The forest swallowed them as soon as they left the clearing.
The sunlight, once warm and dappled through the upper branches, now filtered in as thin, wary beams, as if uncertain it wanted to touch this place. The trees grew thicker. The ground softer. The air heavier.
Mike led the way, Lumi bundled in his arms despite the fox’s protests. His small body trembled with leftover adrenaline and pain, little sparks flickering weakly through his fur. Sael followed close behind, eyes darting at every sound. The orb hovered silently, unusually dim, as if the System itself understood that speaking now would be unkind.
They walked until the clearing was well out of sight and the distant echo of the hostile candidate’s death faded into the background heartbeat of the forest. Mike finally slowed, chest heaving. His muscles burned, and not in the good “I worked out” way — more like “I got hit by a rock and then electrocuted myself.”
He found a spot between three thick roots forming a natural alcove and stopped there.
“Let’s… rest,” he muttered.
Sael nodded shakily and collapsed onto one of the roots, pulling their knees up.
Mike gently set Lumi down and knelt beside him. “Hey, little guy. Let me see.”
Lumi bared his teeth in a tiny hiss — defensive, but not directed at Mike. He was hurting and frightened, but he still pawed weakly toward Mike’s chest as if afraid to be separated.
“That was a hard kick,” Mike whispered, stroking the fox’s fur. Static tingled against his fingers. “You shouldn’t have jumped in. Brave idiot.”
Lumi sniffed indignantly.
The orb hovered closer.
Companion injury: Minor soft tissue damage. Mana shock.
Healing rate: Accelerated.
Stabilization recommended: light mana exposure.
Mike frowned. “Light mana exposure? How?”
Your lightning affinity can be regulated to produce low-output mana.
However, Candidate Storm’s fine control is… suboptimal.
“That’s one way to say I suck.”
It is the polite way.
Sael exhaled shakily from the root. “Please… do not explode the fox.”
Mike shot them a look. “Why would you say it like that? Why would you put that image in my—”
He closed his eyes.
He had no wand, no staff, no channeling gear. Just his hands, his nerves, and a class built from pure cosmic chaos.
“Okay, Lumi,” he murmured. “I’m going to try something gentle. Emphasis on try.”
Lumi nuzzled his palm despite the pain.
Mike inhaled, focusing on the spark inside him. Not the violent burst. Not the chaotic surge. Just the faint hum — like static building before touching a doorknob.
He coaxed the energy forward.
A dim, soft crackle danced between his fingertips.
Lumi bumped his head into Mike’s hand.
The orb pulsed.
Good. Maintain output. Do not increase voltage. Do not increase intensity. Do not—
Mike glared. “Do not jinx me.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
He guided the faint current along Lumi’s side. The fox shivered… then relaxed, his breathing becoming steadier. His fur smoothed down. The little sparks around him brightened ever so slightly.
Sael watched with wide eyes. “This is… impressive. Lightning… healing?”
“Not healing,” Mike said. “Just… encouraging. Like a hot pad for mana.”
He gently released the energy and sat back. Lumi curled against his leg and promptly fell asleep.
Mike let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding.
Then the orb spoke.
Candidate Storm. New tutorial data available.
Mike stiffened.
“Oh no,” he muttered. “Please don’t say something like: ‘the next quest is kill five more people.’”
Incorrect. Your main quest is survival.
“That’s… marginally better.”
Follow-up tutorial briefing is due. Postponed until combat ceased. Resuming now.
Mike groaned and leaned against a root. “Fine. Hit me.”
The System notification appeared.
[Tutorial Quest: FIRST SELECTION — Detailed Parameters]
Survive the next 72 hours.
Avoid lethal threats or eliminate them.
Optional objectives provide bonus experience and rewards.
Mandatory Objective:
? Stay alive.
Secondary Objectives (Optional):
? Eliminate hostile candidates (Reward: Increased XP gain)
? Defeat local predators (Reward: Item drops / XP)
? Discover a Minor Zone Boss (Reward: Skill awakening)
? Form temporary alliances (Reward: none / strategic benefit)
System Clarification:
? PvP is permitted.
? PvP rewards vary based on candidate hostility rating.
? Not all candidates are hostile.
? The System neither encourages nor prohibits cooperation.
? Only survival is mandatory.
Mike stared at the list.
Sael looked horrified.
“You’re kidding,” Mike whispered. “We’re in a survival arena.”
Correct.
This tutorial simulates real multiversal conditions.
Hostile sapients exist. Hostile environments exist. Hostile gods exist.
Candidates must demonstrate survivability.
“So the tutorial teaches us… to kill?”
The tutorial teaches you to survive.
Methods vary.
Mike scrubbed both hands through his hair. “How did we think this would be like… stats menu, pick a class, kill some slimes?”
“Slimes?” Sael whispered weakly.
“Little goo balls. Typically friendly. Except the carnivorous ones.”
Sael pressed a hand to their forehead.
The orb rotated slightly, scanning the surroundings.
Candidate Storm. Candidate Sael.
Survival probability increases significantly if you relocate.
“Why?” Mike asked.
Because your imprint is still faintly active.
And because hostile candidates can track movement.
Most will have received starter equipment. Swords. Shields. Ranged weapons. Mana foci.
Sael blinked. “Weapons? Equipment? Why did—why did we not receive—”
Their gaze darted to Mike.
Realization dawned.
“Mike,” they whispered, “you were… not prepared.”
Mike laughed once, humorless. “Understatement of the century.”
He had nothing. No weapon. No armor. No skill focus. Just a damaged tunic, a fox, a terrified alien friend, and hands that flickered like faulty lightbulbs.
“Hold on,” he said suddenly. “Sael. Did you get equipment? Anything?”
Sael shook their head. “My integration… was chaotic. My group panicked. We teleported in—unarmed.”
“Great,” Mike muttered. “So it’s not just me.”
The orb corrected him:
Candidate Sael’s sector received class loadouts.
Candidate Sael’s subgroup did not retrieve theirs before scattering.
Mike stared. “So gear existed—Sael just didn’t get to theirs.”
Sael’s shoulders slumped in shame.
“I ran,” they whispered. “We were meant to collect the starter equipment from the obelisks. But… monsters… noise… I ran.”
Mike gently touched their shoulder.
“Hey. Running doesn’t make you weak. It means you’re alive.”
Sael’s eyes glistened.
Lumi stirred in his sleep and nuzzled Mike’s side again.
The orb chimed.
Recommendation: Locate equipment obelisk for Candidate Storm and Candidate Sael.
Starter gear will drastically improve survival rate.
Mike sat upright. “Where?”
Estimated distance: 1.3 kilometers northeast.
Terrain difficulty: moderate.
Possible hostiles: multiple.
Mike exhaled.
“We’re going.”
Sael nodded weakly. “Yes. Equipment. Safety.”
Lumi opened his eyes, stretched, and hopped onto Mike’s shoulder.
“Feeling better?” Mike asked.
Lumi headbutted him.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Mike stood, legs trembling but holding. He looked at the forest ahead—darker, denser, filled with rustling whispers and unseen shapes.
No going back.
No resting forever.
They needed weapons. Armor. A chance.
Mike set his jaw.
“Alright. Let’s move.”
The orb brightened, lighting the path.
They stepped forward.
Leaves rustled softly.
A distant roar answered the faint imprint still lingering in the air.
A reminder that the forest had not forgotten the flicker of chaos that erupted earlier.
Mike tightened his grip on Lumi and quickened his pace.
Behind him, Sael whispered in their own language — not a prayer this time, but something steadier.
A vow.
They disappeared deeper into the forest.
The System’s timer continued to count down:
[First Selection — Time Remaining: 69:13:08]
And something unseen in the trees turned toward them.
Hungry.
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