[Welcome to the Tutorial.]

  [Objective: Survive until the end.]

  [System Exception: Single Tutorial participant.]

  [Resolving Exception...]

  [(New) Objective: Eliminate the target within the timeframe.]

  The blank void is filled in with black. Darkness is slowly driven back by a soft and colorful glow. I am immersed up to my upper thighs in murky water, feet sunken into mud and settled refuse. No sky is above me, a concrete ceiling, overgrown with strange life, in its place. Great columns support the enormous weight. Their numbers lost in the vast proportions of the space. A reservoir? Long-abandoned but not fallen to disuse.

  Bioluminescent plants shine in even undulations, blue and green, casting slithering shadows all around me. Under the still surface of the water is all manner of aquatic creatures, small and smaller. Up above, more curiosities cling to plants and columns, blind eyes regarding their surroundings with caution but not fright.

  Eliminate a target? Cheeky. It seems I’ll have to find this target by myself, the System not keen on sharing further information about the assignment I’ve been given. At least it shared the failure condition. My countdown has yet to tick down a single second, though.

  [72:00:00]

  I let one turn over.

  Movement.

  Right in front of me, some kind of large crustacean has dug itself out of the silt and is intent on wrapping its many-pincered appendages around my leg. Identify is eager to costlessly complete its duty.

  [Mutated Muck Latcher (Lv. 1)]

  Hmm. I flip the knife in my hand and stab down. With a splash, the blade breaks through a tough shell and passes through what passes for its ganglia. My resources don’t move. The local wildlife proves resilient. Even with its nervous system damaged, the Latcher still moves to attack. I stab it again.

  [You have defeated: Mutated Muck Latcher (Lv. 1).]

  The sludgy water bubbles as more of the monsters emerge. Five also die in two or three normal hits. For the sixth and final, I decide to employ Eviscerating Strike. As I prepare to strike, before I’ve actually moved, I feel an open possibility make itself known. I take it, engaging the Skill. Intangible power gathers, consuming from me to grow, forming into completeness, the process intimately familiar, like I’ve somehow remembered a part of myself that was never there to begin with. Amusingly, I imagine a tinge of embarrassment at forgetting something so intrinsic. But the feeling fades and the part settles, indiscernible from the rest. My knife slides through hard shell and soft flesh, Latcher going limp. Six windows, seamlessly combining into one, announce my exploits, another my reward, and one more affirms my accomplishment.

  [You have defeated: Mutated Muck Latcher (Lv. 1) x 5, Mutated Muck Latcher (Lv. 2).]

  [Your Class has leveled up: Rogue (Lv. 1) -> Rogue (Lv. 2).]

  [Good work. Keep at it.]

  The cost was ten Stamina. After roughly two hundred milliseconds, one point of Stamina recovers. Mentally, I distribute one unallocated point to each attribute. The next point of Stamina recovers marginally faster. My mind sees a barely perceptible improvement. Not even sure if I can... attribute it to the improved Agility and Intellect, or to my current circumstance.

  I strike at the air. No change, as expected. An eager digital breath brings excitement. A rushed digital exhale hardly tampers it down.

  Legs start dragging through the thick mud with ease, moving me forward. While walking, with only the barest hints of intent, the knife I am still holding slips out of my hand and into nowhere, a nowhere I am aware of. Decent volume, reminding me of a walk-in closet, but not the ones where you can technically ‘walk in’, the real ones. My weapon once more appears where it just was.

  [Your Inventory gets bigger, don’t worry.]

  No more monsters attempt to attack me, and Identify does not recognize any worthy for me to attack, merely labeling the unknown to make it not so. Though the labels lack a level and a rarity, most being fairly obvious. And unintentionally humorous.

  As I pass confirmed column after confirmed column, the bioluminescent glow recedes, and the animals grow sparse, sound quieting, motion calming.

  Traversing for a while longer, I stop and lower, submerging myself fully in the water. Still far away, three figures are approaching, armed with primitive bows and wrapped in dirty rags and dirtier plastic. Under the layers of questionably protective clothing, they almost appear human. Maybe queasier.

  [Discarded Hunter (Lv. 10)]

  [Discarded Hunter (Lv. 10)]

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  [Discarded Hunter (Lv. 10)]

  The surface of my obscured body ripples into words. ‘Are they real people?’

  [No. Extensions of the System, as everything in the Tutorial is.]

  I slowly and gently move, each shift of a limb meticulously calculated, putting myself in their path. Minutes drag as I wait for the trio to either step on top of me or discover me with a Skill I’ve yet to learn of. I’m not sure which eventuality is preferable, palpable excitement making it hard to keep the stillness required.

  But I manage. One passes over. One does not realize. The third is pulled under. My knife stabs until my Stamina reaches zero. Two arrows pierce through my adaptive coating and through my armor. My Health does not move. Losing a head is enough to drain the ambushed hunter of his remaining Health, according to the window that popped up.

  Spraying water and mud, an explosive dash puts me in a collision course with the next enemy. He dodges, the other loosing an arrow at the same time. I catch the arrow as I catch my target with my knife, my reach longer than he thought. And as the arrow slips through my fingers, so does the blade slip between ribs. I am upon the injured one before he can recover, finishing him off with an Eviscerating Strike that has only a couple Stamina points behind it, sufficient enough. The remaining hunter is too life-like to pose a challenge. Seeing the others slaughtered so fast, his arrow misses his string, fingers stiff and shaking. No second chances.

  [You have defeated: Discarded Hunter (Lv. 10) x 3.]

  [Your Class has leveled up: Rogue (Lv. 2) -> Rogue (Lv. 7).]

  [My hopes were in vain.]

  [Reckless people don’t survive long.]

  ‘Reckless? By your words, I proved myself, did I not?’ As my body gently ripples into the words, it then vibrates in a short burst, removing blood and mud.

  The Custodian remains silent.

  I pluck out the three arrows, careful not to exacerbate the damage. All three projectiles were aimed exactly at my reactor, but even their unnatural force was not enough to succeed. Whatever external repairs I can make are started. No reduction of movement yet, but the integrity of my frame is compromised. A higher-level enemy will most likely disable me.

  Each attribute receives five points. My resources increase, as does my processing speed, but again, nothing else changes.

  I move a dozen paces away and sink under, watching the still bodies as they drain of blood, red diluted into rusty brown.

  The pool of blood slowly expands, calling for the living to partake in the dead. Little fishes and insects nibble at open wounds. Low-level Latchers tear out chunks.

  A ripple disturbs the surface. Followed by another, bobbing the floating vegetation in rhythmic waves. The monster responsible is less than subtle with its approach, releasing a droning pant from time to time. By my rough estimates, several tons of muscle and several tons of metal plating. Would have preferred another hunting party, but I won’t complain about thoughtful gifts.

  [Mutated Tumbler (Lv. 18)]

  As it gets nearer, the Latchers feeding on the bodies scatter. The Tumbler pokes at one of the hunters with its large head. When he unsurprisingly doesn’t move, the monster opens its mouth, revealing a row of sharp teeth, and takes a bite. As its beady eyes stop looking around and focus on its meal, I start crawling.

  Once close enough, I burst out of the water and bury my knife in its eye. The monster whips back faster than it should be able to, tearing the knife out of my hand and taking it with it, still stuck deep in its skull.

  Two thick legs smash on top of where I was, the force of the impact revealing the eroded concrete of the reservoir-turned-ecosystem. As the water flows back into place, the monster madly turns this way and that, panting sharper with each movement.

  I crash against its side as it completes a turn, piercing its remaining eye with a finger and pulling out my knife. The Tumbler throws itself to the ground, attempting to crush me. I climb on top of it and stab between gaps in the metal plates. The monster continues to roll, true to its name. I am under and over, under and over, soft mud making it harder to squash.

  The Tumbler, in its blind rage, slams against a column. The resounding impact cracks the supporting pillar but does not break it. On the safe side of the exchange, I pry out a plate and make a series of quick stabs. The monster slackens.

  [You have defeated: Mutated Tumbler (Lv. 18).]

  [You have received: Mutated Tumbler Scale (Basic). Please claim or discard.]

  [Your Class has leveled up: Rogue (Lv. 7) -> Rogue (Lv. 10).]

  [You have (1) Class Skill upgrade available. Please accept or decline.]

  [You have (5) available Class Skills. Please choose one.]

  [Leveling temporarily restricted. Accumulated experience will be awarded after completion of Tutorial.]

  ‘Can I still get Skill upgrades if I can’t level up?’

  [That’s what you are concerned with right now?]

  [...Yes.]

  After distributing three points to each attribute, I direct some intent at the earned upgrade.

  [Eviscerating Strike (Basic): Your next attack will deal increased damage if it hits an opponent you have recently damaged. -> Compounding Strike (Common): Your next attack will deal increasingly more damage if it hits an opponent you have recently damaged.]

  Subtle yet interesting change in wording. I accept. Next, I shift my attention to the available Skills.

  [Evade (Basic): Passively improves evasiveness.]

  [Stealth (Basic): Enter stealth. If you are discovered or damaged, Stealth breaks.]

  [Dash (Basic): Dash a short distance.]

  [Disguise (Basic): Don a disguise. You can take on the appearance of humanoids roughly equal to you in size. If you are damaged, Disguise breaks.]

  [Retrieve Weapon (Basic): Teleport (1) weapon previously bound by this Skill to your location. (Currently bound weapon(s): None)]

  Evade and Stealth returned but not the offensive Skills. A utility focused choice? All look to have great potential.

  ‘Disguise.’

  [You have learned the Class Skill: Disguise (Basic).]

  [Oh, come on!]

  [Disguise? Really? What are you going to disguise as? A harder to kill you?]

  ‘Can I?’

  [...]

  [No.]

  [...]

  [While the illusion is tangible, it does not actually possess the same physical properties as what you are Disguised as.]

  [We don’t have a developed enough rapport for me to tell if that was a real question or a joke.]

  ‘Don’t we? I thought you were aware of my whole life better than I was.’

  [Not how this works.]

  ‘And how does it?’

  The Custodian refuses to answer, no windows appearing to carry a voice I can only guess at.

  ‘Must be lonely.’

  I examine the downed beast as I claim my loot directly to my Inventory.

  [Mutated Tumbler Scale (Basic): A Mutated Tumbler’s scale.]

  With a rarity tag, value comes too... I suppose. The real scales—as no scale was removed to act as my reward—all lack a rarity. No other part of the carcass stands out either.

  With nothing more to do here, my body flicks into a change, Disguise accepting as much of my input as I want to give it, consuming a neat and round fifty mana. And so, wrapped in fake plastic, and a fake bow slung over my shoulder, I head to my fake home.