaction. He broke off from that strand of consciousness, thoroughly quashing the connection, at least for the moment. It would be back, he knew. It always came back. Dragging himself out of his not unfamiliar somber thoughts, he focused the majority of his attention back onto the now enlarged screen of a human currently undergoing a bonding. ¡°This was that Earthling that I noted before,¡± he murmured before allowing the name to roll off his tongue. ¡°Raj, eh? Tough luck for a novice, to run into a bonding so early. And with no guidance either. Such a promising talent as well,¡± The Watcher said, tsking at that last bit, his unwavering expression of neutrality covering the feelings of annoyance and sadness he felt below. Mostly, he felt pity for the mortal. Sighing, he dispelled those emotions with a thought, his control over his body and emotions as sharp as ever. Sighing, The Watcher shrunk the human¡¯s screen to the same size as the rest of the combatants, their name already nothing but a scant memory. ***** Raj was falling. Falling through a never ending void, his body seeming to turn numb. Panic gripped at Raj as he wondered what had triggered the sudden change. Then, his fall was immediately reversed, the area around him no longer empty. He began experiencing what could only be described as scenes¡­no, that wasn¡¯t quite right. They seemed to be 4D movies about a beautiful existence. He had been floating upwards past these visions, the information hitting him like a truck, the sensations gently caressing his body. He felt as though he was the one living the life that was literally flashing before his very eyes.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Feelings of pure cold surrounded him before he was quickly embraced into the loving, warm embrace of what could only be a parent, signifying the start of life. Frustration and joy struggled against each other as he learned how to crawl, then walk, and then fly. Regret bore its way onto his face as he was reprimanded for poor behavior. A bundle of emotions ranging from anger to depression wormed its way into his soul in the form of what could only be teenage angst. Embarrassment from when he was caught looking at the local gardener¡¯s son for just a bit too long. This embarrassment morphed into true love as he was proposed to. Thousands upon thousands of scenes just like these ones all entered his mind at speeds he couldn¡¯t comprehend. Alarm bells seemed to be going off in the deepest recesses of his consciousness. Instinctively, he knew something was wrong. Even so, he simply couldn¡¯t find it within him to care. The beautiful sights in front of him, the raw emotion, was what drove him to continue to take it in unblinkingly, not wanting to miss even a second. Inside a corner of his brain, he had begun to fight, desperately trying to claw his way back into his body. The odds seemed hopeless, his efforts in vain. It was like throwing a grain of sand into a raging sandstorm. Still, he did not falter. The battle was truly stacked against him, however. He could feel his psyche being torn apart, his body close behind. Slowly, but surely, he gained control. But still, it wasn¡¯t enough. Time was his biggest enemy, and he simply could not beat out the circumstances arrayed against him. Despite that, he reached even deeper, pushing with all his might. Impossible was only a word, after all. Words only held power if the wielder gave them meaning. Raj could feel himself succeeding, on the cusp of victory, but just failing to grasp it. That¡¯s when it clicked. He needed a point of anchor. So far, he had just been mindlessly fighting for control. A sense of direction and a firm point of destination was what he needed. The issue with that was there was nothing to anchor himself to. He was floating, not even in space, but in a pocket of reality¡­ he started to chuckle. Then, he broke out into a maniacal laugh. ¡°As if I¡¯d let mere rules stop me!¡± He cackled. ¡±After all, what are rules other than boundaries meant to be broken?¡± And so, he broke them. He grabbed, not just at the nearby space around him, but also at the idea behind it. To his utter delight, it worked. Reality itself began collapsing in on itself, the visions from before not being an exception. Nothing escaped, nor would he let it. More and more of the space-stuff surged into his body, until nothing was left. Then, despite feeling like an over-inflated balloon, he grinned. ¡°You fools,¡± he spat, glancing up at the heavens themselves, as though he was challenging them directly. ¡°It¡¯ll take more than that to put me down.¡± Energy and reality crunched down on each other inside of him, pushing for their escape, but he defied the odds once more by beating them to the punch. ¡°For I am Grounded by Reality!¡± The dam broke, and the Multiverse itself seemed to thunder as the energy rushed out of him, prompting him to go supernova. Chapter 20: Companionship The Watcher, for the first time in what felt like an eternity, was awed into silence. ¡°This child,¡± he said, struggling to push the words out. ¡°Did this child just form a Dao? And with no treasures?¡± The Watcher stewed on this thought for a while before coming to a decision. Never before had he personally had the pleasure of enacting this protocol, yet he knew exactly what to do. His hand flew across a piece of parchment he had retrieved from his desk, the words coalescing into a cohesive letter. After signing the letter, he looked back up the parchment to the top, where he had left blank. After thinking for a moment, he wrote, Greetings Grand Watcher. First impressions were important, after all. Just as he went to send the letter, he stopped, tempted to break conduct and send the letter directly to the recipient. Ultimately, he decided against it. He could wait patiently for a few hours for the inevitable response, and that would get him in more trouble than it was worth. With a wave of his hand, he sent the letter through the mail slot assigned for outgoing letters, all while never once removing his focus from the screens before him. He was one of The Watchers, after all. ***** Raj awoke from what felt like a dream. He got up before immediately regretting that decision as a wave of dizziness crashed into him. He took a moment to steady himself against the cave wall before noticing the fairy once more. Only, it was no longer in an orb, but rather standing on the tip of his nose. ¡°Gah!¡± Raj yelped, his voice a few octaves higher than what he would have liked. His surprise had caused him to flinch backward, which threw the fairy off of him. After settling down once more, he tried to find his new bond. ¡°Sorry about that,¡± he said somewhat sheepishly. ¡°Are you okay?¡± A tiny head poked out from a nearby rock, and after giving him a once-over, the rest of her body followed. ¡°That is alright. I share part of the blame for appearing so close to you after you had just woken up.¡± Raj just stared at the fairy for a second, his mind processing the musical symphony that was the fairy¡¯s voice. He shook his head. That is going to take some getting used to. ¡°Um, I¡¯m Raj. What¡¯s your name?¡± he said, trying to overcome the previous embarrassment and put his best foot forward, so to speak. A cacophony of sounds that he couldn¡¯t even begin to comprehend poured out of the fairy¡¯s mouth before she finally settled on saying, ¡°Ah, but you can just call me Trixie.¡± ¡°Was the first bit your real name?¡± he questioned. He didn¡¯t want to disrespect Trixie if he couldn¡¯t help it, and not knowing her real name, while caused by a language barrier, was something he wanted to overcome. ¡°Please, it¡¯s okay,¡± she said, somewhat embarrassed. ¡°Even among the fairy-folk of my world Lorain, my name is somewhat an outlier.¡± Raj continued questioning her for a few more moments before stopping upon the realization that she wouldn¡¯t budge from the topic. Instead, he elected to switch gears. ¡°So, is there some way we can get to know each other better?¡± She replied in what seemed to be a practiced motion, ¡°Yes, actually. We can access each other¡¯s statuses, but my page is somewhat null until I get a class. As for your page, you have to give permission to your bond to do so.¡± Following her spiel, he focused on his status, only to feel a probing sensation. When he mentally zoomed in on that feeling, he recieved a notification. Your bond seeks to access your Status: [Accept/Decline] He mentally selected accept, and pulled up his own status to follow what she was seeing. Status Name: Rajeev Narayanan Race: Human(H) Class: Swordsman[(Common-G) lvl 12] Profession: None Titles: Giant Slayer, Vitality I, Strength I, Enlightened One(G), Agility I, Endurance I, Intelligence I, Wisdom I, Dao Disciple HP: 610/650 MP: 370/400 SP: 358/470 Stats Strength: 57(55) Agility: 63(56)(+5)If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Vitality: 65(62) Endurance: 47(45) Intelligence: 40(39) Wisdom: 37(36) Free Points: 0 Dao: Fragment of Reality Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common), Dash(Uncommon) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) His eyes shot up at the new information on his status. His eyes were glued to the insane state increases. The new WIS title accounted for some of it but... Plus 10? That¡¯s ridiculous! How- he stopped, noticing a new line right next to his [Endurance I] title. Dao Disciple: Take your first step onto the path of enlightenment. +10 to all stats. His eyebrows seemed to raise past the limits of human physiology, shock apparent on his face. He didn¡¯t even know what Dao was, but he had somehow gotten it? Wait a second, he thought. Is this related to the bonding experience? Memories started rushing back to him as he realized what he had done. No, what he had accomplished. He had done the seemingly impossible, and lived to tell the tale, a stronger man than before. Still riding Cloud Nine, he checked out the new line on his status. Dao: Fragment of Reality He focused specifically on the Fragment of Reality, but to his surprise, no other information popped up. ¡°Well that¡¯s fun,¡± he grumbled. Then, with a start, he looked back at his fairy companion. ¡°Um, my bad Trixie,¡± he said bashfully. I sort of got caught up in my gains.¡± ¡°No worries,¡± she replied, her tone identical to the one she had been using before, causing Raj to wonder about her patience. ¡°I¡¯m assuming you have already seen my status for yourself?¡± At a nod from Trixie, he continued. ¡°So, my first question is whether you have any knowledge of Dao?¡± Trixie seemed to settle in for a moment before responding, ¡±Yes, I do. If I am being completely honest¡­ this is completely unexpected. I have not personally seen anyone who has broken through the Dao Wall this early in their progression. And before you ask, the Dao Wall is a Multiversally accepted term to depict the barrier blocking one from stepping onto the path of enlightenment, which the Dao helps achieve.¡± Raj pondered on her words for a moment before asking a follow up question, having to stop himself from instinctively raising his hand. Indian genes made him a tryhard, he supposed. Even for something like this. ¡°Anything else? Like can I progress in Dao? That seemed to be a common theme with the books I read.¡± ¡°Yes, you can progress on the path to enlightenment. It is called a ¡®path¡¯ for a reason,¡± Trixie dryly responded. ¡°Ahem, yeah, well. What is the progression after whatever I have?¡± Raj coughed out, attempting to push past the awkward moment. Trixie, in a rather devilish manner unbefitting for a fairy, let the moment stretch as she just stared at him. Finally, she seemed to take pity on him, and continued lecturing. ¡°What you have is a Dao Fragment, which is the weakest of all the Dao, and the first step on the path of enlightenment. Despite it being the weakest, however, it usually takes one many levels before they can even begin to attempt to create one. Typically, the average level this is done at is around level 50, but geniuses can do it at level 25. And the greatest Masters of our time can do it around level 10. There are some stories of it being done before that, but nothing has been confirmed, at least in our life.¡± Raj shot back a question of his own, ¡°Okay, and I am assuming the Dao gives me a power boost?¡± ¡°Quite right. The Dao can give you more reserves of power to draw from, as it is its own pool of energy, lengthening the amount of time you can battle for. It also allows you to imbue your attacks with your Dao, causing corresponding effects along with extra damage. And the stat boosts from the achievements gained our no small matter either, seeing as they grow exponentially.¡± Seeing the zealous gleam in his eyes, she raised a hand to cut him off, and continued talking. ¡°I know how excited you are. Multiverse asunder I am excited. but you must remember that what you have just done is considered a near impossibility, and you should not expect anything to happen for at least another 50 levels or so. And that is at the very minimum.¡± Raj¡¯s excitement, now sufficiently doused in cold water, was pushed to the back of his mind. I can think about that later when I get stronger. No point in planning for the future when I can die today. And besides, I am still grateful for the power boost. Hesitantly, he asked one final question, ¡±And what¡¯s the point of all this? What is the driving force behind everyone getting stronger, aside from wanting power?¡± Trixie stared at him for a moment, as though surprised he had asked a sensible question. ¡°To answer your question, I first have to provide a little background. The Multiverse contains an unknown number of universes. We are currently in the Zeta Universe, and we are one of the outlying universes. There is a center of the Multiverse, known as Blaxon. Blaxon is a pipe dream, however; only the strongest in all the multiverse can reside there, and it is home to a quasi-guild of sorts. Everyone in it is so strong there is no real hierarchy. They exist to prevent any Multiversal ending moments. Guilds exist in every single universe, including ours. Obviously, these guilds come in different sizes, cultures, and powers, and they all fight for supremacy. If there is ever a fight between universes, however, tentative alliances are often formed between the guilds to repel the invaders back.¡± Seeing the question on his face, she shut him down. ¡°That is all I will say for now. I don¡¯t want you to get your head too big with plans and ideas, but a few goals to work towards are good. Just know you should join a guild and grow stronger. You will be a treasured talent if you can survive the integration.¡± Raj nodded absentmindedly, but after a moment, his focus switched off to the information she had given him. Sure, he had processed it and thought he had a good understanding of it, but there were more important things to do. ¡°Thanks for the information, I really appreciate it. But enough talking, please. Now, it''s time to kill some shit!¡± Raj was already jogging out of the cave, eager to put his new stats and Dao to the test. Behind him, he heard Trixie slap her face with the palm of her hand, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like ¡°idiot humans¡± before following in his wake. Chapter 21: Synergy ¡°By the way, you can level up normally, right?¡± Raj asked, slowing down a bit to let Trixie catch up. ¡°Yes, I can,¡± she replied, the light reflecting off her wings catching his attention. ¡°But you should know, the energy from kills is given solely off of contribution, and nothing more. It prevents people from getting carried to higher levels. Power is never truly a facade, and this is doubly true for the higher levels.¡± That caused Raj to stop dead in his tracks. ¡°Wait, so you¡¯re telling me that the only way to get you up to speed is to go back to the start of the tutorial zone?¡± If that were true, it would greatly hamper his progress, and would allow others to close the gap. ¡°If I were another individual person, yes. But since we are bonds, I get roughly 50% of the experience you gain. Additionally, you only receive a 5% EXP penalty. The same is true the other way around, but that isn¡¯t as pertinent to our situation right now.¡± That allowed Raj to let out a sigh of relief. He was on par with monsters with levels in the teens at minimum, so he could just kill a handful and get Trixie more or less caught up. A couple higher leveled monsters had always seemed to push him up in levels, but getting even 5% of a level 15 should be enough for at least a level or two. It wouldn¡¯t work forever, especially considering that leveling got exponentially harder, at least from his experience, but it was more than enough for now. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s head out!¡± He proclaimed, ever the picture of bravery, wisdom, and courage. Trixie didn¡¯t hesitate in the slightest to poke a hole through his projected image. ¡°You do remember I don¡¯t have a class yet, right? Surely the one I am and will be bonded to for the rest of my life didn¡¯t forget that detail?¡± Her glare made Raj think of his sister or mom whenever they had been mad at him. He concluded that, at their core, women didn¡¯t seem to change, race and planet be damned. Raj felt beads of sweat start to form, running down his back. Responding a little quicker than he would have liked, he said,¡±Of course not! That¡¯s absurd. I was, uh, testing you to make sure you were truly focused! Yup!¡± His voice ramped up to a squeal by the end of the sentence, but he was more concerned with the tension that had built in the air. After all, his dad¡­ he suppressed the inner turmoil that rose up within him, tears threatening to spill at the corners of his eyes. Then, his eyes widened in fear. No! This can¡¯t be happening! Gripping at his heart through his shirt, Raj recounted all the trouble the damn organ had given throughout his life. Hospitals, checkups. Hell, he had been resuscitated from the brink of death. Numerous times. So much trauma, so much pain. Yet, he had thought it all over. And that¡¯s when Raj felt true anger for the very first time. ***** Trixie looked at the human¡­ No, Raj, she corrected herself. A myriad of emotions played across her face as his thoughts were reflected through their bond, which he didn¡¯t seem to be aware of. She had first been concerned by his sadness and sudden jolt of pain, but stepped back fearfully when his anger shone through. This in turn became doubly so when he sank to his knees and started screaming out defiantly. What struck Trixie as odd was that it didn¡¯t seem like he had experience with the emotion of anger, for some reason. He was raging at the heavens, looking desperately for a conduit, but failing to find any. Trixie knew it fell onto her, as Raj¡¯s bond, to calm him down. Schooling her face into one of sympathy, she pushed forwards, sending waves of warmth and kindness.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. His eyes, which had been glazed over and wild, fixated on her, the rest of his body following suit. His face returned to its former light-chocolate color from red, and his expression shifted to one of sadness, tears streaking down his face. Oh dear, she thought. I am most definitely not qualified to be a¡­ what do earthlings call it? Yes, a guidance counselor. ***** After he had settled down, and his embarrassment at his outburst had worn off, he started explaining himself to Trixie, keenly aware of the jagged edge of the rock he was leaning against digging into his back. She deserved an explanation after what he had just done, and he felt he deserved some explanation as to what she had been able to do in his mind. ¡°I have had a heart disease of sorts since I was born. And to be honest, it has become a part of my personality. I have always had to watch out when doing physical activity, as it could set me off in the worst way. It caused for an¡­ interesting childhood, to say the least.¡± He studied Trixie¡¯s face, but she simply tucked her golden hair behind her ear and gestured for him to continue. ¡°The problems didn¡¯t end there, either. In both my last year of high school, and my first year of college, my heart failed. The same scene played out both times, where I was walking through the halls of the school, before falling to the ground in agony. Next thing I knew, I was awake in a hospital, with no recollection of how I got there, and a team of doctors crowded around my bed in relief.¡± He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, struggling to repel the wave of emotions which threatened to overtake him once more. After collecting himself, he continued. ¡°The reason I lost my cool in a way I never have before was because I expected my condition to be cured when the system took over.¡± Trixie elected that moment to interject, positing a question of her own. ¡°Why would you assume that?¡± ¡°I had read a lot of books about these sort of things, and¨C¡± Trixie let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°Why, pray tell, is that your basis for information? Never assume that you know anything about the real world from books. I am aware that they are based on information sent to your world to prepare you, but that doesn¡¯t make said books some holy script for you to follow to a t.¡± When she put it like that, it made Raj feel slightly foolish, but he still shot a rebuttal her way. ¡°In my defense, everything else has been going pretty similarly¡­¡± he dropped the matter after seeing the pointed glare she was giving him. Seeing his face, she burst out into laughter. It was a light, tinkling sound. He cracked a smile as well, and for a moment, all seemed right in the world. Chapter 22: Familiarity and Exploration After his breakdown was out of the way, they went about picking Trixie¡¯s class. She had wound up with the same three starter options as himself, and after some deliberation, they had both concluded that mage was the best class for her. Her form was not suitably equipped to handle bows or swords, and even if she had one her size, it would not deal as much damage as a larger one would. Spells on the other hand, had their power largely determined by your stats, specifically INT and WIS. Trixie had actually explained this, stating, ¡±It is no different from a warrior or archer. STR increases the power you swing with and draw your bow back, respectively, and END can influence how long you can swing or shoot. Similarly, INT increases the power of your spells, while WIS increases the amount of time you can cast. As you know, VIT increases HP, END increases SP, and INT increases MP. One thing unique to spellcasting, however, is that WIS increases the versatility of spells, or how much they can deviate from their base state. It is never anything crazy, however. For example, a Mana Slash(Common) skill will be able to cause some splash damage, or maybe leave lingering electric damage. Not very impactful, per se, but it does add up over time. The greatest mages can completely change a base spell, but we won''t be able to follow in their wake for a long while.¡± After that mouthful, they set out to gain some EXP for Trixie. She told him that she already knew how to use Mana Bolt(Common) at a proficient level, so she didn¡¯t need to practice on the creatures for now. That left Raj to mindlessly stumble around, killing everything in sight. While he was engaging a pack of wolves, a sudden thought came to him. ¡°Say Trixie, how did you send those emotions to my mind? Are you some kind of mental mage or a telepath?¡± Raj asked as he bisected the last member of a wolf pack in half. He marveled at the sheer ease he had dispatched them by simply imbuing his strikes with his Dao Fragment of Reality. They felt like pieces of wet paper before his newly strengthened attacks, and posed no challenge whatsoever. For a lack of better words, his Dao seemed to make the blade feel more real. The blade hummed with power, as though the Dao itself was offended by anything trying to escape its confines, the confines of reality. Additionally, after some experimentation, he learned that he could control how much Dao energy was getting put behind each attack. He was able to settle on an amount of energy that was both somewhat sustainable while still empowering his attacks to a good level. Franky, the whole thing was enough to make his head spin. Trixie¡¯s response to his prior question was enunciated by a slew of kill notifications. You have slain [Wolf - lvl 9]. You have slain [Wolf - lvl 9]. You have slain [Wolf - lvl 9]. You have slain [Wolf - lvl 9]. You have slain [Wolf - lvl 10]. Trixie hesitated upon seeing Raj¡¯s unfocused eyes, but his gesture for her to continue prompted her to start talking as she realized he was looking through his prompts. ¡°Yes, that was actually something I wanted to talk to you about. We have a bond that connects us. All bonded individuals do. We can communicate through it mentally eventually, though that takes some time and some more levels before we can do that. Our bond needs to be deepened, and that happens passively with levels. It can also happen if we undergo life threatening moments together, but even then there are certain unidentifiable criteria that must be filled, making those rare.¡± Raj had closed his notifications to ask her a question, but she seemed to have sensed it before the word left his mouth, and she waved him off. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll explain how you can tap into the bond. It¡¯s quite simple, actually. Just close your eyes and try to feel a foreign presence in your head.¡± Raj did as she instructed and closed his eyes, searching his mind for a trace of what she had described. After a few frustrating tries, he was finally able to triangulate the bond. ¡°Huh,¡± he said in wonder. ¡°You feel soft and warm.¡± His eyes shot open upon realizing how that sounded. ¡°Uh, I mean, ahem,¡± he stumbled through words for a few moments before acquiescing, his cheeks red with embarrassment, his eyes studying something particularly interesting on the ground. Trixie, however, seemed largely unbothered by his misstep, and continued talking without missing a beat. She didn¡¯t miss the opportunity to insult him, however. ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know how I ended up with a dunce like you. You can be yourself around me, we are bonded for crying out loud. If you keep tripping over yourself for everything you say, we¡¯re both in for a long life.¡± After a tentative nod from Raj, she concluded,¡±Anyways, that¡¯s how you access the bond. If you reach deeper into the bond, you can also access my status page.¡± Raj did just that, and after a few moments of concentration, pulled her page up. Status Name: L¡¯thsnixzsiarla Velair Race: Fairy(H) Class: Mage[(Common-H) lvl 2] Profession: None Titles: None HP: 60/60 MP: 90/90 SP: 72/80 StatsUnauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Strength: 6 Agility: 12 Vitality: 7 Endurance: 8 Intelligence: 12 Wisdom: 12 Free Points: 0 Class Skills: Mana Bolt(Common) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) He was pleasantly surprised to find that she had already leveled, and had split her Free Points between INT and WIS. Seeing as how she would be a full-time mage, and not much help in melee, it made sense. Interestingly enough, it seemed that starting stats were skewed depending on race, with Trixie having less in the way of physical stats, with AGI being the outlier, and more gifted in the magical department. Those imbalances between races could easily be overcome with a few levels, however, rendering it moot. ¡°Well, I suppose there¡¯s nothing else for us to do except to grind levels. Let¡¯s see where we can get you before the sun falls,¡± Raj said, transitioning their focus into one of battle. Raj set off in pursuit of his next battle, Trixie trailing dutifully along. ***** By the time the day had ended, Raj looked like a monster. Dried blood caked his body, though hardly any of it was his. His eyes were bloodshot, fatigue having taken over. Still, his efforts weren¡¯t for naught. Trixie had gained 5 entire levels, while he had gained 2. For a day of work, that was more than solid, especially considering Trixie was nearing a point where she could fight alongside him effectively. Once she tiered up to G, it would make grinding much easier. It got to a point where Raj had to question the unfairness of it all. He was met with an eye roll and a curt explanation. Yes, well, bonds are typically mutually beneficial. The reason many people elect to go through cultivation solo is purely because if a bond or the human they are bonded to dies, the other¡¯s mental state is thrown into disarray. At best, they are left with half the mental capacity, along with numerous side effects, such as unchecked emotions and nonexistent mental defenses that can never be fixed. At worst, they follow their bond to an early death.¡± Raj¡¯s face paled at the thought before speaking his own inner musings. ¡°I guess bonding really is a lifelong thing, huh? For better or for worse.¡± Maybe he should have waited a bit longer to consult with other experts about this topic before bonding, but he had simply followed his gut. There was no point in wallowing in regret, anyways. The important thing to do now was to make sure both he and Trixie lived. Shaking the despondent thoughts away, he pulled open both of their status pages to check the progress they had made today. Status Name: Rajeev Narayanan Race: Human(H) Class: Swordsman[(Common-G) lvl 14] Profession: None Titles: Giant Slayer, Vitality I, Strength I, Enlightened One(G), Agility I, Endurance I, Intelligence I, Wisdom I, Dao Disciple HP: 680/690 MP: 460/460 SP: 428/510 Stats Strength: 64(61) Agility: 72(64)(+5) Vitality: 69(66) Endurance: 51(49) Intelligence: 46(44) Wisdom: 43(41) Free Points: 0 Dao: Fragment of Reality Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common), Dash(Uncommon) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) He sighed in content, seeing his [Giant Slayer] title working hard. He had elected to focus his free points on his magic stats, but Trixie seemed to have done the opposite, shoring up her weak points instead. Status Name: L¡¯thsnixzsiarla Velair Race: Fairy(H) Class: Mage[(Common-H) lvl 7] Profession: None Titles: None HP: 120/120 MP: 220/220 SP: 130/130 Stats Strength: 11 Agility: 17 Vitality: 12 Endurance: 13 Intelligence: 22 Wisdom: 22 Free Points: 0 Class Skills: Mana Bolt(Common) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) She had exploded in power in just one day, making Raj excited for the next day. He was confident she would evolve, and then they could make a push for the final objective of the tutorial. Welcome to the Tutorial Information: The Tutorial will proceed for 30 days. The only required criteria for completion is survival. Anything else is extra and will thus be rewarded for. Countdown: 22 days, 19 hours and 29 minutes Tutorial Contribution(TC) will be given to all participants for any actions that impact the tutorial or the beings inside it. This includes slaying monsters or other humans, as well as completing or contributing to the completion of objectives. The leaders in terms of TC will be given rewards at the end of the tutorial in accordance to the amount of TC they have. TC is not visible as points by the participants. Objectives: A power lurks in the grassy plains to the East of the forest. Defeat the monstrosity and its 3 most powerful subordinates to complete the objective. Today had been a long day, considering all he had been through. He had a long gap since his last nap due to first the bonding with Trixie, and then the consequent series of fighting. Additionally, he had come to find out that using the Dao left great spiritual strain on the soul. This would prove problematic, as it made him even more sluggish and tired than he should be. Trixie speculated that it was more of an issue due to the fact that he had gotten his Dao very early on in his cultivation. While he wasn¡¯t complaining about the Dao at all, it certainly did complicate things. For now, however, his only concern was to sleep in the cave they had first bonded in. After some consideration, and a little encouragement from a cold draft that spun its way through the cave, Trixie elected to sleep on his head, using his far too long hair as a nest of sorts. The extra weight actually didn¡¯t bother him, and filled him with warmth. After muttering out a ¡°goodnight¡± to Trixie, and receiving an equally droll response, he fell asleep. Patreon! I have activated my patreon account. No extra chapters have been dropped yet, but I wanted to inform you guys ahead of time. I will be starting a payment plan for extra chapters, but it will be cheap(just for people who want to read ahead). It will take at most a couple weeks or so to come into fruition, but I think I will start out with 3 dollars for 5 chapters, and 1 dollar for 3 chapters. Let me know what you guys think!A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Please don''t subscribe now, unless you are interested in just supporting me. I will let you guys know when the chapters are out. In the meantime, I want to finalize my scheduling. I will be posting two chapters a week, on Saturday and Sunday, but the possibility of bonus chapters will stand. I will also try to et you guys know ahead of time if something comes up. I want to be as transparent as possible. Here''s a link to my newly made patreon: Patreon Chapter 23: On the Move Raj woke up, feeling refreshed. He rose to his feet to partake in his morning stretching ritual. An unexpected interruption to this ritual decided to present itself at that moment, however, striking mighty blows of retaliation. Trixie squirmed as he reached over and grabbed her, making sure to not crush any part of her. ¡°Asshole!¡± She loudly proclaimed, making Raj wince slightly. ¡°Don¡¯t get up when I¡¯m asleep like that! I fell an entire foot! Do you know how much that hurts?¡± Raj was not about to let his bonded companion slander his name like this. ¡°That¡¯s not my fault! You''re the one who decided to sleep there in the first place. You should be prepared for the consequences of that decision!¡± He protested. Trixie did not accept his admonishment, instead deciding to flip the script back onto him. ¡°You knew I was there, and you still got up!¡± She said, venom entering her voice. It was all Raj could do to throw up his hands in defeat. Her argument made absolutely no sense! I mean, sure, he could have technically taken slightly more time to make sure his bonded companion didn¡¯t wake up via a great fall, but still! He was hardly to blame! Seeing Trixie bask in her own glory caused him to scoff at her antics, and he turned to fix up some breakfast. If one could call it that, anyways. He had managed to collect a couple of deer carcasses, but they remained raw. Seeing as how he had no spices or herbs to season the meat properly meant that the only thing he could do was roast it on a spit over a fire. He could technically try to find some herbs in the tutorial, but he didn¡¯t see the point. It would be a large waste of time, and there was no guarantee he would even find any. He sure as hell didn¡¯t want to try unknown plants, either. Besides, the roasted meat was somewhat bearable, and it was all he needed to survive. No way in hell was he going to tell that to Trixie, however. That information was on a need to know basis, and seeing as he valued his life, she was definitely not on that list. After a quiet breakfast, they decided to set out in the direction of the weird house where he had encountered the drakes. And, just like Drake, they seemed to enjoy toying with little people. Despite everything that had gone down yesterday, he was really glad to have a bond. It made for some light conversation, and the loneliness that had been following him the entire time in the tutorial until now had been dissipated by the arrival of Trixie in his life. Sure, they had their differences, but that was to be expected. If anything, he would be more concerned if everything went perfectly. Speaking of companions¡­ Another goal he had was to figure out what Arjun was doing. Even if he had no idea that he was Raj, he had still attacked a lone traveler on the brink of death. In a group, nonetheless, if his memory served him correctly. It certainly hadn¡¯t felt like Arjun throwing him away from the cave, but who knew? His supposed friend had already changed so much, this was practically insignificant. Stopping himself from spiraling again, he motioned for Trixie to join him as he stalked through the forest, twigs snapping underfoot. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°By the way, there is a cure for my disease, right?¡± Raj asked, hope blossoming in his chest. After a moment of hesitation, Trixie replied, ¡°I''m fairly certain that the answer to your question is yes, as most pre-integration illnesses and the like are very easily treatable.¡± Sensing the lingering unsaid thought, Raj simply spun his hand in a circle to indicate for her to continue. She took the cue in stride, saying, ¡°The issue here is that, well, it¡¯s not supposed to hurt you.¡± Seeing his look of utter confusion, she hurriedly elaborated, ¡°Your body is stronger now due to the evolution and increased stats, and in the majority of cases, the disease should hardly be affecting you, if at all.¡± Raj chewed on her words for a moment. He had definitely been affected; if anything, he had experienced more pain than usual. Keeping his tone even, as to not betray the trepidation in his voice, he asked, ¡°So what does that mean? That my disease was influenced by something in the Greater Collective? Something strong enough to bypass the laws of the goddamned system themselves?¡± To that, she had no response. ***** Trixie stared at Raj as he decimated another pack of wolves. This would be their last ¡°fight¡±, if you could even call it that, before they reached that house he had been talking about. Honestly, he seems far too nervous. I understand they are two levels higher, but he doesn¡¯t seem to grasp the true strength of the Dao. As Raj was wiping his blade on the last of the monsters, Trixie pulled up her status, seeing where she had ended up. Status Name: L¡¯thsnixzsiarla Velair Race: Fairy(H) Class: Mage[(Common-H) lvl 8] Profession: None Titles: None HP: 130/130 MP: 250/250 SP: 130/130 Stats Strength: 11 Agility: 18 Vitality: 13 Endurance: 13 Intelligence: 25 Wisdom: 25 Free Points: 0 Class Skills: Mana Bolt(Common) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) She had decided to go all into her magical stats, seeing as how she already had a companion for melee support. And if anyone got through him, well¡­ best not to follow that train of thought, she decided. She turned to him, only to find him looking into the abyss. Giving him a moment, his eyes refocused, and she grabbed his attention. ¡°You need to fight with confidence, Raj. Trust me, you are far stronger than those drakes. You are severely underestimating the power of the Dao if you think this two level gap is anything.¡± She continued to coach and comfort him, trying to steady his nerves throughout their walk. Her words were cut short after a moment, however, by a simple utterance from her bond. ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± he said, his eyes focused purely on the lizards in front of them. To Trixie¡¯s surprise, his mouth twisted into something of a grim smile, his teeth baring. ¡°Let¡¯s kick some ass!¡± He yelled as he used his Dash(Uncommon) ability to jump into the fray. Trixie could do nothing but smack her face in response, a groan slipping from her lips. ¡°Damn humans! Why is this absolute idiot my bond!¡± Later, Trixie would swear that, for a moment, the heavens themselves let out a tinkling laugh in response. Chapter 24: Vengeance Upon seeing his hated enemies, he quickly used Dash(Uncommon), trying to catch one off guard. Just before going in, however, he cast Identify(Common) on all three. [Drake - lvl 17]. [Drake - lvl 17]. [Drake - lvl 19]. Despite the small growth they had undergone during their time apart, their biggest advantage right now was numbers, so he had to try and level the playing field. After stumbling for just a moment and orienting himself, he found himself staring into the panic-stricken eyes of one of his foes. The drakes had been playing dead, just like the last time he encountered them. The difference this time, however, was that they were not expecting a challenger to teleport into their midst. Wasting no time, Raj caught one straight in the chest with a Dao-infused Mana Slash(Common), holding his breath as the previously untested technique let loose. The results made his jaw drop. He blinked once as the nearest creature exploded, guts spraying around him. Wails of despair erupted from the snout of the wannabe dragon before him. His shock multiplied when the blow kept going, not allowing the creatures to escape, grounding them in the reality he poured into the strike. After all was said and done, only the third beast was alive and untouched. The second had been nearly bisected, and Raj felt the flow of EXP from both of the last drake¡¯s companions. It was the death of the other two that allowed the third to survive. Their bodies had been able to shield it from the worst of the damage, soaking up the Dao, allowing it to leap backwards and escape. A not unsubstantial Mana Bolt(Common) slammed into the shocked monster¡¯s side, causing it to stumble. That was the only opening Raj needed, and, after sending three Mana Slash(Common) attacks towards its gut, he ran in and leaped high, landing simultaneously with the head of the now-deceased drake. Raj stood up, his legs flexing to push him out of the crouch he had landed in, and cleaned his sword on his shirt before waving it away into his spatial storage. ¡°You weren¡¯t kidding,¡± He said to Trixie as she emerged from the woods hand still raised from the spell she had cast during the battle. ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t,¡± she readily agreed. ¡°I told you that you were underestimating the power of the Dao. Infusing it into your attacks was easy for you as well, which I also predicted. It makes sense that Dao-related activities come more naturally to you, seeing how early you unlocked it to begin with.¡± She cut off, looking at her gains from the battle. This was the first time she had actually participated in battle, previously citing ¡°unnecessary danger¡±. Raj decided to mirror her actions, pulling his status up. He had definitely felt a ton of EXP flood into him, and he was excited to see his gains. Status Name: Rajeev Narayanan Race: Human(H) Class: Swordsman[(Common-G) lvl 16] Profession: None Titles: Giant Slayer, Vitality I, Strength I, Enlightened One(G), Agility I, Endurance I, Intelligence I, Wisdom I, Dao Disciple HP: 730/730 MP: 400/460 SP: 508/550 Stats Strength:70(67) Agility: 91(82)(+5) Vitality: 73(70) Endurance: 55(53) Intelligence: 46(44) Wisdom: 43(41) Free Points: 10 Dao: Fragment of Reality Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common), Dash(Uncommon) Profession Skills: NoneUnauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. General Skills: Identify(Common) After some internal deliberation, he decided to split his Free Points evenly between INT and STR. He wanted his attack power to be able to keep up with his ridiculous speed, after all. He accessed Trixie¡¯s status immediately after, curious to see how much stronger she had gotten. Status Name: L¡¯thsnixzsiarla Velair Race: Fairy(H) Class: Mage[(Common-H) lvl 11] Profession: None Titles: None HP: 180/180 MP: 300/310 SP: 150/150 Stats Strength: 11 Agility: 23 Vitality: 18 Endurance: 15 Intelligence: 31 Wisdom: 31 Free Points: 6 Class Skills: Mana Bolt(Common) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) He whistled appreciatively, surprised that she had gotten three levels. Considering that she had only fired off a single spell, that was a good haul. They walked towards the now unguarded house, cautiously taking in their surroundings. Raj in particular was definitely not about to let a repeat of the cave backstabbing to occur. As soon as the pair crossed a faint circle engraved into the dirt around the house, a prompt flashed on his screen. Congratulations! You have bested the guardians of The House! Ownership of The House shall now be placed under YOUR name for the duration of the Tutorial. No other can take this claim. Every day that passes that The House remains in your possession, unintruded by others, awards an additional 1% of all Tutorial Contribution you collect to be added on to your total. DEFEND the objective. Trixie gasped to his right, having seen his prompt. I didn¡¯t even know she could do that. Wait, that means I can do that too! ¡°This is wonderful!¡± She exclaimed, flying loop-de-loops next to his head. ¡°How?¡± Raj said, skepticism lacing his voice. ¡°It¡¯s just a few percent? What¡¯s the big deal? Isn¡¯t it better to just go hunt for monsters and kill the boss of the Tutorial?¡± Upon seeing the blank stare she gave him, he knew that was the wrong answer. ¡°Dimwit, Tutorial Contribution, or TC, gives you access to basically everything you could ever imagine, barring a few things like resurrection. It is a market for you to access goods that you may never be able to even see again, let alone afford. The prices are cheaper in the Tutorial Store as well. Additionally, most stronger competitors, which somehow includes you, gain a plethora of points during the Tutorial. Therefore, any percentage increases at all make a huge difference. And it¡¯s stackable! Talk about luck!¡± Her fervored enthusiasm was starting to rub off on Raj, as he realized the importance of what he had just been granted. He pulled up the Tutorial panel to see how long he could abuse this for. Welcome to the Tutorial Information: The Tutorial will proceed for 30 days. The only required criteria for completion is survival. Anything else is extra and will thus be rewarded for. Countdown: 22 days, 4 hours and 36 minutes Tutorial Contribution(TC) will be given to all participants for any actions that impact the tutorial or the beings inside it. This includes slaying monsters or other humans, as well as completing or contributing to the completion of objectives. The leaders in terms of TC will be given rewards at the end of the tutorial in accordance to the amount of TC they have. TC is not visible as points by the participants. Objectives: A power lurks in the grassy plains to the East of the forest. Defeat the monstrosity and its 3 most powerful subordinates to complete the objective. Hidden Objective: Defend The House. Rewards determined by length of defense. ¡°There¡¯s a new line on the Tutorial Panel too. Apparently, this is a hidden objective.¡± Raj narrated. Seeing her nod, he kept talking. ¡°We could probably sit here for a while, at least two weeks. We still need to defeat the boss and its subordinates, and eight days should be enough for that.¡± Saying that, he glanced around, truly taking in the house for the first time. It was a simple thing, just a one-story ranch. Looking inside, he saw¡­ three empty rooms and one bed. Of course, he complained to nobody in particular. Because why be nice? Why help the people who are suffering because of you even a bit? Trixie''s next words tried to dull his excitement, however. ¡°Don¡¯t be so sure we can even last two weeks here. Knowing the tutorial, it¡¯s not going to be as easy as¡ª¡± As if her words were prophecies themselves, roars echoed all around the house they had now entered. Peering through one of the four windows, he saw monsters of all kinds surrounding The House, though they only seemed to be within the circle he had crossed before. Even more daunting, however, was the fact that he couldn¡¯t see anything past said circle. A prompt demanded his attention, and he obliged. Defend your claim! Now that you possess The House, waves of monsters will continue to spawn every two hours. The difficulty will continually increase until the monsters destroy the bed placed in your house. Fight! He slowly turned to Trixie, who let out a nervous chuckle. ¡°You just had to say it, didn¡¯t you? Look what you¡¯ve done now. You¡¯ve gone and jinxed us, damn it!¡± He turned towards the veritable sea of monsters before him, pinching the bridge of his nose as he pulled his blade back out. As he opened the front mahogany door, Trixie managed to utter a weak apology. ¡°Whoopsie?¡± Chapter 25: The First Wave Raj cast an Identify(Common) on the monsters, relief apparent on his face as he read the information in front of him. [Fleshling Abomination - lvl 5]. A shudder passed through his body. The names are¡­ appropriate, to say the least. The creatures stood at just around 5 feet tall, but the normalities ended there. Their figures seemed to be made of a lot of different patches of skin all twisted together, before being decayed and rotted beyond recognition. A foul smell exuded off of them as well, a weapon in of itself. Its long hanging arms and short legs were tipped by long, razor-like claws, yellow in color. Suspicion made its way onto his face, the low level of the monster putting him on high alert. He scanned the other monsters, all of them perfect clones of the first one. Must be a wave defence of increasing level. It¡¯ll probably come to a head on the very last day. ¡°Lucky for you, this is manageable for now. It¡¯s gonna get harder to deal with later, though,¡± Raj called back to Trixie. He turned back to the creatures upon seeing her nod, and drew his sword, starting to carve his way through the creatures in record time. ***** Arjun dutifully followed behind the man in front of him, dragging a screaming Ernest behind him. They had been ambushed by this larger camp, and Thatcher had been killed trying to defend Ernest, who had been hit in the first few seconds of the fight. Arjun had no such loyalties, however, and he immediately surrendered. He had been happy, in fact, as he had seen all of the people in the attacking camp freely using magic. Now that he could practice magic, his progress and growth had been great. He pulled up his status sheet, a hint of his old childish curiosity sparking up from within. Status Name: Arjun Sharma Race: Human(H) Class: Mage[(Common-H) lvl 8] Profession: None Titles: None HP: 150/150 MP: 210/210 SP: 150/150 Stats Strength: 15 Agility: 18 Vitality: 15 Endurance: 15 Intelligence: 21 Wisdom: 21 Free Points: 0 Class Skills: Mana Bolt(Common) Profession Skills: NoneThis text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. General Skills: Identify(Common) He was tantalizingly close to what people were starting to call the First Threshold, or level 10. Soon, he would be powerful enough. He would be valuable. He was wrenched out of his thoughts by someone grabbing his shoulder. He looked up to see the boss¡¯s right-hand man taking Ernest from him into the main tent. Arjun did not know his name, nor did he know the boss¡¯s name. He let go of Ernest and turned around, his gaze unflinching even as he heard a shrill scream coming from the tent. ***** Trixie shivered at the sight of Raj. He stood still amidst a plethora of dead bodies, blood and gore everywhere, sword in hand. It looked exactly like something out of the action movies she had seen from her bond¡¯s memories. An inexplicable fear resonated from within her as she saw him. She watched him wipe his sword on a torn-up rag from his spatial ring before putting it away. Plastering a smile on her face as he turned around to face her, she waved away the dark thoughts from before. ***** ¡°Alright Trixie,¡± Raj said, dusting his hands off. ¡°We got through this wave easy enough. But do you have any idea how much ti-¡± He was cut off by a prompt flashing across his vision. He focused on it, and read the information in front of him. Congratulations! You have succeeded against the First Wave. You have 1 hour and 34 minutes to prepare. Countdown: 1:34:32 ¡°Well, that answers that question, I guess,¡± Raj muttered. Then, he had a thought. ¡°Say, Trixie, if we want to really do well in this challenge¡­¡± ¡°Yeaahh?¡± She drawled in response. ¡°Well, you see¡­ I didn¡¯t bring any extra food. Nor did I bring water, but I have an almost empty canteen.¡± The ensuing profanity that spilled from the fairy¡¯s mouth would make even the worst criminal¡¯s ears turn red in shame. ***** ¡°Oh thank god!¡± Raj elatedly said. The source of his happiness was the fully stocked fridge in front of him, with good food and bottles of water everywhere.¡±The system really helped us out this time, huh?¡± ¡°Yes, it certainly did!¡± Trixie said through a mouthful of food. He grabbed a chicken wing, absentmindedly looking through his status. In the process, however, he ended up finding a peculiarity. Status Name: Rajeev Narayanan Race: Human(H) Class: Swordsman[(Common-G) lvl 16] Profession: None Titles: Giant Slayer, Vitality I, Strength I, Enlightened One(G), Agility I, Endurance I, Intelligence I, Wisdom I, Dao Disciple, Tutorial Challenge: Level 1(Pending) HP: 730/730 MP: 510/510 SP: 550/550 Stats Strength:75(72) Agility: 91(82)(+5) Vitality: 73(70) Endurance: 55(53) Intelligence: 51(49) Wisdom: 43(41) Free Points: 0 Dao: Fragment of Reality Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common), Dash(Uncommon) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) While none of his stats changed, a new title had made its way onto his status. He focused on it Tutorial Challenge: Level 1(Pending) - Defeat the first stage of the Tutorial Challenge. Rewards unknown. Huh, Raj thought. The ¡®Level 1¡¯ part probably represented the number of waves he completed. A lot of information was absent, though it was most likely because the challenge wasn¡¯t over yet. That would also explain the ¡®Pending¡¯ part of the title. He sat down on the bed, sighing in exhaustion. Pulling up the countdown timer, he came to a decision. Countdown: 1:19:54 ¡°Trixie, can you see the timer until the next wave as well?¡± He asked his companion. ¡°Yes, I can,¡± She responded. ¡°It¡¯s visible through our bond.¡± ¡°Alright, can you wake me up 10 minutes before the wave starts? I wanna take a nap.¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll do that.¡± Raj simply flashed her a thumbs up, and let his head hit the surprisingly soft pillow, dreams already waiting to take over his racing mind. Chapter 26: Hiearchies The next few waves passed without issue. The same mindless slaughter occurred, the beasts not changing in the slightest. The only difference between waves was that there seemed to be more creatures, and he even started seeing a couple of level 6s in the mix towards the end. He was currently standing by the door, staring at the countdown for the next wave. Countdown: 0:10:11 A sigh escaped his lips, the boring repetition of the task starting to get to him. He knew it would get harder eventually, but still¡­ The fact that the monsters gave him virtually no EXP made it all the worse. Fortunately, the sheer volume of targets still pushed up a level. Status Name: Rajeev Narayanan Race: Human(H) Class: Swordsman[(Common-G) lvl 17] Profession: None Titles: Giant Slayer, Vitality I, Strength I, Enlightened One(G), Agility I, Endurance I, Intelligence I, Wisdom I, Dao Disciple, Tutorial Challenge: Level 9(Pending) HP: 730/730 MP: 510/510 SP: 550/550 Stats Strength:78(75) Agility: 95(86)(+5) Vitality: 75(72) Endurance: 57(55) Intelligence: 51(49) Wisdom: 48(46) Free Points: 0 Dao: Fragment of Reality Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common), Dash(Uncommon) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) He had elected to dump his Free Points into Wisdom, as he could definitely use the increased mana regen in this wave-like combat. Better to ensure he would always be topped off on MP. Trixie had similarly leveled up once. It would have been more if she had participated in the first few waves, but she had chosen to stay refreshed. Still, the stat increases were always a welcome addition. Status Name: L¡¯thsnixzsiarla Velair Race: Fairy(H) Class: Mage[(Common-H) lvl 12] Profession: None Titles: Intelligence I, Wisdom I HP: 190/190 MP: 350/350 SP: 190/190 Stats Strength: 11Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Agility: 24 Vitality: 19 Endurance: 19 Intelligence: 35 Wisdom: 35 Free Points: 0 Class Skills: Mana Bolt(Common) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) Raj had been curious about why she hadn¡¯t evolved yet and had asked her after the last wave was over. ¡°Ah, yes, I forgot to mention that. To attempt to keep somewhat of a power imbalance between the bond and its master, the System increased the first threshold to level 15 for all bonds. The reasoning is speculation, but it is the most widely accepted theory. After all, not everyone is kind to their bonds, and the master is technically supposed to be in a position of superiority,¡± She had recounted, her distaste for the matter apparent. He opened the door as the countdown hit 0, already drawing his sword. Then, something made his hand stop mid-action. Wave 10 Boss Fight! Begin! ¡°What the fuck,¡± Raj mumbled at the lack of information before yelling at his bond, ¡°Trixie! Get your ass out here!¡± It took no more than 10 seconds for her to join him, responding, ¡°Honestly, how crude can you be?¡± Ignoring her remark, he waited for her to read the prompt. ¡°Hmm, it most certainly isn¡¯t unexpected. The System is notorious for not allowing an easy way through, and that holds doubly true for challenges.¡± Raj simply tipped his head this way and that, the statement making sense to him. A bright beam of white light suddenly shot down from the heavens, drawing his attention. His eyes watered briefly at the sheer intensity of the light, but just as he went to shield his eyes, the beam was gone. Instead, a lone monster stood in its place. Quickly, Raj identified it. [Flesh-Knight - lvl 10]. His eyebrows raised slightly at that, and he took a moment to process the changes. For starters, the level was much higher than than the previous monsters. Additionally, the System-given designation for the monster was different. His mind instantly went to medieval hierarchies, but there was no way to confirm this until he saw the other bosses. Luckily, the monster posed no threat to him, as he was closing in on nearly double its level. Still, this was a surprising jump in power. It was past the first threshold, which was curious. He locked eyes with his opponent, the barren, open field making it look like an 80s Wild West showdown. The tension was released when Raj was charged by the Flesh-Knight. The Raj from a few weeks ago would have been jumping around in anticipation and nervousness, but now, he simply waited with his hand poised to draw his sword. He noted the oddity of such a maneuver, as he did not actually have to unsheathe his weapon. He simply had to pull it out of his spatial ring. Still, his time at HEMA formed a habit, and it was hard to break. He absently thought if he should buy a sheath just for that purpose, as it still felt off not feeling anything there. As silly as that may sound, comfort with your weapon, he had learned, is a vital part of battle. As the monster reached him, he materialized his sword and spun, decapitating his foe in a single Dao-empowered strike. You have slain [Flesh-Knight - lvl 10]. He read the prompt as he wiped his sword off on the rag he kept before making it disappear into his spatial space again. He chuckled slightly as he wondered how his current self with his increased patience would endure the long poojas and temple visits he had been so desperate to escape from. He pushed the memory away, the thought of his parents causing him no small amount of heartache. Can¡¯t really afford any more problems in that region, now can I? Emotionally or physically. On that note, his mind was brought to the issue of his condition. He had been repeatedly hit with surges of pain, but nothing he hadn¡¯t long since learned to bear with ease. Only that wild episode from before was different, and it scared him. He knew firsthand just how powerful the System could make people, so a System-strengthened disease made him figuratively shit his pants. The best theory Raj and Trixie had devised was that it was a magical disease of sorts, and the reason it had not hit him so hard before was because Earth had not had magic, so the magical aspect of the problem was forced to remain dormant. It made him wonder just how many other things like that were out there, medical or otherwise. How far had the System¡¯s reach really extended before the Integration? He walked back to Trixie, who had been waiting at the door. Raj had not given her a chance to help him with how quickly he had dispatched the Flesh-Knight, and he felt slightly bad. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, as the waves get harder, I¡¯ll definitely need your help,¡± Raj said, trying to pacify the fairy. She waved his words away. ¡°It''s alright, I don¡¯t mind.¡± A blaring cacophony of trumpets suddenly blared through his ears, the loudness causing him to cover his ears, but the action provided no respite. A notification followed the unpleasant sound a second later, and he read through it. Wave 10 Complete! You are now entitled to know: A second prompt followed the first. Congratulations! You have leveled up x1! Stats have been distributed. He and Trixie both turned towards each other as one. ¡°Well, isn¡¯t that interesting?¡± Raj said with a small smile. Chapter 27: Preparations Status Name: Rajeev Narayanan Race: Human(H) Class: Swordsman[(Common-G) lvl 18] Profession: None Titles: Giant Slayer, Vitality I, Strength I, Enlightened One(G), Agility I, Endurance I, Intelligence I, Wisdom I, Dao Disciple, Tutorial Challenge: Level 10(Pending) HP: 770/770 MP: 510/510 SP: 570/590 Stats Strength:81(78) Agility: 99(90)(+5) Vitality: 77(74) Endurance: 59(57) Intelligence: 51(49) Wisdom: 48(46) Free Points: 5 Dao: Fragment of Reality Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common), Dash(Uncommon) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) He dumped 1 point into INT and 4 points into WIS to get them both to 50, because his brain said so. Then, he slumped back into a chair he¡¯d found, ready to enter the seriously badass time lapse of this special event. It¡¯ll be epic. Action-packed. It will make you cry tears of passion and sorrow. And most of all, it will truly be a sight to see, an unskippable adventu-! ***** Izol Zengris of the Zengris Clan walked down the halls to meet his Patriarch. The increased lifespan that came with power allowed large Clans such as the Zengris to exist, hundreds of thousands of members spanning multiple galaxies. His Clan was one of the leading powers in the Zeta Universe, and they were attached to the most powerful faction in the universe. The Patriarch of the Zengris Clan had close relations to the leader of the Trinitary Guild, after all. His Patriarch was a good man, and had long since earned Izol¡¯s unwavering loyalty and admiration. His desire to impress was what made the head recruiter so nervous. Have I dared to do something wrong? Beads of sweat trickled down his back as he approached the large double-doors. No guards stood at attention near the doors, though there were never any to begin with. The Patriarch didn¡¯t need something as trivial as guards at his door; it was seen as a sign of great strength. He raised his hand and rasped on the door. Three loud, echoing bangs reverberated around the space around him before petering off into silence. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Just as his tension reached its height, a deep, commanding voice sounded out from behind the door. ¡°Enter,¡± the Patriarch called. Wasting no time, Izol pushed the doors open and walked in. Immediately, an overbearing presence washed over him, the doors slamming shut with a resounding clang behind him, a note of finality held within the sound. ¡°Sit, Izol.¡± Wordlessly, he sat, and the Patriarch began to speak. ¡°As you know, the Inter-Universal Wars draw close. The Planetary Movements are approaching, and we only have 100 more years. I was just a soldier in the last war 10,000 years ago, but I have seen sights that would make some of our more experienced members cry like a baby. This next decade is the most important one for recruiting, as anyone we recruit after that will not have the time to properly build up the strength needed to effectively fight in this war. We need everyone fighting to be at D-grade, after all. E-grades and below will be but cannon fodder. Even the D-grades are mere foot soldiers.¡± Izol took a moment to process the information that had been dumped onto him. It was certainly a dose of reality, to say the least. He looked to the Patriarch for allowance, and then spoke. ¡°Sir, if I recall correctly, we want to defeat as many universes as possible, correct? To get to the as close to Blaxon as possible?¡± ¡°Yes, that is correct. After the planets start to churn, and the outer move towards the inner, only the defeat of a universe can stall their progress. The closer to Blaxon a universe gets, the more ambient energy is in the air, and the faster people can progress. Resources of higher grades will grow in abundance as well.¡± ¡°Well, Patriarch sir, I have been monitoring the integrations with razor sharp focus. Forgive me in advance for my bold behavior, but I assume you and the Guild Leader have already spoken on this matter?¡± ¡°Yes. You have been looking at the the integration of that planet whose file I specifically sent to you. Make sure to pay close attention to that one. I am unsure, but¡­ my instincts are screaming at me. That tutorial seems to have been blessed by talent.¡± Alarm bells screamed in Izol¡¯s head. If he was being honest, he had just thought it was another normal planet, deigning not to give it extra attention beyond a single scout on top of the required Watcher that must be sent due to the Trinitary Guild being the closest guild. Requests like that had found their way onto his desk many times prior. Had he known the Patriarch himself had sent the request, however, he would have put his full, personal attention to it. With instincts as monstrous as his, if something were to catch his eye so strongly, it must be very important. ¡°Yes, Patriarch, no worries. In fact, I will add to the efforts in that regard even more so than I already have!¡± He said, trying to redeem himself. His leader looked bemused for a moment before nodding his head. ¡°Very well. That is all I have for you today. Make sure this gets done.¡± After a moment¡¯s pause, he gestured to Izol to remain seated, as the man had already made to get up. ¡°Wait. One more thing. Work with Tobius, the head trainer, to make sure all of our fighters are up to par. Put them through rigorous training, both physically and mentally. And contact Parvin to assign more dangerous missions. We must be ready for war, and I¡¯ll be damned if our forces drag the Zeta Universe down. It is better for an equal of theirs to address this rather than myself. I can talk to you, after all, because you are a part of my Clan.¡± ¡°Yes Patriarch,¡± Izol said with a deep bow. At a gesture from his leader, he left back the way he came, his mind already running at one hundred miles an hour. ***** Xenon Langris, more formally known as the Patriarch, let out a sigh. Izol was a good lad, and was dedicated. Those were good qualities, but sometimes the boy tried to overcomplicate simple matters. Still, he was confident in him, so he let the matter drop. He rose from his chair, his tall frame covered in armor, the outfit rounded out by a sword that he had donned at his side. He had previously kept it in his inventory a long time ago, but after finding sheathes with benefits, he donned one at his side. His normal attire was forsaken for this battle gear. I must look proper for the convening of the Celestial Council, after all, he thought as he leaped off his balcony and flew through space towards the meeting point. Chapter 28: A Troublesome Opponent Meetings across all the major guilds and clans were occurring all over the Zeta Universe. Wartime preparations were something fierce, after all, and while collaboration between guilds was all well and good, people still wanted the strongest assets to be a part of their team. Their was a future following the war, and while the main goal was to move as close to Blaxon as possible, the individual strength of each faction and guild would also be crucial upon arriving there. Raj, however, was, for better or worse, completely oblivious to the deep under-goings of the powers outside. He was more concerned with the lone creature that lay before him. Wave 20 Boss Fight! Begin! He identified the monster, trying to gauge if it followed the pattern from before. [Flesh-Prince - lvl 20]. His theory was right. There was indeed a hierarchy to these monsters, and he assumed he could keep going until king. Past that, he had no idea. The bosses also followed the same pattern of their levels matching the wave number. He quickly assigned his remaining stat points from his two level ups evenly into INT and WIS, and then pulled up his improved status. Status Name: Rajeev Narayanan Race: Human(H) Class: Swordsman[(Common-G) lvl 20] Profession: None Titles: Giant Slayer, Vitality I, Strength I, Enlightened One(G), Agility I, Endurance I, Intelligence I, Wisdom I, Dao Disciple, Tutorial Challenge: Level 19(Pending) HP: 792/810 MP: 570/570 SP: 514/640 Stats Strength:88(84) Agility: 107(98)(+5) Vitality: 81(78) Endurance: 64(61) Intelligence: 57(55) Wisdom: 57(55) Free Points: 0 Dao: Fragment of Reality Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common), Dash(Uncommon) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) He had gained a couple more levels from the monsters. An interesting phenomenon that he had noticed was how strong they had gotten after the boss fight. The previous monsters had been levels 6 or 7, but after the level 10 boss, they had risen dramatically, going to an average level of 16. With that rise in level came a name change for these monsters. They were now all Flesh-knights, and while he could still easily dispatch the monsters, he did have to be fully attentive. A single lapse in his judgement could result in him suffering a wound that he just couldn¡¯t afford right now. He had been forced to rely on his Mana Slash(Common) and even his Dash(Uncommon) skills to chew through the monsters and escape respectively. Still, he managed to beat the waves without sustaining injuries aside from the usual cuts and bruises. He pushed those wayward thoughts aside, his full focus orienting towards the dangerous monster before him. This was the first time in a very long time that he faced a monster at the same level as him, and he did not hesitate to go all out right from the get go. As they charged towards each other, Raj let out a Mana Slash right at his opponent, and then used a Dash to get behind. His opponent was no scrub, however, and opted to tank his Mana Slash to defend his surprise attack. Claws reaching towards him, he raised his sword to block. What he didn¡¯t expect, however, was the Flesh-Prince¡¯s claws extending out about a foot in length. Raj hadn¡¯t faced many opponents with abilities or skills before, and he certainly hadn¡¯t faced anything with transformation abilities like this. It was such a simple change, but it provided an element of surprise that he simply wasn¡¯t prepared for. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. His acting AGI of 107 was the only reason he didn¡¯t get skewered. He managed to contort his body in a weird sort of bend at the last second, his body leaning to become nearly parallel to the ground, his sword right above him to deflect the worst of the damage. Instead of tearing through his intestines, the claws cut through his left bicep, and he (Dash)ed away in pain. The attack had been quick, but he knew he could not let the Flesh-Prince press its advantage. The last thing he needed was for his opponent to be dictating the course of the battle, after all. He sent a barrage of (Mana Slash)es at his foe before quickly following in their wake. The monster raised its arms in an X to protect its internal organs, but paid dearly when its arms came back ravaged. Flesh fell off of its frame, and he absentmindedly wondered if there was any difference between it and a Fleshling, aside from the obvious difference in levels. As it turned back to meet his charge, his support finally came in the form of a Mana Bolt. Trixie had been fighting alongside him for the past few waves, and had accordingly grown in power. While she still wasn¡¯t strong enough to match the monster or Raj, she was powerful enough that her spells were more than just a nuisance. Her heavy allotment of stats into INT and WIS made sure of that. Raj had noticed her lurking around earlier in the fight, waiting for the right moment to strike. He had predicted she would act now, their thoughts harmonizing, their minds clear. It spoke volumes of the growth their bond had seen, and now they were ready to reap the benefits. The Flesh-Prince turned toward the bright light racing toward it, cementing its fate. The spell hit the monster perfectly between the eyes as its face swiveled, and caused it to reel backwards in agony, an inhumane scream slipping from its lips. Raj hardened his heart, ignoring the pitiful sound, and continued his rush, lunging with his sword held in front of him with his right hand, his left hanging limply at his side. His enemy stood no chance, and after a moment of stillness, it crumpled into dust, claimed by the System. Wave 20 Complete! Congratulations! You have leveled up x2! Stats have been distributed. He stumbled towards the house, dismissing his sword. He collapsed into a chair, dumping all of his free points into VIT. The instant relief he felt made him sigh. He pulled up his own status, a surprising surge of newfound strength coursing through his veins. Status Name: Rajeev Narayanan Race: Human(H) Class: Swordsman[(Common-G) lvl 22] Profession: None Titles: Giant Slayer, Vitality I, Strength I, Enlightened One(G), Agility I, Agility II, Endurance I, Intelligence I, Wisdom I, Dao Disciple, Tutorial Challenge: Level 20(Pending) HP: 798/960 MP: 560/570 SP: 592/680 Stats Strength:94(90) Agility: 126(116)(+5) Vitality: 96(92) Endurance: 68(65) Intelligence: 57(55) Wisdom: 57(55) Free Points: 0 Dao: Fragment of Reality Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common), Dash(Uncommon) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) His AGI was a ridiculous 126 after boosts. How?!? He wondered, doing some mental calculations. My level ups did not provide that much at all! Unless¡­ A blinking notification caught his eye, and the answer to his previous query was provided. You have been awarded the Agility II title He focused on the title to get more information, suddenly realizing it was already on his status. Agility II - Reach 100 base agility. +10 AGI. He whistled at that. 10 AGI was nothing to scoff at. It represented an entire 10% of his previous power being added on! With his AGI ring, he could practically feel how fast he was. Trixie snapped out of her daze next to him, meaning she had probably just finished checking and allotting her stats too. Curious, he pulled up her interface through their bond. Status Name: L¡¯thsnixzsiarla Velair Race: Fairy(H) Class: Mage[(Common-H) lvl 16] Profession: None Titles: Intelligence I, Wisdom I, Agility I, Vitality I HP: 280/280 MP: 420/430 SP: 190/190 Stats Strength: 11 Agility: 37 Vitality: 28 Endurance: 19 Intelligence: 43 Wisdom: 43 Free Points: 0 Class Skills: Mana Bolt(Common) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) He smiled. His companion was getting stronger. While she didn¡¯t have the insane number of stats that he had, or the Dao, she was growing to be a force to be reckoned with in her own right. After letting his arm heal enough for it to be at least moderately functional, he found that he couldn¡¯t sleep. So, he went outside to train. That fight shouldn¡¯t have been as close as it was, and he vowed to make sure he was never caught by surprise like that again. Chapter 29: Visionary Raj immediately ran into an issue once the waves began anew. Namely, the levels of the monsters. He hadn¡¯t thought about it before in his post-battle daze, but an Identify(Common) made sure he knew of the troubles ahead. [Flesh-Prince - lvl 21]. One of these things had been bad enough, but now an entire wave of of them? Considering they were of equal level to him, he would be hard pressed to keep up, especially in the later waves. This is probably where I will fall, he thought, though any fear he may have contained had long since abated. He smirked. Well, considering I can¡¯t really die here, I may as well go all out! Raj spammed Mana Slash three times before using Dash to dive into the midst of the monsters, surprised to only count five of them. I suppose their higher levels constitutes less of them. Another interesting tidbit of information that he had noticed was that the wave monsters were drastically less intelligent than the boss. The Flesh-Prince that he had slain before had seen through his ambush, but these ones had simply thrown the full force of their defenses and power into blocking his Mana Slash attacks, their guards left wide open. He spent the next few moments dismantling these lesser foes, his Dash ability allowing him to dance between them, his ¡®life¡¯ never really threatened Interestingly enough, after he had dispatched all five of them, he did not gain a single level. The only difference on his status was the title Tutorial Challenge being updated. Status Name: Rajeev Narayanan Race: Human(H) Class: Swordsman[(Common-G) lvl 22] Profession: None Titles: Giant Slayer, Vitality I, Strength I, Enlightened One(G), Agility I, Endurance I, Intelligence I, Wisdom I, Dao Disciple, Tutorial Challenge: Level 21(Pending) HP: 932/960 MP: 390/570 SP: 561/680 Stats Strength:94(90) Agility: 126(116)(+5) Vitality: 96(92) Endurance: 68(65) Intelligence: 57(55) Wisdom: 57(55) Free Points: 0 Dao: Fragment of Reality Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common), Dash(Uncommon) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) His leading theory was an obvious one: as one grows in power, levels get harder to acquire. A brief mention of it to Trixie confirmed it with a nod. He supposed it was a way for the System to ensure that only the truly driven could rise to the top. Well, I guess I¡¯ll just have to join them, now won¡¯t I? ***** One level. After fighting and fretting for 10 hours, he had gained ONE. MEASLY. LEVEL. A deep sigh escaped Raj¡¯s lips as he ran his hands over his face. He was infuriated more so than he might have been, as he could quite literally feel how close he was to another level. His status remained as stoic as ever upon his examination of the interface.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Status Name: Rajeev Narayanan Race: Human(H) Class: Swordsman[(Common-G) lvl 23] Profession: None Titles: Giant Slayer, Vitality I, Strength I, Enlightened One(G), Agility I, Endurance I, Intelligence I, Wisdom I, Dao Disciple, Tutorial Challenge: Level 21(Pending) HP: 980/980 MP: 590/590 SP: 600/700 Stats Strength:98(94) Agility: 131(120)(+5) Vitality: 98(94) Endurance: 70(67) Intelligence: 59(57) Wisdom: 59(57) Free Points: 0 Dao: Fragment of Reality Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common), Dash(Uncommon) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) He dismissed this, the prompt in front of him reason enough. Wave 25 Boss Fight! Begin! Now that was new. The bosses had been increasing by increments of 10 initially, but he had a sneaking suspicion this smaller increase in waves was due to the level of the boss. Specifically, the next threshold¡­ The beam of light announcing his next opponent¡¯s arrival dissipated, motes of light still lingering in the air. Those minute A curse slipped from his mouth as his suspicion was proven correct. [??? - lvl 25]. Raj was given no time to even think as the giant flesh monster suddenly appeared in front of him, teeth bared in a grin. Oh shi- He suddenly found himself getting thrown backwards into the house, just barely able to get his arms up before getting slammed into a solid brick exterior. Weirdly enough, instead of slamming into it, he seemed to almost bounce off of it, as though there was a protective layering around it. He didn¡¯t have time to ponder the oddity, however, as the monster seemed to teleport on top of him once more. He was ready for it this time, and managed to Dash just out of the impending strike. He pivoted and immediately jumped back, narrowly avoiding getting slammed into by what could only be the Flesh-King, if the bone crown on its head was any indication. All the while, his mind was racing. This guy is moving, alright. But how? Is it a skill? Or is the difference between me and level 25 just that much? He mentally dismissed that thought. Ideas like that couldn¡¯t be allowed to fester, seeing as how they would basically just be him admitting defeat. Besides, seeing as how he couldn¡¯t die, he didn¡¯t have much to lose. He (Dash)ed around a few more times, noticing the gap between attacks was getting longer. Eventually, it stopped teleporting at him, choosing to leap instead. It¡¯s running out of mana, Raj realized. And it¡¯s either completely out, or choosing to conserve it. Based on how strong it is though, I should probably assume it has a couple more teleports in the tank. He was able to stay ahead of the Flesh-King, slowly chipping away at its health. It was a game of endurance, one he was determined to win. In the corner of his eye, he saw Trixie in position, ready to attack. His lips turned upwards in a smile, a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu emerging from his previous boss battle. Not yet. Hold just a bit longer, Raj thought, trying to will his thoughts through his bond. To his surprise, her face morphed into an expression of understanding. That small moment of communication cost him dearly. Pain erupted up from his leg as he got caught by the Flesh-King¡¯s claw, and he was sent spinning away. He (Dash)ed midair to soften the landing, but his movement had been effectively hampered. And, as if things weren¡¯t bad enough, the monster roared, and portals opened up from the ground, a sickly yellow color resonating from them. Monsters clawed their way up into the real world, and Raj¡¯s heart sank when he realized they were Flesh-Princes. Worse, he was running dangerously low on MP. MP: 30/590 Shit. I only got enough for another Dash and a Mana Slash. This isn¡¯t looking too good for me. Trixie tried to help, sending Mana Bolt after Mana Bolt towards it, but the Flesh-King simply deflected every blow. His companion had tried to save her attacks for the right moment like last time, but it ended up working against her. He moved, forced to use his last Dash just to avoid another blow, leaving him defenseless. The Flesh-King, sensing blood, went in for the kill. It was wounded, but not as severely as Raj. He closed his eyes, accepting his failure. He wouldn¡¯t die here anyways, so why not just give up? Then, blackness overtook him. ***** His eyes shot open, but he didn¡¯t see the Tutorial forest. Rather, he saw a man, standing on top of a city wall. He was not like any person he had seen before, with purple skin as deep as a grape, his bald head as shiny as it was imposing. An army of people were amassed before him, but for some reason, the dread in their eyes was as clear as day to Raj, despite how far away they were. They charged, already prepared to die. Then, the man looked. The word did not do the situation justice. He looked in a way that seemed to break the very laws of nature, a devastating feeling radiating off of him. It spread quickly, a wave of invisible energy that could not be seen, but there was no mistaking its presence. The soldiers started to fall in droves, their fates pre-determined and their deaths willed into existence by his presence. A zone of death encompassed the man, and any who dared to challenge his power crumbled in its path. It was a massacre, one that was forever seared into Raj¡¯s mind. The vision ended, and clarity struck. ***** He opened his eyes once more, the swarm of monsters breathing down his neck. He dug deep within, scouring every crevice of his being for his Dao. Then, he brought his Dao Anchor into fruition, pulling it into the physical world, and the Flesh-King knew fear for the very first time. Chapter 30: Aftermath The Flesh-King howled in pain as Raj squeezed every last drop of his power into his Dao Anchor, expelling it outwards in one final push. The princelings weren¡¯t given even a second of respite, falling instantly to the aura that encompassed Raj. Their master was stronger than that, however, and refused to succumb so easily. It started to fall apart in a literal sense, with flesh sloughing off of it. Whatever it was doing seemed to be working, despite the high cost, and the Flesh-King pushed forward once more. ¡°It¡¯s making a suicide run!¡± Raj weakly called out. As the abomination kept charging, picking up speed as it got closer, it growled at him, arms poised to attack. ¡°Buy me some time Trixie!¡± Heeding his call, the fairy let loose a Mana Bolt, temporarily blinding the beast while staying away from the bulk of the danger, so as to not get in Raj¡¯s way. The monster reeled back for just a moment, but that was all the time he needed. He drew his sword and charged, leaping high in the last possible moment. He empowered his blade with Dao energy, and, as his foe recovered from the flashbang and met his attack, he let loose a Mana Slash. His last ditch effort cut through whatever remained of the beast, and with one last screech, the Flesh-King fell, tumbling backwards. Raj slumped in exhaustion before shortly following suit, his vision going black. ***** Raj woke up to a slew of notifications that he brushed aside for a moment as he tried to gather his bearings. After a moment of respite, he swiped them into existence. Congratulations! You have held out until Wave 25! For defending the House for 2 full days, you will be granted 2% additional Tutorial Points to be added at the end of the Tutorial! For your efforts, you will also receive a title that varies depending on the success of the competitor. That prompt was immediately followed by said title. Tutorial Challenge: Level 25 - Reach and defeat Level 25 of the Tutorial Challenge. +50 to all stats. His jaw dropped. 50?!? That¡¯s ridiculous! If it were real life it would have been one thing, but the fact that it had just a simulation, and his life was in no danger whatsoever? Intuitively, he understood that it still took personal skill to get to a certain point, but he didn¡¯t agree with the lack of real danger. Then he paused. When did I become so barbaric? He thought in an amused tone. Despite his own musings, however, he was a fool to get mad at a crap ton of free stat points. He kept skimming his notifications. Congratulations! You have leveled up x1! Stats have been distributed. He barely read that prompt, the newly updated status screen he had capturing his full attention. Status Name: Rajeev Narayanan Race: Human(H) Class: Swordsman[(Common-G) lvl 24] Profession: None Titles: Giant Slayer, Vitality I, Vitality II, Strength I, Strength II, Enlightened One(G), Agility I, Agility II, Endurance I, Endurance II, Intelligence I, Intelligence II, Wisdom I, Wisdom II, Dao Disciple, Tutorial Challenge: Level 25Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. HP: 1630/1630 MP: 1220/1220 SP: 1350/1350 Stats Strength: 164(157) Agility: 177(164)(+5) Vitality: 163(156) Endurance: 135(129) Intelligence: 122(117) Wisdom: 122(117) Free Points: 5 Dao: Fragment of Reality, Dao Anchor(Partial) Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common), Dash(Uncommon) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) ¡°Holy shit!¡± He swore, drawing an annoyed look from Trixie. Then she saw his stats and shook her head in disbelief. ¡°I got the same title as you, but it¡¯s still ridiculous,¡± she said. ¡°So much growth in what was honestly pretty low risk.¡± Raj just nodded his head as he continued to peruse his status. There was a lot to unpack. For starters, aside from the insane one that had boosted his overall power, he had gotten a bunch of other titles for hitting 100 in every stat, an insane feat. Strength II - Reach 100 base strength. +10 STR. Vitality II - Reach 100 base vitality. +10 VIT. Endurance II - Reach 100 base endurance. +10 END. Intelligence II - Reach 100 base intelligence. +10 INT. Wisdom II - Reach 100 base wisdom. +10 WIS. After a moment of toggling, he changed his interface to only show the newest title in the chain, as it would start getting overbearing to have so many whenever he wanted to check his stats. Titles: Giant Slayer, Vitality II, Strength II, Enlightened One(G), Agility II, Endurance II, Intelligence II , Wisdom II, Dao Disciple, Tutorial Challenge: Level 25 He still had his Free Points to assign from his level-up, which he decided to pour into Agility. He also didn¡¯t understand why his Dao Anchor was listed as partial. He looked within himself, closing his eyes and feeling the Dao in his body. While there was no clear image, he could feel how incomplete the Anchor felt, as though the most vital part of it was missing. Dismissing it for now, he checked the Tutorial Panel, toggling it with a thought to only show him the time remaining in the tutorial. Countdown: 19 days, 11 hours and 36 minutes He whistled slightly, realizing he spent roughly a third of the entire tutorial time in that challenge. He did some rough calculations, wondering how he had spent 3 full days. It doesn¡¯t make any sense¡­ Then he realized he had spent a day in stasis because of his simulated death. He turned to his companion on that note, examining her status. Status Name: L¡¯thsnixzsiarla Velair Race: Fairy(H) Class: Mage[(Common-H) lvl 17] Profession: None Titles: Intelligence I, Wisdom I, Agility I, Vitality I, Strength I, Endurance I, Tutorial Challenge: Level 25 HP: 810/810 MP: 950/950 SP: 720/720 Stats Strength: 64 Agility: 88 Vitality: 81 Endurance: 72 Intelligence: 95 Wisdom: 95 Free Points: 0 Class Skills: Mana Bolt(Common) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) The gains on all fronts were insane, to say the least. Between Raj and his companion, they had essentially doubled their fighting capacity, and Raj had considered himself to be a very capable fighter beforehand. He looked over his titles once again, wondering why he wasn¡¯t getting any more percentage boosts. Trixie had already mentioned that titles, such as his Giant Slayer, had restrictions in place to ensure they couldn¡¯t be abused by killing something level 2 at level 1, for example. Maybe because it is a tutorial, it doesn¡¯t give out advanced titles? He supposed that would make sense. He was suddenly thrust out of his inner ramblings by a scream echoing out not too far from their position, followed by the sounds of battle. Chapter 31: Camp Wars The clanging of weapons amidst a myriad of sounds that he could only attribute to be spells rang clearly as he sprinted through the forest, sword in hand. He covered ground quickly, his perception of his surroundings able to keep up with his pace. He arrived at the scene of the fighting, only to find pandemonium. The faint moonlight above only gave him glimpses of the chaotic fight in the trees, but from what he could piece together, two large groups, probably two camps, were in battle. His fingers twitched around his sword as he saw a smirking man behead another guy from behind. Still, he stayed his hand, motioning for Trixie to do the same. Climbing up a nearby tree for a better view, he waved her closer to him, and she flew to his shoulder. ¡°Stay calm for now,¡± he whispered. ¡°Try to gather some information first, and then we can determine a good course of action.¡± A nod of assent was given in response, her crystalline wing glittering in the occasional light from battle. A conversation occurring not too far from his perch drew his attention. ¡°Thatcher, come here and protect me damn it!¡± A sniveling voice said. Raj peered closer to catch a look at his face, only to lean backwards in disgust. He¡¯s using people as human shields? He¡¯s literally trampling on his foes and allies alike! The man allegedly named Thatcher dutifully trotted over. ¡°Son, I hate ta ask, but why¡¯d ya bring your ass out ¡®ere if you were jus¡¯ gonna hide?¡± He responded, a thick southern drawl and a voice like molasses giving Raj no doubt of his background. ¡°Can it, old man. Just because you took me in does not mean I answer to you!¡± Raj snorted at the childish display, the man¡¯s greasiness enough to lubricate an engine. He had just lifted his eyes back up to scan the battlefield once more, when the man¡¯s next words seemed to cut through the plethora of noise. ¡°And for the love of god, where is that brown piece of shit! I swear, ever since we had him kill that guy in that cave, he thinks he¡¯s better than us!¡± Raj¡¯s blood ran cold, his face visibly paling even in the dark of night. So it¡¯s true, he thought numbly. It really had been Arjun. He shook his head, dispelling the thoughts. There could have always been a reason. It could have also just been a misunderstanding. There was no point in dwelling on it right now, when he had more important things to worry about. He burned an image of both of their faces into his mind before letting his gaze drift to a group of people who seemed to be in command. At the very least, they looked strong compared to those around them. He watched sharply as they carved their way through a ragtag bunch of warriors who looked to have been trying to hold a formation before they were ripped apart. A voice in the distance rang out, signaling for a retreat, although it was unnecessary. Their forces were already breaking down and running, but not from the opposing fighters. [Gorlax - lvl 17].If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. It had been a long time since he had seen one of these. At least, it felt like forever. In truth, it had barely been a week, if that, but that was hardly relevant. What surprised him was how both camps scattered so quickly in the face of the monster. They formed back up after a moment, but the pure fear on their faces as something he could not understand. Am I really just that much stronger than them? His question was answered a moment later when the Gorlax started to ravage the opposing foes, wreaking havoc and sewing chaos everywhere it went. The leaders of the camps stepped up at that moment, ready to protect their people. He zoned out of the battle, moving closer and readying himself for any scenario. While he was making preparations, the leaders were able to shut it down. A woman wielding a bow and arrow stood back, piercing the vital spots of the Gorlax and throwing it off balance. Countless spells and weapons barraged against it, killing it quickly. Raj recognized one of the leaders in question. He wielded an axe, and was flanked by the scrawny mage named Paul. He didn¡¯t feel anything anymore, but if he focused closely, he could sense the aura around the leader that made him want to fight. His mental resistance was high enough to easily dispel it, however. The aura seemed to come from, or was at least amplified by the axe. Interesting, Raj thought. Wonder where he snagged such a good weapon. He identified the man, curious to see his gains since the last time they had met. [Human(Berserker-Common) lvl 18] It was no wonder that the camp leaders were able to dismantle the Gorlax with relative ease. They were all relatively equal to each other. Pulling up his status, he pondered how big the gap between them was now, considering his titles and the level difference. Status Name: Rajeev Narayanan Race: Human(H) Class: Swordsman[(Common-G) lvl 24] Profession: None Titles: Giant Slayer, Vitality II, Strength II, Enlightened One(G), Agility II, Endurance II, Intelligence II, Wisdom II, Dao Disciple, Tutorial Challenge: Level 25 HP: 1630/1630 MP: 1220/1220 SP: 1350/1350 Stats Strength: 164(157) Agility: 182(169)(+5) Vitality: 163(156) Endurance: 135(129) Intelligence: 122(117) Wisdom: 122(117) Free Points: 0 Dao: Fragment of Reality, Dao Anchor(Partial) Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common), Dash(Uncommon) Profession Skills: None General Skills: Identify(Common) Shrugging his shoulders, he turned back. Now that the Gorlax had been taken out, they had turned on each other once again. ¡°Time for me to intervene, I suppose,¡± Raj sighed in annoyance. As tempers started to flare below him, he leaped off of the tree, using Dash to appear before countless people arrayed before him. They all quieted as dozens of head rounded on him. Just as he started to get second thoughts, he opened his mouth and spoke. ¡°Guys, please! No need for all of you to fight over little ol¡¯ me! There¡¯s plenty of this to go around!¡± He accentuated the last bit with a wave of his hand, gesturing at himself. He looked up, only to find now-blank stares meeting his gaze.Why do I always manage to put myself in these situations¡­