This S.O.B. System - Chapter 71

The white light was blocked by a pop up window. 

Daphne hesitated, but clicked Y. She really hoped her dad picked N. 

I’m so glad I’m doing this tutorial. It explains so much, she thought angrily. 

Daphne awoke on moss covered ground. The sky overhead was blue, but a darker shade of blue than at home. She sat up wearily. Everywhere around her was covered in a green spongy moss. With a groan she stood up. Still in her blue jeans and tight black shirt she regretted not buying sneakers. Stuck in flats she felt the spongy moss with each step. The ground underneath it was hard at least. 

A 15 foot tall protrusion from the ground was in front of her. It was 8 feet across and covered in moss. Walking up to it she felt the dingy moss then tore a big chunk off. With a rip a large section of the moss came off revealing a black smooth rock underneath. 

“So weird,” she said. “Don’t think I’m on Earth anymore.” Picking a random direction she stepped out of the small moss covered crater she was in. 

Once at the top of the crater she looked around to see nothing but more dips in the ground. Peaks and valleys across the land. More rocks covered by moss littered the ground. The dark blue sky grew a little brighter as another sun peeked over the horizon.  

“Help!” A woman screamed not too far off. Daphne didn’t hesitate. The woman screamed again and Daphne ran to her. She tried to pull a knife out of her ring, but nothing happened. 

“Stupid fucking System,” she cursed as she crested another crater. Down in the center was a young blonde girl, a familiar blonde. She held her hands out trying to keep back a big puma sized feline. 

The beast had light brown fur, two long tails, and long ears that drooped close to the ground. Daphne looked around and found a small moss covered rock. Ripping it out of the moss covered soil she was surprised to notice that the base of it was sharp. 

Running at the large cat she lifted the rock over her head and stabbed it into the beast’s side. The large cat didn’t hear her coming as it took the weight. Legs buckling it dropped to the ground. “Hit it,” Daphne ordered as she kept her weight on the feline. It started snarling at her, but she put more weight into it. It couldn’t budge, whatever it was, it was low level. “There. That’s another rock,” Daphne indicated. 

The blonde stumbled to it. Much smaller than her own, the blonde took it out of the ground easily. Again the base was sharp. “Stab this pussy,” Daphne ordered as it tried to buck her off. 

There was a lot of crying coming from the blonde, but with Daphne's constructive criticism she eventually stabbed it enough times for it to bleed out. When she felt safe enough Daphne pulled out her own large rock and slammed it into the beast’s head. 

“I thought it was you,” Daphne said with a huff as she stood. “Charlotte right? Didn’t we have sex a few months ago?” The young blonde was brought out of her daze with that. Then the screen popped up. 

“Fuck yeah,” Daphne said pulling up her status screen. She already got 5 more Syscos for finding another survivor. Focusing on the skill from the stat screen, like in the video, the explanation was brought up. 

“Got my System already,” Daphne said with a smile. Charlotte stood a few feet away. Blood on her hands and splattered on her face. She still looked cute. “What about you?”

“Yeah, I’m a Psychic,” Charlotte said in a daze. She finished with her pop ups. “Any idea what this thing was?”

“No idea. Some kind of cougar,” she said. With that another screen popped up. 

“Hell yes,” Daphne said. A new tab appeared in her status screen. 

There was a (5) now next to her agility, and the Agility had raised by 5. Studying the screen she noticed that her experience was 45/50. More focused on it she was reminded to move her stats. The lion spirit had given her options. Daphne was now thinking of putting the new stats into physical ones. She had originally planned on mind stats, and she already had Charm up the wazoo.

Remembering something she focused on the name Kishki Lion on her screen. 

“Don’t forget to move your level 1 stats,” she told Charlotte. The girl appeared to have forgotten as she zoned out. 

With a thought Daphne willed a dagger into her hand. A bright white light appeared, then disappeared revealing a dagger. “Hell yes,” she said with a smile. In her other hand she willed out the sword she had seen Wayne pull out. 

She handed the longer sword to Charlotte. The blonde dismissed her screens seeing them for the first time. “Where did you get this? You made me kill that thing with a rock,” she said sadly. 

“I killed it,” Daphne said with a scoff. “You cried while stabbing it.” She then showed the ring. “Asher got this for me. I assume you watched his videos?”

Charlotte nodded. “Have you seen him at all?”

“Nope. Tried calling, but he disconnected his phone. Can’t blame him with how popular he got,” she said. “But I have some food stored here already. Should be good for a bit….so wanna group up?”

Charlotte hesitated but nodded. Daphne thought about a group forming. Charlotte clicked an invisible button, then she was coated in a white light for a moment. “Did you see a light around me?” She asked. Charlotte nodded. “Must be something new then, didn’t hear that mentioned in the videos. Any idea what to do with this thing?” She looked down at the cougar. The System said it was a lion, but she thought it looked more like a cougar. 

“No idea,” Charlotte said.

“Maybe I can,” Daphne said. Bending down she touched it. The body turned into a white light making it disappear into her ring. “Badass,” she said looking at the golden band. “Let’s look for survivors.”

With that they walked out of the crater. No wildlife sounds, she only heard the squish of wet moss at her feet. “What have you been up to since we had sex?”

“We didn’t have sex,” Charlotte said angrily. 

“Excuse me. When a guy fucks me while a girl fucks you, then they switch, no wiping of juices or anything, I consider that sex. Hell I woke up to you in my tits,” Daphne said. 

Charlotte didn’t have anything to say to that. “Nothing really. Graduated finally, got a job, only for it all to go to shit after a month,” she said grumpily. They were quiet for a time. “You think he’s ok?”

“Who? Asher?” Daphne asked. “Hell no. Kid got basically kidnapped into space. You know he’s barely 18 right? I’d be freaked the fuck out if I was him,” she admitted. “Maybe he’ll get lucky and just have to fuck a couple of space princesses to pass whatever trial he’s going to.” Charlotte laughed. 

“How the hell did you meet him anyway? That night is still kind of a blur,” Daphne admitted. She hadn’t heard anything make noise around them as they walked from crater to crater. Her hearing felt extra sharp for some reason. 

“I was his TA,” she admitted. “Don’t remember much either. Just kind of happened.” She finished talking with a long sigh. 

“You’re not still hung up on him are you?” Daphne accused. “You are? Jesus girl. Read the room. Kid literally rocked both our worlds. And his fiancé was just as good. Think you could handle riding those 2 more than once?” Charlotte blushed but didn’t say anything. “To each their own I guess. Give me some normal young stud any day of the week,” she said. Daphne had many faults, but she loved giving sage advice. 

Charlotte stopped walking and grabbed her hand. “There’s someone here,” she hissed. Daphne looked around, beginning to sweat. Her hand still gripped around the dagger. She almost jumped out of her skin when he appeared at the top of the crater. 

Blue jeans, thick muscles bulged in a brown vest, bandolier over his chest, and Predator mask on his face. If she hadn’t seen the videos the day before Daphne would have been scared shitless. 

“Jesus! You scared the shit out of us,” she said pointing at him. Arnold took off the mask. His chiseled jaw and blonde hair waved like some kind of model as he did so. Charlotte was slowly calming down. 

“Come on,” he said. “I’ve got others this way,” he said and turned around. 

“You know that guy?” Charlotte asked as she followed. 

“Yeah he’s a friend of Asher’s. And I already got dibs on him,” she said with a wink. Catching up they were soon beside the muscular man. Thick blades on his arms and a confident stride, Daphne complimented her own taste in men. She already pictured what those muscles could do. 

“So what’s the plan, hot stuff?” She asked. Arnold gave her a look, but never changed his expression. 

“Find everyone,” he said. “There are 998 left so far. After that I train you all. We split into groups. Map out the area and start killing monsters.” Like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Daphne really wanted to jump him right then. She held herself off for now. “Then, when we are ready, we kill that,” he said as they crested another crater. Way off to the right, she still didn’t know directions, was what she thought was a tall mountain. Studying it more she noticed that it was slowly moving. The base was actually 2 bases. They were legs. The monster had to be 150 feet tall. Long cylindrical legs that met in a torso, no arms, just chest and a moss covered head. 

“Fuck that,” Charlotte whispered. 

“Fuck me,” Daphne said looking to Arnold. She liked a man with confidence. 

—-

Zora panicked in the white light until her view was blocked by a pop up window. Her mind switching back on she mentally made the screen smaller and easier to read. Asher and Tiff had walked her through most everything multiple times. 

Zora didn’t hesitate to click Y. 

Zora’s heart sank. A fist formed in her gut. Through gritted teeth she clicked N. She was promised a good System by Joon. And she had been warned it may take some time to get it, but Zora refused to be a damsel ever again. 

Zora woke up in a tree. Lying on a branch it was at least 5 feet in diameter. The area around her echoed with wildlife as birds called, and frogs croaked. Sweat was already breaking out on her skin from the heat. She took off her jacket. 

Checking herself she still had everything. Both necklaces and her rings were still there. She sighed in relief as she willed out her dagger. Looking around she made sure there was nothing watching her. When her eyes were brought down she noticed how high up she was. At least 50 feet in the air. The floor below looked more like a jungle than anything. Dark green fauna littered the ground. The tree she was in kept going up and up. For now she needed to get down. Walking on the branch that only got thicker toward the trunk, she made it easily. It was a tangle of vines. Gripping one she slowly made her way to the jungle floor. Noise everywhere, some of the calls sounded familiar, but she still hadn’t seen the birds making the sounds. 

When she got to the forest floor she jumped as the tail of a large snake slithered past her. At least 2 feet in diameter its skin matched perfectly with the jungle foliage. Luckily it hadn’t seen her. Should I kill it? She thought, but decided against it. She needed to find the other girls, maybe one of them would have a System and they could pull out more gear from Zora’s ring. 

When she felt the snake was far enough away she decided to go in a different direction than it had headed. Trees about 100 feet apart from one another the green bushes on the ground had palm tree-like leaves that littered the floor. 2 feet tall she worried about what was underneath hiding, but settled on cautiously walking. 

After a while of hiking she hadn’t seen or heard anyone. She had dodged past a 4 foot tall toad, and another bigger snake, but nothing had bothered her. All the while the loud wildlife overhead called and echoed down to her. 

When she found a tree with a large break in the viney base good enough for shelter she caught movement. Ducking down she focused on it. It was a humanoid. Bipedal with 2 arms and black skin. But not African American black, coal black. With light gray hair on the top of his head Zora doubted it was a human. She assumed it was a man by the way they walked. Slowly she started to follow it. 

The sound of her movements were well hidden by bird calls. She kept back a couple of hundred feet and kept low to the palm bushes. Silently they made their way through the forest. The alien appeared to know where he was going. Then he slowed down as he walked behind a tree. Zora worried he had spotted her, but as she crept closer she heard voices. 

They didn’t speak in any language she knew of. More guttural, and deeper tones. She got more creeped out by the words they spoke as she studied the strangers. Along with the coal black humanoid there was a pale gray one. He was slim and wore nothing but a darkly colored hide that resembled pants. A long black tail swung behind him. 

Beside him was a man-like beast with dark red skin. Big black horns protruded from his head. His muscular form bulged under a metal breastplate. They looked like demons to her. Like devils in the flesh. A shiver ran down her spine as they spoke more. She began to get freaked out by their presence. If her Tutorial was filled with demons she was screwed. Too much church had instilled a great fear of these beings. She was about to slink away when the gray one stepped into the bushes. Lifting something from the ground he soon pulled a dark haired girl into the clearing they had made. 

It was Galina. The gray one pulled her to face the other 2 demons. She was crying as he manhandled her. Without preamble he said something and tore off her shirt revealing her bra covered chest. The 3 quieted at the view. 

Zora held her hand under the palm leaves as she willed the handgun into it. The white light was hidden. Her hands began to shake as she took the safety off. Looking up she noticed the gray skinned demon back away from the scared girl as they yelled at Galina. She shook and cried. 

Zora was done hesitating. She was done with men taking from her those she loved. She was done being scared. She stood up confidently. Striding toward them she leveled the Glock at the gray demon and began firing. The first 2 missed, but as the 3 demons noticed her a bullet took him square in the forehead. 

“Zora!” Galina yelled from the ground. She had ducked down as soon as the firing started. Zora chided herself and sent a Group Invitation mentally. 

The other 2 demons had disappeared as she looked at Galina. Cursing she aimed her handgun trying to see any movement. The jungle was dead silent now. Nothing stirred. She turned thinking something was behind her. Turning back the gun was ripped from her hand and thrown away. 

She thought it was telekinesis but the coal black demon appeared in front of her. Zora ducked down dodging a blow and willed the dagger into her hand. Spinning she kicked the demon's legs and drove the blade into its throat as it fell. It gurgled but Zora was looking for the other one. She had spent weeks in the Training Hall practicing for this day.

Zora now willed the Uzi into her open palm. Once the safety was off she scanned the area again, walking closer to Galina. “There!” Her friend yelled. 

Zora turned to watch the spear hit her directly in the gut. She was thrown back with the force of it. Crying out she looked through bleary eyes until the red demon crawled toward her from the brush. 

Pulling the spear out with one hand she raised the Uzi and started spraying at the quickly approaching demon. One or two of the bullets bounced off its thick black horns but most went into its face and arms as it crawled. When it was almost upon her it fell to the ground dead. 

Zora breathed heavily as her gun pointed at the monster. Then the pop up appeared

Zora cried happily as she read. Galina cried as she crawled to her. Hands still tied she was a complete mess. 

“Don’t die Zora. We need you,” Galina moaned. Assuming the tears were sad ones.

“Don’t worry. I leveled,” she said. “My health is full now.” She was almost giddy as she stood and cut her friends' bindings. The hole in her gut was already a distant memory as more pop-ups appeared in her field of view.  

She pulled up her status screen and read through the skill explanations. 

With the explanation she would need to focus on physical stats and magical stats. With a smile she moved her stat points around. Her luck had been 8 before, so she really needed to bring that up as well, along with most of her stats. 

Zora could tell she would have to put her stats in everything. Since mana and strength were used for both she would have to balance it all. Setting her stats she thought of everything in her ring and dumped it out. 

Mixing and matching armor they soon had more protection. Blades in hand Zora checked the demons to make sure they were dead. They didn’t have anything useful on them, but she did take the red one's spear. 

“Let’s go find the others,” she said. A smile on her face. 

—

Doug followed behind the group. 4 guys and 1 girl were in front of him. They nervously walked through the trees. “Are you sure about this?” One of them asked. 

“I’m sure,” Doug said. He had found nearly 20 people and leveled once already. Goblins and kobolds were everywhere in the area. Most of the time he just had to follow the screams. He would have chided them for coming defenseless, but he had done the same 

“You 5 are the only ones with Systems right now. And luckily you have the perfect setup. We got tank, heals, and damage dealers. So you all need to practice. Training wheels on for now. We find a few. Practice. Find a few more. Then I expect you to do it on your own while the others awaken their Systems.”

“Is your System going to help us?” The girl asked. 

Doug lied, “yep, in a pinch.”

That seemed to give them enough confidence. It wasn’t long till they found their first kobold. It was more dog-like than anything. A very ugly dog, but it kind of resembled one. Hairless skin, droopy eyes and ears, long nose. It walked around completely nude. 

“Tank, you’re up,” Doug said. 

“It’s Peter,” the guy said but walked forward. A shield and short sword in hand it was on loan from Doug for now. He planned to make the guy buy his own as soon as they finished their first quest. 

The kobold noticed them and didn’t hesitate to run at him. Peter pushed it with his shield and tried to slash it, but the kobold was quick. Jumping back it caught its feet. It let out a screech but was stopped as a fireball hit it in the chest. A barking cough was let out by the kobold as Peter stepped up and stabbed the sword into it. 

The thing died with a wheeze. “Alright!” One of them said. 

“Good job. Let’s hope there’s more next time,” Doug said. He received no experience, but he had already received more experience that day than a month on Earth. 

The next group was 2 kobolds and the one after that was 4. Peter handled tanking well after he leveled and got a new shield bash skill. He was able to channel mana into the shield to strengthen it when it hit others. 

“1 more group then we go back. Everyone about done with their quest?” The group nodded. 

They came around a stone outcropping only to stumble on the kobold camp. There were a few dozen of the monsters outside a cave. A short wood fence was thrown around the perimeter and wood teepees littered the area. A giant bonfire was in the middle of their camp. The kobolds went about their day around it. 

“What’s that?” One of his people pointed to the far side. 2 wood crosses were staked into the ground. What looked like 2 people were crucified to them. Their chests were cut open, and eviscerated guts hung out. 

More than one person in his party turned to retch. Peter pulled out binoculars from a pocket and looked. “2 women,” he said. 

“How the fuck do you bring binoculars but not a weapon?” Doug asked angrily. 

“Don’t know,” Peter admitted as he handed him the small lenses. 

Doug reluctantly took them. He didn’t want to puke in front of these guys. He wanted to pretend to be confident. But a part of him knew he had to look. What he saw in the binoculars made him black out. 

Over the next half hour he became lucid sporadically. When an arrow entered his back he gritted his teeth and blacked out again. When a small kobold stabbed him in the gut he split it in half with a yell. When a kobold caster hit him with a wave of ice he threw his sword, cutting it’s hand off. 

The cry of the baby kobold was squelched as Doug stabbed a knife in its throat. In a daze he finally became lucid as he stumbled out of the teepee. Covered in blood. A lot was his own, most of it wasn’t. 2 arrows stuck out of his back as he walked to the crosses. 

It had begun to rain at some point. Doug didn’t notice. The others in the group finished off their kills in different parts of the camp, but he paid them no mind. He stepped up to the 2 crucified women. Helen’s bright blonde hair covered her face. A mole on her outer thigh was the only reason he recognized her so easily. 

Of course he could recognize his mother with a glance. She still wore her pink bunny slippers. Their lifeless bodies only crumbled to the ground as he cut them down. Their bodies light without organs he dragged them to the bonfire and tossed them in one by one. As he stared at the flames he cried, but the rain hid it well. 

He chuckled as he pushed Y.

No real reason not to, he pushed Y again. This time he minimized the other messages. Now that the screens were gone Doug walked into the cave to see if they missed any more kobolds. This place would be a good base for the other Initiates for now. 

As he searched every nook and cranny for kobolds he thought of a speech he had watched of Asher’s. It was about current System Users needing to give their all. Every single person in the Tutorial was someone’s loved one. It really hadn’t hit home until Doug saw his only loved ones hanging dead in a camp of monsters. He needed to step up for these people. Needed to stop running from responsibility. Needed to get stronger to put up with this damn System. 

—

“Fuck,” Joon said as she clicked Y. 

“Well there’s that at least,” she said as her vision faded to black. 

She woke up in a mess of other bodies. Shooting up she escaped before the pandemonium started. People thrashed and kicked one another. Yelling and curses rang out in the hall. Joon let it happen. 

Studying the room: the walls, floor, and ceiling were a smooth black stone. The walls were 40 feet apart. Torches lined the walls illuminating the area. As people escaped the dog pile she decided to step in. 

“Alright alright, that’s enough,” she said as she stepped in. Smacking people over the head they got out of her way. 2 large men wrestled one another on the ground in the middle. “I said enough!” She yelled, kicking the guy on top off. He was over 6’-6”, but with her stats he was nothing.

“Listen up bitches, I know you all can understand me, so I don’t want any of this pretending to not speak what I am. Because right now I am speaking every possible language,” she said. The group shut up around her. She was easily one of the smallest people there. And 1 of maybe 100 women. 

“I am Joon, your System Guide,” she said loudly. “I am level 22. Does anyone know what that means?” No one said anything. “All of you sit the fuck down! You’re all too tall,” she said. Quite a few did to her surprise. 

Not everyone of course. She walked up to the biggest one. “Did you hear what I-“ she punched him in the gut. He bent over wheezing. “That was a simple love tap. So when I say drop, you...” she looked around and everyone lowered to the ground. There was some grumbling. Turning her back the big guy pulled a knife out from a boot sheathe. Joon simply turned back and pushed his head down to the ground with her open palm. His head squashed into the floor. Blood splattered out of his now squished skull like a slasher movie. His legs twitched and he died. No one said a thing as she willed out a rag and cleaned some blood off of her.

“I don’t want to have to do that again,” she informed them. “I am your Instructor. And I get rewards depending on how many of you survive over the next 92 days. But don’t expect me to coddle you, you understand?” There were more than a few ‘yes ma’ams’.

“Good. Now my earlier question. Does anyone here know what it means that I am level 22? No one? Ok, I will explain that I was the strongest person on the planet after my husband left Earth with some aliens.” She let them slowly put together her words. There was only one famous person that had left the planet recently. 

“We are in what is commonly called the Hell Tutorial,” she announced. “Most of the others are kind of fair. But the Hell Tutorial is a whole different ball game. The best of the best on the planet are taken here. Of course none of you are anything special to a level 5 System user, but for normal people you are what the System considers individuals with the most potential.”

“How many of you have already awakened your Systems?” She asked. Quite a few hands shot up. She did a walkthrough of Systems. Then explained that for now they would only be passing trials. She would walk people through their abilities if they survived to the next day. All of them would automatically receive Syscos based on how many people died in a day. The more that people died, the more Syscos they got. This was going to be an uphill struggle to keep them all alive. 

“Alright, I think we are ready for the first test,” she said out of the blue. “Let’s go, people,” she said. Quickly walking down the hall it soon opened up into a wide room. A white line painted on the ground, she stopped just before crossing it. “I don’t know all the trials here, but I know a few,” she admitted. The 1,020 people stared at the room behind her in awe. It had opened up to be 300 feet across, the ceiling was so high it could no longer be seen clearly. 

“Arrows will shoot out of little pockets from each wall. The trick here is to stay in the middle. Also, no arrows should come from the same wall twice in a row,” she said. “Watch for now,” she said, talking like a school teacher. 

Willing a fat bladed dagger in each hand she stepped past the white line. The first arrow shot at her torso. Smoothly moving a blade the metal of the arrow hitting it made a clink sound as it dropped to the ground. Then another one was blocked from the other side. 

Joon continued walking in a straight line. Some arrows missed her completely, but all others were blocked by her daggers. When she passed another white line she got another notification. 

Joon decided to keep the extra experience to herself. Turning around she felt happy seeing the stunned look on the strongest people in the world's faces. Opening up a portal she stepped through onto the other side where everyone else was. 

“Got it? We don’t have all day people. Let’s move it,” she yelled. 

A small Latino girl with a cocky look on her face spoke up. “How come you don’t just open one of these portals and let us through?”

“Good question,” Joon said. “Sorry, sometimes I forget how much people don’t know. This is a Test,” she said pointing to the arrows. “Though there are many like it, this is your first and easiest one. Once you pass the white line on the other side you will receive ‘experience points’. Those ‘experience points’,” she said as she used bunny ears to emphasize experience, “will allow you to level up. Those levels will give you the ability to move stats. If you do not have these stats allocated, each trial will become harder. If you do not know where to put these stats, let me make it easy for you. If your System uses a sword, put the stats in strength, endurance, and agility, if you use magic put it in Wisdom and Intelligence.”

Joon paused, there were no more questions. “You will level up about 5 times when you pass this 1 trial. Not all of you will make it. If too many bodies litter the middle I will clean them up, but there is no stopping. If you get hit just keep running. Leveling up will heal you completely.” Joon then stepped and leapt to the other side of the trail. She knew how to use her strength. No arrow was close to her as she soared. She landed on the other side easily.

It took an hour but 947 survived the trial. About twice the number that had survived the 1st trial in her last timeline. They had purged out the slow. “Very good. We won’t always be together. We will be split up eventually but there is always a common theme to these tests. Just expect the worst outcome and you’ll probably be right. And another thing, there are 2 other species of Initiates going through this same trial. We will run into them at some point. If you see them try not to kill them. Just find me. They are just as scared as you all are. You can recognize them by…”

The white light was blocked by a pop up window. Congratulations Your Planet has been Chosen for Initialization Would you like to take the Hard Tutorial Y/N Daphne hesitated, but clicked Y. She really hoped her dad picked N. Unfortunately More Data Is Required to Award you a System Quest Generated Please complete Quests for Rewards. Quest Objective Find other survivors Quest Rewards: 5+ Syscos per survivor Accept: Y/N New Skill Acquired By being selected for Initialization, your status screen has been upgraded with the following skills. New Skill: System Store LVL 1 Group Formation LVL 1 Identification LVL 1 Please say or think the skill name to use it. Explantation in Status Screen I'm so glad I'm doing this tutorial. It explains so much, she thought angrily. Name: Daphne Krollic Skills: Alias: Donna LeRone Identification LVL 1 System: N/A System Store LVL 1 Level: 1 Group Formation LVL 1 Experience 0/50 Title: N/A Guild: N/A Syscos: 0 HP: 26 /26 MP: 32 /32 Stats: 5 Strength: 8 Dexterity: 10 Endurance: 9 Agility: 9 Wisdom: 12 Intelligence: 10 Luck: 11 Charm: 15 Custom Stats: N/A N/A WELCOME 92:12:54:13 Daphne awoke on moss covered ground. The sky overhead was blue, but a darker shade of blue than at home. She sat up wearily. Everywhere around her was covered in a green spongy moss. With a groan she stood up. Still in her blue jeans and tight black shirt she regretted not buying sneakers. Stuck in flats she felt the spongy moss with each step. The ground underneath it was hard at least. A 15 foot tall protrusion from the ground was in front of her. It was 8 feet across and covered in moss. Walking up to it she felt the dingy moss then tore a big chunk off. With a rip a large section of the moss came off revealing a black smooth rock underneath. So weird, she said. Don't think I'm on Earth anymore. Picking a random direction she stepped out of the small moss covered crater she was in. Once at the top of the crater she looked around to see nothing but more dips in the ground. Peaks and valleys across the land. More rocks covered by moss littered the ground. The dark blue sky grew a little brighter as another sun peeked over the horizon. Help! A woman screamed not too far off. Daphne didn't hesitate. The woman screamed again and Daphne ran to her. She tried to pull a knife out of her ring, but nothing happened. Stupid fucking System, she cursed as she crested another crater. Down in the center was a young blonde girl, a familiar blonde. She held her hands out trying to keep back a big puma sized feline. The beast had light brown fur, two long tails, and long ears that drooped close to the ground. Daphne looked around and found a small moss covered rock. Ripping it out of the moss covered soil she was surprised to notice that the base of it was sharp. Running at the large cat she lifted the rock over her head and stabbed it into the beast's side. The large cat didn't hear her coming as it took the weight. Legs buckling it dropped to the ground. Hit it, Daphne ordered as she kept her weight on the feline. It started snarling at her, but she put more weight into it. It couldn't budge, whatever it was, it was low level. There. That's another rock, Daphne indicated. The blonde stumbled to it. Much smaller than her own, the blonde took it out of the ground easily. Again the base was sharp. Stab this pussy, Daphne ordered as it tried to buck her off. There was a lot of crying coming from the blonde, but with Daphne's constructive criticism she eventually stabbed it enough times for it to bleed out. When she felt safe enough Daphne pulled out her own large rock and slammed it into the beast's head. I thought it was you, Daphne said with a huff as she stood. Charlotte right? Didn't we have sex a few months ago? The young blonde was brought out of her daze with that. Then the screen popped up. Congratulations You have awoken the SPIRIT SYSTEM Accept rewards Y/N Rewards: System Coins x 25 Spirit Absorption x 1 Spirit Channeling x 1 Fuck yeah, Daphne said pulling up her status screen. She already got 5 more Syscos for finding another survivor. Focusing on the skill from the stat screen, like in the video, the explanation was brought up. SPIRIT ABSORPTION LVL 1 Absorb the spirit of a defeated foe. SPIRIT CHANNELING LVL 1 Absorbed spirits may grant boons depending on the strength of the dead enemy. Got my System already, Daphne said with a smile. Charlotte stood a few feet away. Blood on her hands and splattered on her face. She still looked cute. What about you? Yeah, I'm a Psychic, Charlotte said in a daze. She finished with her pop ups. Any idea what this thing was? No idea. Some kind of cougar, she said. With that another screen popped up. Absorb Spirit Kishki Lion Y/N Hell yes, Daphne said. A new tab appeared in her status screen. Name: Daphne Krollic Skills: Alias: Donna LeRone Identification LVL 1 System: SPIRIT System Store LVL 1 Level: 1 Group Formation LVL 1 Experience 45/50 Spirit Absorption LVL 1 Title: N/A Spirit Channeling LVL 1 Guild: N/A Syscos: 30 Current Spirit: Kishki Lion HP: 26 /26 MP: 32 /32 Stats: 5 Strength: 8 Dexterity: 10 Endurance: 9 Agility: 14 5 Wisdom: 12 Intelligence: 10 Luck: 11 Charm: 15 Custom Stats: N/A N/A There was a 5 now next to her agility, and the Agility had raised by 5. Studying the screen she noticed that her experience was 45/50. More focused on it she was reminded to move her stats. The lion spirit had given her options. Daphne was now thinking of putting the new stats into physical ones. She had originally planned on mind stats, and she already had Charm up the wazoo. Remembering something she focused on the name Kishki Lion on her screen. Kishki Lion Known for their quick reflexes and keen eyesight the Kishki Lion preys on everything in it's path. Don't forget to move your level 1 stats, she told Charlotte. The girl appeared to have forgotten as she zoned out. With a thought Daphne willed a dagger into her hand. A bright white light appeared, then disappeared revealing a dagger. Hell yes, she said with a smile. In her other hand she willed out the sword she had seen Wayne pull out. She handed the longer sword to Charlotte. The blonde dismissed her screens seeing them for the first time. Where did you get this? You made me kill that thing with a rock, she said sadly. I killed it, Daphne said with a scoff. You cried while stabbing it. She then showed the ring. Asher got this for me. I assume you watched his videos? Charlotte nodded. Have you seen him at all? Nope. Tried calling, but he disconnected his phone. Can't blame him with how popular he got, she said. But I have some food stored here already. Should be good for a bit.so wanna group up? Charlotte hesitated but nodded. Daphne thought about a group forming. Charlotte clicked an invisible button, then she was coated in a white light for a moment. Did you see a light around me? She asked. Charlotte nodded. Must be something new then, didn't hear that mentioned in the videos. Any idea what to do with this thing? She looked down at the cougar. The System said it was a lion, but she thought it looked more like a cougar. No idea, Charlotte said. Maybe I can, Daphne said. Bending down she touched it. The body turned into a white light making it disappear into her ring. Badass, she said looking at the golden band. Let's look for survivors. With that they walked out of the crater. No wildlife sounds, she only heard the squish of wet moss at her feet. What have you been up to since we had sex? We didn't have sex, Charlotte said angrily. Excuse me. When a guy fucks me while a girl fucks you, then they switch, no wiping of juices or anything, I consider that sex. Hell I woke up to you in my tits, Daphne said. Charlotte didn't have anything to say to that. Nothing really. Graduated finally, got a job, only for it all to go to shit after a month, she said grumpily. They were quiet for a time. You think he's ok? Who? Asher? Daphne asked. Hell no. Kid got basically kidnapped into space. You know he's barely 18 right? I'd be freaked the fuck out if I was him, she admitted. Maybe he'll get lucky and just have to fuck a couple of space princesses to pass whatever trial he's going to. Charlotte laughed. How the hell did you meet him anyway? That night is still kind of a blur, Daphne admitted. She hadn't heard anything make noise around them as they walked from crater to crater. Her hearing felt extra sharp for some reason. I was his TA, she admitted. Don't remember much either. Just kind of happened. She finished talking with a long sigh. You're not still hung up on him are you? Daphne accused. You are? Jesus girl. Read the room. Kid literally rocked both our worlds. And his fianc was just as good. Think you could handle riding those 2 more than once? Charlotte blushed but didn't say anything. To each their own I guess. Give me some normal young stud any day of the week, she said. Daphne had many faults, but she loved giving sage advice. Charlotte stopped walking and grabbed her hand. There's someone here, she hissed. Daphne looked around, beginning to sweat. Her hand still gripped around the dagger. She almost jumped out of her skin when he appeared at the top of the crater. Blue jeans, thick muscles bulged in a brown vest, bandolier over his chest, and Predator mask on his face. If she hadn't seen the videos the day before Daphne would have been scared shitless. Jesus! You scared the shit out of us, she said pointing at him. Arnold took off the mask. His chiseled jaw and blonde hair waved like some kind of model as he did so. Charlotte was slowly calming down. Come on, he said. I've got others this way, he said and turned around. You know that guy? Charlotte asked as she followed. Yeah he's a friend of Asher's. And I already got dibs on him, she said with a wink. Catching up they were soon beside the muscular man. Thick blades on his arms and a confident stride, Daphne complimented her own taste in men. She already pictured what those muscles could do. So what's the plan, hot stuff? She asked. Arnold gave her a look, but never changed his expression. Find everyone, he said. There are 998 left so far. After that I train you all. We split into groups. Map out the area and start killing monsters. Like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Daphne really wanted to jump him right then. She held herself off for now. Then, when we are ready, we kill that, he said as they crested another crater. Way off to the right, she still didn't know directions, was what she thought was a tall mountain. Studying it more she noticed that it was slowly moving. The base was actually 2 bases. They were legs. The monster had to be 150 feet tall. Long cylindrical legs that met in a torso, no arms, just chest and a moss covered head. Fuck that, Charlotte whispered. Fuck me, Daphne said looking to Arnold. She liked a man with confidence. - Zora panicked in the white light until her view was blocked by a pop up window. Her mind switching back on she mentally made the screen smaller and easier to read. Asher and Tiff had walked her through most everything multiple times. Congratulations Your Planet has been Chosen for Initialization Would you like to take the Hard Tutorial Y/N Zora didn't hesitate to click Y. Congratulations You have awoken the DAMSEL SYSTEM Accept rewards Y/N Zora's heart sank. A fist formed in her gut. Through gritted teeth she clicked N. She was promised a good System by Joon. And she had been warned it may take some time to get it, but Zora refused to be a damsel ever again. Quest Generated Please complete Quests for Rewards. Quest Objective Survive for 1 Solar Day Quest Rewards: 50+ Syscos per day Accept: Y/N New Skill Acquired By being selected for Initialization, your System has been upgraded with the following skills. New Skill: System Store LVL 1 Group Formation LVL 1 Identification LVL 1 Please say or think the skill name to use it. Explantation in Status Screen WELCOME 92:12:53:13 Zora woke up in a tree. Lying on a branch it was at least 5 feet in diameter. The area around her echoed with wildlife as birds called, and frogs croaked. Sweat was already breaking out on her skin from the heat. She took off her jacket. Checking herself she still had everything. Both necklaces and her rings were still there. She sighed in relief as she willed out her dagger. Looking around she made sure there was nothing watching her. When her eyes were brought down she noticed how high up she was. At least 50 feet in the air. The floor below looked more like a jungle than anything. Dark green fauna littered the ground. The tree she was in kept going up and up. For now she needed to get down. Walking on the branch that only got thicker toward the trunk, she made it easily. It was a tangle of vines. Gripping one she slowly made her way to the jungle floor. Noise everywhere, some of the calls sounded familiar, but she still hadn't seen the birds making the sounds. When she got to the forest floor she jumped as the tail of a large snake slithered past her. At least 2 feet in diameter its skin matched perfectly with the jungle foliage. Luckily it hadn't seen her. Should I kill it? She thought, but decided against it. She needed to find the other girls, maybe one of them would have a System and they could pull out more gear from Zora's ring. When she felt the snake was far enough away she decided to go in a different direction than it had headed. Trees about 100 feet apart from one another the green bushes on the ground had palm tree-like leaves that littered the floor. 2 feet tall she worried about what was underneath hiding, but settled on cautiously walking. After a while of hiking she hadn't seen or heard anyone. She had dodged past a 4 foot tall toad, and another bigger snake, but nothing had bothered her. All the while the loud wildlife overhead called and echoed down to her. When she found a tree with a large break in the viney base good enough for shelter she caught movement. Ducking down she focused on it. It was a humanoid. Bipedal with 2 arms and black skin. But not African American black, coal black. With light gray hair on the top of his head Zora doubted it was a human. She assumed it was a man by the way they walked. Slowly she started to follow it. The sound of her movements were well hidden by bird calls. She kept back a couple of hundred feet and kept low to the palm bushes. Silently they made their way through the forest. The alien appeared to know where he was going. Then he slowed down as he walked behind a tree. Zora worried he had spotted her, but as she crept closer she heard voices. They didn't speak in any language she knew of. More guttural, and deeper tones. She got more creeped out by the words they spoke as she studied the strangers. Along with the coal black humanoid there was a pale gray one. He was slim and wore nothing but a darkly colored hide that resembled pants. A long black tail swung behind him. Beside him was a man-like beast with dark red skin. Big black horns protruded from his head. His muscular form bulged under a metal breastplate. They looked like demons to her. Like devils in the flesh. A shiver ran down her spine as they spoke more. She began to get freaked out by their presence. If her Tutorial was filled with demons she was screwed. Too much church had instilled a great fear of these beings. She was about to slink away when the gray one stepped into the bushes. Lifting something from the ground he soon pulled a dark haired girl into the clearing they had made. It was Galina. The gray one pulled her to face the other 2 demons. She was crying as he manhandled her. Without preamble he said something and tore off her shirt revealing her bra covered chest. The 3 quieted at the view. Zora held her hand under the palm leaves as she willed the handgun into it. The white light was hidden. Her hands began to shake as she took the safety off. Looking up she noticed the gray skinned demon back away from the scared girl as they yelled at Galina. She shook and cried. Zora was done hesitating. She was done with men taking from her those she loved. She was done being scared. She stood up confidently. Striding toward them she leveled the Glock at the gray demon and began firing. The first 2 missed, but as the 3 demons noticed her a bullet took him square in the forehead. Zora! Galina yelled from the ground. She had ducked down as soon as the firing started. Zora chided herself and sent a Group Invitation mentally. The other 2 demons had disappeared as she looked at Galina. Cursing she aimed her handgun trying to see any movement. The jungle was dead silent now. Nothing stirred. She turned thinking something was behind her. Turning back the gun was ripped from her hand and thrown away. She thought it was telekinesis but the coal black demon appeared in front of her. Zora ducked down dodging a blow and willed the dagger into her hand. Spinning she kicked the demon's legs and drove the blade into its throat as it fell. It gurgled but Zora was looking for the other one. She had spent weeks in the Training Hall practicing for this day. Zora now willed the Uzi into her open palm. Once the safety was off she scanned the area again, walking closer to Galina. There! Her friend yelled. Zora turned to watch the spear hit her directly in the gut. She was thrown back with the force of it. Crying out she looked through bleary eyes until the red demon crawled toward her from the brush. Pulling the spear out with one hand she raised the Uzi and started spraying at the quickly approaching demon. One or two of the bullets bounced off its thick black horns but most went into its face and arms as it crawled. When it was almost upon her it fell to the ground dead. Zora breathed heavily as her gun pointed at the monster. Then the pop up appeared Congratulations You have awoken the WHITE KNIGHT SYSTEM Accept rewards Y/N Zora cried happily as she read. Galina cried as she crawled to her. Hands still tied she was a complete mess. Don't die Zora. We need you, Galina moaned. Assuming the tears were sad ones. Don't worry. I leveled, she said. My health is full now. She was almost giddy as she stood and cut her friends' bindings. The hole in her gut was already a distant memory as more pop-ups appeared in her field of view. Congratulations On reaching level 2 Rewards: System Coins x 75 Danger Sense x 1 Holy Smite x 1 Congratulations For reaching level 3 you have learned the skill PURE LIGHT LVL 1 She pulled up her status screen and read through the skill explanations. DANGER SENSE LVL 1 Sense when yourself and those close to you are in danger. HOLY SMITE LVL 1 Channel Holy Mana into your attacks. PURE LIGHT LVL 1 Cure common ailments, and heal minor wounds using Holy Mana. With the explanation she would need to focus on physical stats and magical stats. With a smile she moved her stat points around. Her luck had been 8 before, so she really needed to bring that up as well, along with most of her stats. Name: Zora Mlakar Skills: Alias: N/A Identification LVL 1 System: WHITE KNIGHT System Store LVL 1 Level: 3 Group Formation LVL 1 Experience 50/200 Danger Sense LVL 1 Title: N/A Holy Smite LVL 1 Guild: N/A Pure Light LVL 1 Syscos: 75 HP: 39 /39 MP: 36 /36 Stats: 0 Strength: 13 Dexterity: 11 Endurance: 13 Agility: 11 Wisdom: 12 Intelligence: 12 Luck: 10 Charm: 12 Custom Stats: N/A N/A Zora could tell she would have to put her stats in everything. Since mana and strength were used for both she would have to balance it all. Setting her stats she thought of everything in her ring and dumped it out. Mixing and matching armor they soon had more protection. Blades in hand Zora checked the demons to make sure they were dead. They didn't have anything useful on them, but she did take the red one's spear. Let's go find the others, she said. A smile on her face. Doug followed behind the group. 4 guys and 1 girl were in front of him. They nervously walked through the trees. Are you sure about this? One of them asked. I'm sure, Doug said. He had found nearly 20 people and leveled once already. Goblins and kobolds were everywhere in the area. Most of the time he just had to follow the screams. He would have chided them for coming defenseless, but he had done the same You 5 are the only ones with Systems right now. And luckily you have the perfect setup. We got tank, heals, and damage dealers. So you all need to practice. Training wheels on for now. We find a few. Practice. Find a few more. Then I expect you to do it on your own while the others awaken their Systems. Is your System going to help us? The girl asked. Doug lied, yep, in a pinch. That seemed to give them enough confidence. It wasn't long till they found their first kobold. It was more dog-like than anything. A very ugly dog, but it kind of resembled one. Hairless skin, droopy eyes and ears, long nose. It walked around completely nude. Tank, you're up, Doug said. It's Peter, the guy said but walked forward. A shield and short sword in hand it was on loan from Doug for now. He planned to make the guy buy his own as soon as they finished their first quest. The kobold noticed them and didn't hesitate to run at him. Peter pushed it with his shield and tried to slash it, but the kobold was quick. Jumping back it caught its feet. It let out a screech but was stopped as a fireball hit it in the chest. A barking cough was let out by the kobold as Peter stepped up and stabbed the sword into it. The thing died with a wheeze. Alright! One of them said. Good job. Let's hope there's more next time, Doug said. He received no experience, but he had already received more experience that day than a month on Earth. The next group was 2 kobolds and the one after that was 4. Peter handled tanking well after he leveled and got a new shield bash skill. He was able to channel mana into the shield to strengthen it when it hit others. 1 more group then we go back. Everyone about done with their quest? The group nodded. They came around a stone outcropping only to stumble on the kobold camp. There were a few dozen of the monsters outside a cave. A short wood fence was thrown around the perimeter and wood teepees littered the area. A giant bonfire was in the middle of their camp. The kobolds went about their day around it. What's that? One of his people pointed to the far side. 2 wood crosses were staked into the ground. What looked like 2 people were crucified to them. Their chests were cut open, and eviscerated guts hung out. More than one person in his party turned to retch. Peter pulled out binoculars from a pocket and looked. 2 women, he said. How the fuck do you bring binoculars but not a weapon? Doug asked angrily. Don't know, Peter admitted as he handed him the small lenses. Doug reluctantly took them. He didn't want to puke in front of these guys. He wanted to pretend to be confident. But a part of him knew he had to look. What he saw in the binoculars made him black out. Over the next half hour he became lucid sporadically. When an arrow entered his back he gritted his teeth and blacked out again. When a small kobold stabbed him in the gut he split it in half with a yell. When a kobold caster hit him with a wave of ice he threw his sword, cutting it's hand off. The cry of the baby kobold was squelched as Doug stabbed a knife in its throat. In a daze he finally became lucid as he stumbled out of the teepee. Covered in blood. A lot was his own, most of it wasn't. 2 arrows stuck out of his back as he walked to the crosses. It had begun to rain at some point. Doug didn't notice. The others in the group finished off their kills in different parts of the camp, but he paid them no mind. He stepped up to the 2 crucified women. Helen's bright blonde hair covered her face. A mole on her outer thigh was the only reason he recognized her so easily. Of course he could recognize his mother with a glance. She still wore her pink bunny slippers. Their lifeless bodies only crumbled to the ground as he cut them down. Their bodies light without organs he dragged them to the bonfire and tossed them in one by one. As he stared at the flames he cried, but the rain hid it well. Congratulations You have been deemed worthy of a new System. WRATH SYSTEM Accept rewards Y/N He chuckled as he pushed Y. Would you like to relinquish current PIMP Skills for Syscos? Y/N No real reason not to, he pushed Y again. This time he minimized the other messages. Now that the screens were gone Doug walked into the cave to see if they missed any more kobolds. This place would be a good base for the other Initiates for now. As he searched every nook and cranny for kobolds he thought of a speech he had watched of Asher's. It was about current System Users needing to give their all. Every single person in the Tutorial was someone's loved one. It really hadn't hit home until Doug saw his only loved ones hanging dead in a camp of monsters. He needed to step up for these people. Needed to stop running from responsibility. Needed to get stronger to put up with this damn System. WELCOME TO YOUR PLANET'S TUTORIAL Your Tutorial ID is 1 Congratulations you are the Instructor for ID 1 Current Initiates: 1,021/1,021 Congratulations! Current Quest: Help 1,021 Initiates survive 92:04:00:00 Accept Y/N Fuck, Joon said as she clicked Y. Congratulations Due to the Tutorial chosen for you, you have been given the following skills. Inspection System Store Group Formation Omniauris Omnivox Well there's that at least, she said as her vision faded to black. She woke up in a mess of other bodies. Shooting up she escaped before the pandemonium started. People thrashed and kicked one another. Yelling and curses rang out in the hall. Joon let it happen. Studying the room: the walls, floor, and ceiling were a smooth black stone. The walls were 40 feet apart. Torches lined the walls illuminating the area. As people escaped the dog pile she decided to step in. Alright alright, that's enough, she said as she stepped in. Smacking people over the head they got out of her way. 2 large men wrestled one another on the ground in the middle. I said enough! She yelled, kicking the guy on top off. He was over 6'-6, but with her stats he was nothing. Listen up bitches, I know you all can understand me, so I don't want any of this pretending to not speak what I am. Because right now I am speaking every possible language, she said. The group shut up around her. She was easily one of the smallest people there. And 1 of maybe 100 women. I am Joon, your System Guide, she said loudly. I am level 22. Does anyone know what that means? No one said anything. All of you sit the fuck down! You're all too tall, she said. Quite a few did to her surprise. Not everyone of course. She walked up to the biggest one. Did you hear what I- she punched him in the gut. He bent over wheezing. That was a simple love tap. So when I say drop, you... she looked around and everyone lowered to the ground. There was some grumbling. Turning her back the big guy pulled a knife out from a boot sheathe. Joon simply turned back and pushed his head down to the ground with her open palm. His head squashed into the floor. Blood splattered out of his now squished skull like a slasher movie. His legs twitched and he died. No one said a thing as she willed out a rag and cleaned some blood off of her. I don't want to have to do that again, she informed them. I am your Instructor. And I get rewards depending on how many of you survive over the next 92 days. But don't expect me to coddle you, you understand? There were more than a few yes ma'ams'. Good. Now my earlier question. Does anyone here know what it means that I am level 22? No one? Ok, I will explain that I was the strongest person on the planet after my husband left Earth with some aliens. She let them slowly put together her words. There was only one famous person that had left the planet recently. We are in what is commonly called the Hell Tutorial, she announced. Most of the others are kind of fair. But the Hell Tutorial is a whole different ball game. The best of the best on the planet are taken here. Of course none of you are anything special to a level 5 System user, but for normal people you are what the System considers individuals with the most potential. How many of you have already awakened your Systems? She asked. Quite a few hands shot up. She did a walkthrough of Systems. Then explained that for now they would only be passing trials. She would walk people through their abilities if they survived to the next day. All of them would automatically receive Syscos based on how many people died in a day. The more that people died, the more Syscos they got. This was going to be an uphill struggle to keep them all alive. Alright, I think we are ready for the first test, she said out of the blue. Let's go, people, she said. Quickly walking down the hall it soon opened up into a wide room. A white line painted on the ground, she stopped just before crossing it. I don't know all the trials here, but I know a few, she admitted. The 1,020 people stared at the room behind her in awe. It had opened up to be 300 feet across, the ceiling was so high it could no longer be seen clearly. Arrows will shoot out of little pockets from each wall. The trick here is to stay in the middle. Also, no arrows should come from the same wall twice in a row, she said. Watch for now, she said, talking like a school teacher. Willing a fat bladed dagger in each hand she stepped past the white line. The first arrow shot at her torso. Smoothly moving a blade the metal of the arrow hitting it made a clink sound as it dropped to the ground. Then another one was blocked from the other side. Joon continued walking in a straight line. Some arrows missed her completely, but all others were blocked by her daggers. When she passed another white line she got another notification. You have passed the Test of Arrows. Experience Rewarded +1000 Extra Experience for blocking 50+ arrows Experience Rewarded +750 Joon decided to keep the extra experience to herself. Turning around she felt happy seeing the stunned look on the strongest people in the world's faces. Opening up a portal she stepped through onto the other side where everyone else was. Got it? We don't have all day people. Let's move it, she yelled. A small Latino girl with a cocky look on her face spoke up. How come you don't just open one of these portals and let us through? Good question, Joon said. Sorry, sometimes I forget how much people don't know. This is a Test, she said pointing to the arrows. Though there are many like it, this is your first and easiest one. Once you pass the white line on the other side you will receive experience points'. Those experience points', she said as she used bunny ears to emphasize experience, will allow you to level up. Those levels will give you the ability to move stats. If you do not have these stats allocated, each trial will become harder. If you do not know where to put these stats, let me make it easy for you. If your System uses a sword, put the stats in strength, endurance, and agility, if you use magic put it in Wisdom and Intelligence. Joon paused, there were no more questions. You will level up about 5 times when you pass this 1 trial. Not all of you will make it. If too many bodies litter the middle I will clean them up, but there is no stopping. If you get hit just keep running. Leveling up will heal you completely. Joon then stepped and leapt to the other side of the trail. She knew how to use her strength. No arrow was close to her as she soared. She landed on the other side easily. It took an hour but 947 survived the trial. About twice the number that had survived the 1st trial in her last timeline. They had purged out the slow. Very good. We won't always be together. We will be split up eventually but there is always a common theme to these tests. Just expect the worst outcome and you'll probably be right. And another thing, there are 2 other species of Initiates going through this same trial. We will run into them at some point. If you see them try not to kill them. Just find me. They are just as scared as you all are. You can recognize them by