There are innumerable theories as to why the appearance of the System led to the end of the world as we once knew it. However, it is important as a historian to consider the available, objective facts. The arrival of the System was announced simultaneously across the world with a simple message:
Congratulations! Your planet has been selected as the fourth new world to be brought into the System! Please wait for your government to configure important System parameters.
We can reasonably make only two deductions from this limited information. First, whoever created the System had done so ‘recently’, and had little experience assimilating new worlds. Second, the use of the singular ‘government’, rather than 'governments', likely indicated that the creators were unaware of the tribal nature of humanity and the lack of any unified planetary leadership.
Had System administration occurred at a worldwide scale, it would have created far fewer incentives for our former nations to make war upon each other.
- Rufus Veres, Level 37 Verbose Historian, A Brief History of the System
It was less than five minutes into the Mayor's speech, and I was about ready to punch him.
“Waste it, doesn’t this guy ever shut up?” I grumbled under my breath as the Mayor droned on and on.
“Blah something something make us proud blah blah these kids are the future…”
I’m pretty sure that’s not exactly what he was saying but I was far too excited to pay closer attention. I’d been waiting forever for this moment – the three weeks since my birthday had felt like a year! My attention wandered from the annoying Mayor to the small crowd gathered around the town square. Most of them looked only slightly more interested in the Mayor’s speech than I was.
The mid-morning sun was beating down on the dusty square. About sixty or seventy of the townsfolk had shown up to see their brats go into the Tutorial and emerge as proper adults with Classes and Skills and a ‘shiny new future’. As for me, I didn’t have any real family, and there were only a few people in the crowd who I knew had real interest in what happened to me here today.
I spotted Sister Mercy standing at the edge of the crowd, wearing the long dark robes and black cap of her priest’s garb, her copper hair peeking out. She had taken me in after my parents died… but even after five years I didn’t know if she really cared.
She certainly made it clear that it was her ‘duty’ to care for me and the three other orphans – part of her service to the Angels. Still, maybe there was a glint of something like pride in her glance. Then again, it could be relief. I met her eyes briefly and offered her a firm nod, before flashing a grin to the kids standing clustered in front of her.
“Something umm something fine young men and women…”
I knew that no matter who did or didn’t miss me after I escaped this Wasted shithole of a town, the only three people I was going to miss were RaeRae, Dustin, and Yuna. The town’s other orphans were all younger than me – 5, 7, and 12 years old – and they could be little jerks sometimes.
They were my little jerks, though, the closest thing I had to family now. Little RaeRae gave me one of her shy smiles, Yuna waved, and my grin widened momentarily in return. Then I looked away, towards the people that were going to determine my future.
To the right of the platform were two groups of heavily armed men and women. Two very distinct groups, actually. The first, further from the stage, looked like they were lounging against a wall, only without the wall. They stood slouched, with their hands in pockets or casually stroking the hilt of a weapon.
There were only six of them, and my gaze was drawn to the one in the back, dark-skinned and dark haired, towering over the rest of the group. I shivered as our eyes met for a moment. I knew nothing about this man – and yet I was absolutely convinced that he was dangerous.
What Tier is he and what is he doing in this shithole? Is the Delver’s Guild so powerful they send guys like this out on Tutorial Day recruiting trips?
Swallowing, I nodded at him before hastily looking away. Then I glanced over at the much more orderly, and much larger, Army contingent. Over a dozen strong, standing in perfect order in two rows. Their light brown and tan uniforms were as perfectly matched as their stances. They managed to at least look like they were paying attention, something I obviously wasn’t, as the Mayor’s voice suddenly rose in volume.
“Ashley Zimmerman! Get up here!”
I cursed silently as I flushed, a few long strides carrying me towards the Settlement Stone. I guess we’re going by first names… I was sure I was going to be called last. The rectangular hunk of light grey rock at the center of Sunland shimmered slightly in the sun, rising at least a yard over my head. I stopped a pace away and turned to my right to look at the Mayor.
“Ashley, are you prepared to take the Tutorial and join our great society as a full adult? Do you acknowledge that only the Basic Tutorial is fully safe and that should you choose to enter the Standard or Advanced Tutorials you may face dangerous threats?”
“Yeah, I’m ready!” I replied with confidence. I was prepared for this, I had a plan to get out of Sunland forever and step one of that plan started now. To be fair, the plan only had two steps, but that just made it foolproof, right?
“Very well,” the Mayor responded, before stepping over to the Settlement Stone and placing his palm on it. A moment passed while he followed the System prompts only he could see, and then the Stone shimmered and started to radiate a cold white glow. “You may proceed.”
I stepped forward, placing my palm on the strangely cool Stone for just a moment. Then I was suddenly elsewhere, the bright sun and tan, dust-laden air of Sunland gone in an instant and replaced with a dark grey, featureless room. I had no time to look around before a stupidly loud, deep male voice blared out.
[ASHLEY ZIMMERMAN, WELCOME TO THE TUTORIAL AND CONGRATULATIONS ON REACHING YOUR 18TH BIRTHDAY! YOU HAVE EARNED YOUR CHANCE TO JOIN THE GLORIOUS PATRIOTIC AMERICAN SYSTEM TRIUMPHANT!! YOU MAY REFER TO ME AS P.A.S.T. OR SYSTEM FOR SHORT!]
I clapped my hands to my ears, which did nothing to shield me from the volume as the voice echoed inside my skull.
[THE FIRST STEP OF THE TUTORIAL IS CLASS SELECTION! AS A CITIZEN OF THE GREAT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, YOU ARE BLESSED WITH A CHOICE OF SEVEN CLASSES! THAT IS TRULY A SIGN OF OUR SUPERIOR NATION! LET’S REVIEW THEM TOGETHER!]
“Fuck, can you turn the volume down?” I begged the moment the voice paused.
[COMMAND NOT AVAILABLE, LET’S PROCEED! THERE ARE THREE BASIC CLASSES AVAILABLE TO YOU:
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
FIRST, THE FARMER! FARMS ARE THE HEART OF OUR HEARTLANDS AND THE HEART OF OUR FARMS ARE THE PATRIOTIC FARMERS!
SECOND, THE BARMAID! EVERY RED-BLOODED AMERICAN LOVES A BEER AFTER A HARD DAY’S WORK, AND THE BARMAID IS THERE TO SERVE THEM!
THIRD, THE LEGAL ASSISTANT! LAWYERS ARE A NECESSARY EVIL, AND THE HONORABLE LEGAL ASSISTANT STANDS READY TO ASSIST!
WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ANY OF THESE CLASSES?!]
“System, reset user settings,” I repeated the strange command we’d all been taught before the Tutorial.
[NO CAN DO, CITIZEN! YOU MUST COMPLETE THE TUTORIAL BEFORE CUSTOMIZING YOUR P.A.S.T. INTERFACE!]
I sighed. I’d been told to expect the System to sound like it was yelling into my head and yet it was so much worse than I thought it would be. At least there was nothing too surprising about the first three classes. I wasn’t sure what in the Wastes a Legal Assistant was good for, but it was pretty obvious it was a non-combat Class like the first two.
No big deal Az, almost all of the Basic classes offered in the Tutorial are non-combat Classes. Let’s move on to the Standard Classes, that’s the important part.
“No, tell me about my Standard Class options,” I ordered.
[OF COURSE, CITIZEN! REMEMBER, IN ORDER TO EARN A STANDARD CLASS YOU MUST SHOW YOUR WORTH AND OVERCOME YOUR FOES! APPROXIMATELY 5% OF THOSE WHO TRY WILL PERISH IN THE ATTEMPT, AS THEY ARE UNFIT FOR GLORY! HERE ARE YOUR THREE STANDARD CLASS OPTIONS:
FIRST, THE APPRENTICE ENCHANTER! ENCHANTERS USE MANA TO EMPOWER ITEMS WITH THE POWER OF PATRIOTISM AND OTHER GLORIOUS VIRTUES!
SECOND, THE DEVOTED SQUIRE! EVERY PALADIN NEEDS A SQUIRE, AND EVERYONE KNOWS THE BEST QUALITY IN A SQUIRE IS DEVOTION!
THIRD, THE APPRENTICE SHOPKEEPER! CONSUMERISM IS AT THE HEART OF OUR ECONOMY, AND THE APPRENTICE SHOPKEEPER IS ALWAYS READY TO HELP THEIR FELLOW CITIZENS CONTRIBUTE TO OUR GREAT NATION!
WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ANY OF THESE CLASSES?!]
Oh Waste it! This is NOT how the plan goes!
My shoulders dropped and I staggered over to the wall in front of me, resting my palms on the wall and banging my forehead on the cold stone.
Only one combat Class out of the three, and of course it happens to be THAT one, out of all the dozens of possibilities…
“System,” I said softly after a moment, “tell me more about the Devoted Squire.” I was pretty convinced I remembered correctly, but it would be stupid not to check.
[OF COURSE, CITIZEN! THE DEVOTED SQUIRE IS A CLASS THAT SPECIALIZES IN MELEE COMBAT AND SQUIRELY DUTIES! AS A DEVOTED SQUIRE, YOU WILL RENDER FAITHFUL SERVICE TO A MIGHTY KNIGHT OR PALADIN, AND SHOULD YOU PROVE WORTHY YOU MAY ONE DAY JOIN THE RANKS OF THE HOLY PALADINS AND USE DIVINE POWER TO SMITE THE ENEMIES OF OUR GREAT NATION! TRULY, A WONDROUS OPPORTUNITY!]
Shit, I was right after all!
“System, who are the enemies you mentioned?” I asked with morbid curiosity.
[IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER, THE GREATEST THREATS TO THE MIGHTY U.S. OF A. ARE THE COMMUNISTS, THE FASCISTS, THE GAYS, THE HERETICS, THE MUTANTS, AND THE XENOS!]
And there it is. Me, smack in the middle of the list of our “nation’s” enemies. Actually, I might fit two of those categories, since I’m pretty sure God is dead. That makes me a heretic too, right?
I turned around and sank down to the floor, resting my back on the wall, and buried my face in my hands. I felt tears welling up in my eyes.
This Wasted piece of shit motherfucker of a System… America hasn’t been a thing for hundreds of years, but thanks to those psychos that were in charge before the War, the System still does shit like this! I want to get a Class for killing MONSTERS, not PEOPLE!
I sobbed quietly into my hands for what felt like ages but was probably just a few minutes. My ‘plan’, such as it was, had seemed so simple I was sure it was un-fuck-up-able. Get a combat Class, kick the Tutorial’s ass – hopefully doing enough to get an upgrade to an Advanced Class – and present myself to the recruiters. They would obviously be so impressed that they would compete to see who would get me the Wastes out of the shithole that was Sunland.
There were dozens of combat Classes I could have been offered, and with three Standard Classes to choose from I had been so sure I’d get something great… or at least adequate. Just about anything besides Devoted Squire! Paladins, well, they sounded like righteous pricks who enjoyed being yelled at by the System and would never dream about resetting their user settings!
I could take one of the non-combat Classes and live my life out quietly in the safety of a town, but that’s not what I wanted! It wasn’t what I’d been dreaming about for years… I couldn’t remember much about the night my parents died, or for that matter a lot about the thirteen years I’d lived prior to that. Galdon, the town’s Medic, used to tell me my memories would come back when I got older, but at this point I was pretty sure he was full of shit. And booze.
What I could remember, what I would never forget, was the terror of that night. I remembered people screaming, both me and others, screams and other sounds. The sounds of people and monsters fighting, and dying. I remember there was blood, so much blood.
I nearly died that night – came even closer to losing an eye. I still carried the scar where some ghoul’s claw or skeleton’s blade had sliced down from my forehead to my cheek, the thin pale line a reminder that I didn’t need. The world was fucking dangerous, and it could screw me over anytime as long as I was weak.
I had to be strong, to be a fighter, so that I would never have to feel that way again! Besides, I liked fighting, training, sparring and all of that. I might not have been the best student in regular classes, but at least I had some talent for fighting – and for getting into fights. At least according to the adults. It definitely wasn’t always my fault.
Farmer, Barmaid, Legal Assistant, and Shopkeeper are out for sure. And Devoted Squire… just no, a million times over on that one! I’m sure some people would be happy to try being an Enchanter. I know they can make a lot of money, but I don’t know anything about Enchanting and it sounds terrible for fighting. It must be a Class for people who like school.
Really, I couldn’t even get a Class with like a Blacksmith or Lumberjack? At least they get Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, and Skills that use hammers or axes. That’s the kind of Class you can turn into a combat Class at Tier 1 with a little hard work, not… fucking Barmaid.
Lost in my miserable thoughts, I almost jumped out of my skin when the System shouted into my skull again.
[CITIZEN ASHLEY, DO YOU WISH TO TAKE THE STANDARD TUTORIAL TO PROVE YOURSELF A DEVOTED SQUIRE?! OR WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ANOTHER CLASS, OR HEAR ABOUT YOUR ADVANCED CLASS OPTION?!]
I’d forgotten that there was still an option I hadn’t heard yet, because I’d been told over and over – "Don’t take the Advanced Tutorial. It’s too risky! It's not worth it, you can get an Advanced Class at Tier 1 if you just work hard! You can even get upgraded to an Advanced Class after the Standard Tutorial if you’re lucky… and good."
“What is my Advanced Class option?” I asked hoarsely.
[I’M HAPPY TO TELL YOU ALL ABOUT THE AMAZING ADVANCED CLASS I HAVE FOR YOU! BUT FIRST, I AM REQUIRED TO WARN YOU THAT THE ADVANCED TUTORIAL IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS! HALF OF THOSE THAT ATTEMPT IT PERISH! OF COURSE, THAT JUST MEANS THEY WEREN’T MEANT TO BE REAL AMERICAN HEROES LIKE YOU! DO YOU STILL WISH TO PROCEED, OR ARE YOU A SCARED LITTLE COMMIE?!]
“Yeah yeah, just tell me about it already,” I grumbled. Sheesh.
Az, waiting for the Tutorial to start
Huge thank-yous to my two amazing beta readers, without your support and encouragement this story might never have made it to publication!
I've started trading shout-outs with other authors recently, but the original idea was to do my shout-outs/tributes as Easter eggs, usually in the chapter intro. Some of them will be Wasted subtle, while others might reach out of the screen and punch you in the face. I'll leave it up to you, dear reader, to pick them out. Did you spot the one in this first chapter? Post it in the comments when you figure it out!
If you haven't checked out the story's theme song, now is a great time to do it!
