Fear Effects:
- -15% Accuracy
- -15% Movement Speed while within 15ft of creature
- -10% Damage
Duration: 5 Seconds
“Oh fuck me.” Darren draws his axes with trembling hands. Why didn’t I check the area first? I just got too excited and ran straight past a fucking bear den. “Well, Smokey, I didn’t start the fire.” The bear charges. “Got it, not a Billy Joel fan.” Identify!
Identification Successful. You have successfully identified a Brown Bear (Common). HP (Health Points) 65/65.
As the bear reaches Darren, it swipes out with its claws.
Brown Bear (Common) hits you for 20 points of damage. Current HP 130/150
The fit sends Darren tumbling to the side. Skipping and rolling off the ground for a few feet, Darren shakily gets to his feet. The bear is already there.
Brown Bear (Common) bites you for 20 points of damage. Current HP 110/150
Dammit, this thing is relentless. With his left arm in the bear’s jaw, Darren swings the axe in his right hand.
You damage Brown Bear (Common) for 6 points of damage. Current HP 59/65
That didn’t do as much as I hoped. Darren swings his axe two more times.
You damage, x2, Brown Bear (Common) for 12 points of damage. Current HP 47/65
With the second hit of Darren's latest attack, the bear thrashes its head, throwing Darren like a rag doll.
Brown Bear (Common) hits you with a Thrashing attack for 60 points of damage. Current HP 50/150.
Coming to a stop, Darren sees the bear charging forward. Diving to the side, Darren just avoids the oncoming bear. With a little breathing room, the bear turns around; Darren sees that the Fear Effect has lifted. Darren tightens his grip on his axes. “Come get me!” Taunt!
You successfully Taunt Brown Bear (Common) for 10 seconds.
“Come on.” Darren clangs his axes together, provoking the bear to attack. This has worked twice before; hopefully, it works now. The bear lets out a thunderous roar as it changes Darren. Seeing his moment, Darren sidesteps and swings both axes.
Congratulations, you have unlocked a new Skill.
Counter Strike (Common - Warrior/Rogue) Level 1 - Passive/Active, SP 20. You find the opportune time to strike out at your opponent. When you successfully dodge, evade, or block an attack, you automatically perform a Counter Strike. You gain the following when performing a Counter Strike.
- +20% weapon damage
- +10% critical hit chance
Can only be triggered once every 5 seconds.
You gain 10 XP. XP to next level 300.
You hit Brown Bear (Common) with a Dual Chop Counter Strike for 34 points of Critical Damage. Current HP 13/65
Brown Bear (Common) enters a Frenzied State. All Attack Damage increased by 10%.
Turning around faster than Darren expected, the bear slashes out at him.
Brown Bear (Common) Frenzied hit you for 25 damage. Current HP 25/150.
Shit! The next attack is going to decide this. Without further thought, Darren swings his axes at the bear’s head.
You hit Brown Bear (Common), Frenzied with a Dual Chop for 25 points of Damage.
Congratulations, you have defeated Brown Bear (Common) Level 3. You gain 50 XP. XP to next level 250.
Congratulations, your Dual Chop has reached Level 2.
Dual Chop (Basic - Warrior) Level 2 - Active 10 SP: You perform a powerful attack by swinging both weapons. You gain
- +5 to attack damage
- +5% critical chance
You gain 5 XP. XP to next level 245
Breathing heavily, Darren takes out and drinks a Health Potion. Hey, it’s Cherry Flavored. What flavors are the others? Stamina is Green, so Apple? Mana is Blue, so Blue Raspberry, Grape? Questions for later. Darren pulls up his character sheet.
Name: Darren Peterson
Level: 1
Race: Human
Class: Warrior (Dual Wielding)
Affinity: NA
Attributes:
HP (Health Points): 50/150
SP (Stamina Points): 95/150
MP (Mana Points): 150/150
Strength - 16
Dexterity - 14 (12+2)
Endurance - 15
Constitution - 15
Intelligence - 12
Willpower - 15
Cunning - 10
Perception - 13
Unspent Attribute Points: 0
Skills:
Universal Skills:
Universal Translation (Very Rare) = As a new being to the System, you understand all spoken and written languages.
Magic Resistance (Common) = You naturally resist magical damage related to your Elemental Affinity. As you increase this skill, you increase your resistance.
Elemental Affinity (Uncommon ~ Mythic) = You are naturally attuned to an element. As you increase this skill, you may unlock additional Affinities or Sub-affinities.
Regeneration (Rare) = You naturally regain a small amount (5% per minute) of Health, Stamina, and Magic when not in Combat. As you increase this skill, your rate of regeneration increases.
General Skills:
Running (Basic) Level 1 = The stamina cost for running is decreased by 2%, allowing you to increase the distance you run by 2%
Jumping (Basic) Level 1 = Your Jumping distance has increased by 2%, and the stamina cost for jumping has been decreased by 2%
Climbing (Basic) Level 1 = The stamina cost for climbing is decreased by 2%, allowing you to increase your climbing speed by 2%
Investigation (Basic) Level 1 = You gain +2 to your Perception when actively searching an area.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Identification (Basic) Level 1 = You can glean basic information on Creatures and Objects.
Cooking (Basic) Level 1 = You can cook simple meals. When you create these simple meals, you gain a small bonus to your Regeneration skill.
Class Skills:
Improvised Attack (Basic) Level 1 - Passive: When making an unorthodox attack or an attack with an Improvised Weapon, you gain +2% to the attack damage.
Dual Chop (Basic - Warrior) Level 2 - Active 10 SP: You perform a powerful attack by swinging both weapons. You gain the following:
- +6 to attack damage
- +5% critical chance
Thrown Weapons (Basic - Warrior/Rogue) Level 1 - Active 10 SP: You throw your weapon as part of an attack. You gain +5 to attack damage, +2% to accuracy, +2% to throwing distance.
Taunt (Basic - Warrior) Level 1 - Active 15 SP: You challenge a nearby enemy, causing it to focus on you. The affected enemy prioritizes attacking you over your allies for the next 10 seconds. The affected enemy also suffers a -5% accuracy drop to all attacks that do not target you.
Counter Strike (Basic - Warrior/Rogue) Level 1 - Passive/Active 20 SP: You find the opportune time to strike out at your opponent. When you successfully dodge, evade, or block an attack, you automatically perform a Counter Strike. You gain the following when performing a Counter Strike.
- +20% weapon damage
- +10% critical hit chance
Can only be triggered once every 5 seconds.
Titles:
Tutorial Pioneer (Rare): Effect, you gain an additional +1 Attribute Point at levels 1, 3, and 5 while within the Tutorial.
“That’s pretty good growth, and I leveled up a skill.” Darren leans down and loots the bear.
Congratulations, you receive the following loot:
- Brown Bear Pelt (Common - Crafting) x1
- Brown Beat Claws (Common - Crafting) x6
- Brown Bear Meat (Common - Cooking) x2
- System Credits: 40
Not too bad. Looking over to the bear’s den, Darren decides to check it out.
Entering the den, the first thing Darren notices is the smell. A mix of musk, dirt, copper, and wet dog. “Ugh. This reminds me of Tyson’s dorm.” Investigate.
Investigation Successful: Brown Bear Den. A bear den and cache, allowing a Brown Bear to rest and store items for hibernation. Using it as a shelter will offer you full protection.
“Well, if it’s a cache, there must be some useful items in here.” Darren starts thoroughly searching the den. Toward the back, Darren finds a humanoid skeleton. Investigate.
Investigation Successful: Northener’s Skeleton. The remains of a Northern Explorer. You gain the following:
- Warn Leather Pack (Common): Increase your Inventory by 10 Slots.
- Health Potion (Basic) x2
- System Credit 25
Lifting the pack, Darren sees something poking out from under a rock. Trying to pull it out, it doesn’t budge. Darren starts to dig, and as he does, he notices the ground getting colder. “What the hell is buried here?” With another tug, Darren pulls an axe from the ground. Identify.
Identification Successful: Northerner’s Axe (Uncommon): Base Damage 9 (Slashing) + 5 Frost. Passive Ability - Chill: Targets struck suffer -5% movement speed for 3 seconds.
“This is a sweet weapon upgrade.” Darren gives that axe some test swings. “This feels better than the Iron Axes. I’m going to need to find a partner for this guy. Let’s check my inventory and my System Credits. I’ve kinda been ignoring those.”
Inventory: Slots available 14/25
- Health Potion (Basic) x3
- Stamina Potion (Basic) x3
- Mana Potion (Basic) x3
- Fox Pelt (Basic - Crafting) x3
- Fox Canine (Basic - Crafting) x6
- Squirrel Pelt (Basic - Crafting) x6
- Squirrel Meat (Basic - Cooking) x3
- Juvenile Forest Striker (Basic - Crafting) Pelt x1
- Juvenile Forest Striker Claws (Basic - Crafting) x5
- Juvenile Forest Striker Fangs (Basic - Crafting) x2
- Brown Bear Pelt (Common - Crafting) x1
- Brown Bear Claws (Common - Crafting) x6
- Brown Bear Meat (Common - Cooking) x2
- Iron Axe (Basic) x1
System Credits: 142
I wonder, Investigate?
Investigation Successful: System Credits. System Credits is the currency used across the system. 1 System Credit is worth ~$2 USD. Until you finish your tutorial, access to the System Store is blocked.
“Interesting. I have about $284 on hand. Too bad I can’t spend it yet.” Derren pulls up his status bars.
HP (Health Points): 150/150
SP (Stamina Points): 150/150
MP (Mana Points): 150/150
“Wow, Regeneration is no joke. It’s only been about 15-20 minutes since I started searching the den here.” Scratching his head in amazement, Darren walks back to the edge of the outcropping.
Before looking over the edge, Darren takes a quick scan of the area. Not getting surprised again. Not seeing anything behind or around him, Darren looks over the edge. Taking a closer look, Darren sets some mental waypoints. “This valley is huge, but it looks like all paths lead to that labyrinth. I mean, it is called the Forest Labirynth, I just wasn’t expecting a literal labyrinth.” Looking closer to the outcropping, “There’s that shrine-looking area. The smoke I saw earlier is gone, which means it was probably a campfire. Which means there’s someone down there.” A smile crosses Darren’s face. “Human interaction.” Looking up at the sky, Darren sees the sun starting to set. “I didn’t realize how long it took me to get up here. I’ll camp here tonight.”
After gathering firewood, Darren set up camp in the den. Let’s roast up some squirrel and get some rest. I wonder if I can use the bear pelt as a blanket? After eating, Darren pulls out the bear pelt. This should work. Using his pack as a pillow, Darren starts to drift off to sleep.
“Come on, Darren, keep up,” Tyson calls out as he picks up his pace, running ahead of Darren.
“Seriously, Tyson? I’d prefer not to run the last few laps at my limit.” Darren shouts as he tries to catch up.
“That’s how we push out limits.” Tyson and Darren say at the same time.
“You know, there’s something sad about quoting our High School track coach years after we graduated, right?” Darren yells at Tyson.
Looking to the bleachers, “Liz, back me up here.”
A dark-haired woman calls back, “He’s right, Tyson. Quoting Coach Stephens is a kinda sad. But Darren, your ‘limit’ has been dropping lately, so listen to the professional.”
The three share a laugh as Darren and Tyson start to ease up their run.
Making their way to the bleachers, Tyson throws an arm around Darren. “See, even Liz can see what that office job is doing to you. Soon you won’t even be able to jog around the block without being winded.”
Darren nudges Tyson in the ribs. “Sorry, we can’t all be personal trainers. You keep pushing me like this, and I’ll have to either start paying you…or fire you.”
Looking back to the bleachers, Darren stops walking. Trees have started growing out of the bleachers as the sky begins to darken. “What the fuck is happening?”
Darren looks for Liz, but she’s gone. Looking to his side, Tyson is gone too. Within seconds, the track field and bleachers disappear, leaving Darren in a dark forest that’s grown around a broken stone pathway. “Where am I?”
Standing alone in the eerily quiet woods, Darren scans his new surroundings. “Hello? Tyson? Liz? Is anyone there?” Nothing except the wind answers him.
Looking along the broken path, Darren sees stone lanterns lining the path. Ahead of him, they begin to ignite one by one. Looking behind, they are all dark.
Frowning, “Ok…Guess I’ll follow the light.” Slowly, Darren starts walking down the lit path.
Walking for what could have been minutes or hours, something feels off with Darren’s sense of time. The trees began to thin. Filling in the spaces, small ruined stone buildings begin to crop up. “What is this place, an old monastery?”
Continuing down the path, more small buildings came into view. Most are crumbled in on themselves. Others are clearly empty. In the distance, two things catch Darren’s eye. The first is a weathered shrine. The other is a pair of large statues flanking the shrine’s entrance.
Walking up to the statues, two things stand out to Darren.
“These are Komainu statues.”
Studying them, Darren notices that the right statue is smaller and has an open mouth. The left is a larger closed-mouth version, covered in a spiderweb of deep cracks.
“It looks like this thing is ready to fall apart.” Reaching out, Darren runs a finger along a crack.
At his touch, the statue crumbles to dust. “What the hell?”
Frowning, Darren places his hand on the statue. “Oh, good, you’re ok.”
Patting the head, Darren starts to walk away.
Stopping, Darren turns around, “Wait a second.”
Stepping closer, Darren studies the statue.
“Strange. This looks like the pre-order statue I was looking forward to.”
A wind begins to blow from the direction of the shrine.
Derren hears something. Cocking his head and concentrating, “Is that…an animal whimpering?”
The wind begins to pick up, rustling the trees and causing the dust and leaves to swirl around Darren’s feet.
As the wind picks up, the whimpering starts to fade. The winds blow faster and faster. Darren worries that he’ll be lifted off his feet.
Suddenly, the winds stop. Leaving the area completely silent.
A heartbeat passes.
A monstrous howl cuts through the silence.
Spinning in place, Darren tries to locate the sound.
Darren stops.
A set of glowing eyes was looking at him from the shrine’s entrance.
What should I do? Should I run? Would I be able to outrun whatever the fuck that is?
Feeling uncontrolably unsteady, Darren rests his hand on the intact statue. A warmth fills Darren’s palm, spreading through his body.
As the warmth spreads, a strong protective aura radiates from the Komainu statue.
Looking at the statue, Darren spots movement out of the corner of his eye. The large shadow is charging forward.
Before he can react, the howling shadow slams into Darren, engulfing him.
With a sharp gasp, Darren bolts upright. The dying light of the campfire throws flickering shadows across the walls of the den.
For several seconds, Darren doesn’t move.
The only sound in the darkness? His heartbeat in his ears.