Chương 4

I had to read the message twice to absorb it. Relief spread through me as muscles I hadn't even realized were tense finally relaxed now that I was finally in a safe area and had system access. … Assessment? It was a test? I mentally accepted the message as the screen morphed into a much larger block of text. Forest of Beginnings Assessment – Alex Grant (Tutorial Iteration # 52783) Elite monster encounter survived! Rewards – +5% experience gain (1 week). +5% damage to elite monsters (1 week). Goblin defeated!

Reward – +10% damage to goblins during the tutorial. Safe area early arrival bonus (Top 20) Reward – +10% experience gain (5 days). Overall Assessment: You demonstrated the ability to adapt and make quick decisions under pressure. You did not shy away from combat when there was an opportunity, but did not actively seek it. You learned to move relatively silently through the forest, despite clearly having no prior experience.

You did slightly above average in general, but surviving an elite monster encounter without access to the System and successfully sneak attacking a common monster enhanced your final rating considerably. Final Rating – B Rewards – Skills will be 20% easier to unlock during the tutorial. Loot drops enhanced by 30% for two weeks. Inventory slots increased by 2. 10 gold coins awarded. One Uncommon Skill Stone awarded. That's a lot to take in. Let's start from the top.

First thing I realized was that the system was watching everything. It made me slightly uncomfortable knowing that something unexplainably powerful was aware of every single thing I did; however, there was nothing I could do about it at the moment. The rewards start from an elite monster encounter. So, it was an elite monster; I knew that thing wasn't normal. Running really had been the only option available to me back then. Next, the goblin defeat…

good thing I took that swing when I had the chance, I had a feeling that there would be some kind of a reward. Seems like the first week will be key, there are a lot of stacking bonuses for the first week, and I should take advantage of them. Hunting goblins may be the way to go… elites would be suicide right now. Early arrival? I would have tried to be quicker had I known. But then again, there was absolutely no way of me being aware that it was a test, I should be glad I got any early arrival bonus at all.

An overall B rating? Looks to be a high enough rating, though I have no idea how I compare to others. Experience gain, skills, loot drops, gold coins, and skill stones, all terms that are familiar to me. It really has become quite game-like. The Uncommon Skill Stone may be the best reward of the lot. My musings were cut short as I suddenly remembered I'm still at the edge of the forest, and I should probably move away from the tree line.

I dismissed the screen so I would be able to see where I was going, but immediately another screen took its place. Welcome to the System, Alex Grant. You will now be walked through some basic aspects. It is suggested to find a comfortable place to sit before proceeding. When you are ready, think 'Start'. Now it feels like a proper tutorial. I dismissed the screen and stepped forward, seeing the structure I had noticed earlier clearly for the first time.

It was a three-story wooden longhouse, with a length of about seven or eight buses lined side by side. I was currently behind the longhouse, at the left-most edge. I walked past it and saw a large, flat, square area surrounded by three more longhouses at each side. The square was filled with about 15 people sitting on the ground, dressed in the same clothes as me, most staring blankly into space. No, their eyes are moving. Must be going through the system.

I noticed some of them looked a bit haggard, but otherwise fine. Some others though were visibly in a panic, while two of them were nursing injuries.

"Alex?" A familiar voice called out. I turned to my right and a man with a wide, unmistakable grin stood at the entrance to the longhouse I just walked past. The hazel eyes, angular cheeks, and sandy-brown hair were instantly familiar. Lucas?

"It really is you! Man am I glad to see a familiar face here!" He said as he walked forward and gave me one of his typical rib-crushing hugs. I hesitated for half a second before returning his hug. He's right, it really does feel nice to see him. My mind wandered as we embraced. We grew up together, as both our moms were friends from their college days. We lived just a block from each other, and did almost everything together. Apart from my family, he's the one person I was actually close to growing up.

We hadn't spoken in a while, as I moved to Toronto while Lucas moved to New York about two years ago. How is he here? Is this some random chance? Will my parents and Anna also be here? I looked closer at the faces of everyone present over Lucas's shoulder, but couldn't spot anyone else familiar. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Lucas finally broke the hug.

"Get through the system walk through, then we'll talk. Here, come inside if you want."

"Sure." I replied, as he led me through the entrance to the longhouse. The inside was barren, hallways extending on each side of the roughly 30 by 30 empty square area, with a staircase leading to the above stories directly ahead.

"I'll be right outside if you need me. It really is good to see you!" Lucas spoke excitedly before turning around and leaving the longhouse. He hasn't changed much. I looked into one of the hallways and saw doors spaced evenly on either side going till the end of the longhouse, with the other side being the exact same. I opened up a door and inside was a small, empty room with a single window on the wall directly opposite to the door. Enough for a person to sleep in but that's it.

I opened other doors and they were the exact same rooms behind each one. I picked the room furthest from the entrance and closed the door behind me. I slid to the ground behind the door with a groan of satisfaction. It felt like my back and legs finally relaxed, tension draining out at once. It was the first time in what felt like hours that I felt safe. My mind went to my family. My parents and my elder sister, Anna. Anna is capable, she may have a good chance to make it through. Mom and Dad though…

Realistically, my parents didn't have much of a shot making it through something like the forest, especially if they too faced off an elite monster. Dad has had double knee surgery to replace his knee joints, and he has always been overweight. Mom has always been a stay-at-home mother and wife, and is the most kind-hearted person I know. Both of them are also above 60 years of age, and neither of them have ever been physically active. If I'm already struggling physically, they're going to have a far worse time.

I stopped myself from thinking too much about them. There is nothing I can for them right now apart from hope they can make it through. I should focus on the present… I just hope they make it through. I took about a minute to relax before mentally saying 'Start'. Welcome to the System walkthrough. This will only be presented once. It is suggested to pay attention. The System is a self-aware, impartial entity governing all Users. The System shall always be absolute, no matter how strong a User gets.

The System is designed to help its Users easily track and manage their Status, Wealth, Inventory, and the System Store, among other things. It also automatically logs all the Users' activities. The key areas of the system relevant to you right now are: Status Class Selection Inventory System Store Your Status displays everything about you at a point of time. Nothing about a User's Status can be hidden from the System; however, Users may have skills that may affect Status visibility for other Users.

It is recommended to always be aware of your System Status as well as your physical and mental health. You may view your Status at any time by thinking 'Status'. Would you like to see your Status or would you like to proceed with the walkthrough? Another block of text with a lot to take in. The System will always be absolute? That sounds ominous. I'm not sure how to feel about something immeasurably powerful being aware of every minuscule thing I do.

However, I didn't think about this too long, as my mind was distracted by something else at the moment. With excitement coursing through every fiber of my being, I mentally prodded the system to proceed towards the Status. A long, blue screen immediately appeared.

Name: Alex Grant Race: Human Age: 24 Level: 0 Exp: 0/10 Grade: F Class: N/A Health: 50/50 Stamina: 8/20 Mana: 115/115 Regenerations: Health: 4/min Stamina: 2/min Mana: 7/min Attributes: Strength – 3 Agility – 3 Dexterity - 2 Endurance – 2 Vitality - 4 Intelligence – 8 Wisdom – 7 Perception - 7 Skills: N/A Wealth: 10 Gold I shifted to a more comfortable position before going through my status. This is exciting! It lists my name and race. Name is understandable but race? There must be other races.

I stopped myself from thinking of elves and dwarves, and moved on. Level and exp at 0. The goblin did not give me anything? Is it because I did not have the System unlocked at the time? That makes sense… moving on. Grade F… implying higher Grades in the future. I'll have to understand the relationship between levels and Grades. Class is also N/A. Next thing on the walkthrough is Class Selection, I'll learn more then. My Stamina is quite low. Not surprising. I haven't exercised in over two years.

I looked down at my slightly bulging stomach. I remembered how I had to struggle just climbing the tree, and how out of breath I got just 15 seconds into running from that snake. Getting myself physically fit should be the number one priority right now. The luxury of lazing around is no longer a possibility. My Health was at 50, with Vitality at 4 and Endurance at 2. … So, 10 per Vitality, and 5 per Endurance? Same case with Mana, 10 per intelligence and 5 per Wisdom. Stamina looks to be 10 per Endurance.

The regenerations seem to be based on Vitality for Health, Endurance for Stamina, and Wisdom for Mana, with each point giving 1 regeneration per minute respectively. Seems like 5 is the average for every stat, but I'll have to compare with others to be sure. Moving on, I saw that I don't have any skills yet, but I should have 1 Uncommon Skill Stone. I should use it as soon as this walkthrough is done. My wealth is at 10 from the reward earlier. So only gold coins are used in the System?

There was an exclamation mark blinking next to Attributes, and I mentally focused on it as another screen popped up. Attributes: Strength - Determines physical power and force output. Increases damage with melee attacks and improves ability to lift, push, and break objects. Agility - Determines speed, coordination, and reaction time. Increases movement speed, attack speed, and evasion capability. Dexterity - Determines precision and fine motor control.

Improves accuracy, critical strikes, and handling of weapons or tools. Endurance - Determines stamina and resistance to fatigue. Increases stamina pool and reduces exhaustion from physical activity. Vitality - Determines overall physical resilience and survivability. Increases health pool and improves natural recovery rate. Intelligence - Determines cognitive capacity and processing ability. Increases mana pool and enhances efficiency in learning and using skills.

Wisdom - Determines decision making ability and mental clarity. Improves mana regeneration, decision-making, and resistance to mental effects. Perception - Determines sensory awareness and environmental detection. Improves ability to detect threats, track movement, and notice hidden details. I went through the descriptions in detail, trying to commit to memory the subtle differences between stats such as Vitality and Endurance or Agility and Dexterity. The descriptions seem brief and straightforward.

I should experiment to learn about these attributes more. Or maybe I could use others' experiences to improve my own knowledge. Dismissing the attributes screen, I mentally checked if I missed anything important in my Status. Finding nothing, I dismissed the Status and was greeted by another exciting message. Would you like to proceed to Class Selection?