The system chime came just before dawn. Kaizer sat upright in his bedroll, eyes snapping open as the familiar sensation rippled through his body.
[Tutorial Day 12/30]
[Participants Remaining: 4,381/10,000]
He stared at the message longer than he had meant to. More than half gone now. Monsters. Accidents. Bad decisions. What worried Kaizer the most though was the amount who had potentially been killed by other humans. He exhaled slowly and let the message fade. Twelve days had passed. They were almost halfway.
Being together is better than dying alone, he told himself, the thought settling like a stone in his chest. The justification was being used far more regularly lately. He rolled his shoulders and pushed himself to his feet. His leg was almost fully healed at this point. Kaizer was still surprised at just how quickly injuries healed in this world. Would it be the same after the tutorial? Who knows.
Kaizer spent the morning on a solo scouting run. He had volunteered for it. No one questioned the decision. In fact, it seemed like the leadership was happy that Kaizer seemed to be fitting in so well. When Kaizer had volunteered, Rourke slapped him on the back with a smile and told him he could set off right away.
The forest was quieter than he remembered. It wasn’t empty, but it didn’t feel like there was anything of higher levels around anymore. Kaizer moved carefully, spear low, senses extended. His senses were slowly getting better. He noticed tracks before he realised what he was even looking at. Broken undergrowth. The biggest change was his sense of smell. Subtle scent trails became a lot stronger.
The first monster fell quickly. A hunched, wolf-like thing with too many joints in its legs. It lunged. Kaizer sidestepped, thrust cleanly through the throat. The second was slower. He took a shallow cut along his ribs but crushed its skull with his claws right after. By the third fight, something had shifted. He found it much easier to read the monsters movements. These wolf like creatures were pack hunters but Kaizer found them very easy to understand. His movements become more economical, expending less energy. Each kill, Kaizer could feel the familiar warmth, proof of growth.
By the time Kaizer had finished his scouting, he had come across an obvious dungeon near a cave. Whilst it wasn’t the time to explore it, Kaizer made a mental note. The dark void that filled the entrance was enticing to his lust for growth. He slowly returned to camp, blood drying on his armour. He had fought enough monsters to level up multiple times.
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
Kaizer paused in a known safe area, leaning against a tree as warmth spread through his limbs. This time, he didn’t rush. He sat, closed his eyes and let the sensation settle. It was time to allocate. He had saved 9 free points previously, and received another 12 free points. To his enjoyment, during his hunt, his profession also levelled 3 times and he found that the automatic point was allocated to perception, a nice addition to his build. By the end of his allocation, he looked back on his character sheet and smiled.
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STATUS WINDOW
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Name: Kaizer Harth
Race: Human (Beast Touched)
Class: Bestial Fighter (Rare – Level 9)
Profession: Harvester (Inferior – Level 4)
Core Rank: Initiate
Essence Capacity: Rank F
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ATTRIBUTES
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Strength: 15 (+1)
Endurance: 15 (+1)
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Agility: 18 (+2)
Perception: 13
Mind: 15
Instinct: 33
Free Points: 0
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TRAITS
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Divine Blessing of Silver
Instinctive Regeneration
Feral Insight
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SKILLS
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Beast Claw (Inferior)
Beast Extraction (Inferior)
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Equipment
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Short Bone Spear (Inferior – Initiate)
Crude Leather Armour (Inferior – Initiate)
Crude Leather Boots (Inferior – Initiate)
Crude Leather Wrappings (Inferior – Initiate)
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Kaizer had allocated the points very carefully. He brought mind up first, it was enough to actually feel the clarity, he could feel the essence in his body swirling denser. His mind also felt less cloudy. Then he brought up endurance. Immediately, he noticed a bulkier body. At this point, average stomach and size had changed. He looked more like an Olympian athlete. He could still feel his wounds but they felt less intrusive, like he could take more punishment before falling. After this, he focused on rounding his stats out.
Kaizer smiled at his allocations. He had decided before levelling to start bringing his numbers into a more round position. Instinct was still well ahead of everything else. He could feel it shaping how he perceived the world. In these easier fights, he had realised that his instinct gave him an edge towards things like prediction. Knowing how something moves, or subconsciously understanding the danger of attacks allowed him to avoid things otherwise unavoidable. Unfortunately, his body hadn’t been able to keep up previously, causing Kaizer to take some attacks he could have dodged or blocked. Kaizer hoped that this new build would bring his body more in line with his reaction times.
Kaizer closed the status window and let his head rest against a tree trunk. Knowing this area was safe allowed the pressure in his body to fade away. His instincts dulled just enough that he could breathe without tension coiling in his gut. Footsteps crunched through the leaves a few minutes later.
“Figured we’d find you here,” a voice called out. Kaizer opened his eyes as three figures emerged from between the trees. He recognised them immediately. Tomas first, broad-shouldered and red-faced, carrying a heavy cleaver strapped to his pack. Mara followed a step behind him, lean and sharp-eyed, a short bow slung over one shoulder. The last was Len, older than the rest, greying beard braided loosely, walking with the easy confidence of someone who’s survived more then he would talk about.
“Morning,” Kaizer said, pushing himself upright.
Tomas snorted. “You call this morning? Sun’s already halfway up. You’re getting soft.”
Mara smirked. “That’s rich coming from you. You were still snoring when we left.”
Len chuckled as he settled against a nearby rock. “Rourke sent us to sweep the eastern forest. Found nothing worth mentioning. Figured we’d circle back and see if you were still breathing… That reminds me Tomas, you owe me a beer.”
Tomas snorted as Kaizer gestured vaguely to the blood drying on his armour. “Barely, had a good run in.” Mara’s gaze flicked over him, lingering on the leather, the spear, the way he stood. “You… look good,” she said, almost flirting.
Kaizer just shrugged. “Don’t feel it,” he said. “Well whatever it is, you’ve clearly levelled up,” Tomas replied. Kaizer hesitated the nodded. He didn’t feel comfortable revealing his exact level. For some reason, while he was comfortable with these people, he still felt the need to keep things from them.
Len was looking at Kaizer with an appraising eye. “Kinda explains why Rourke’s been smiling like a man who found an extra knife in his boot, you’re his new rising star.” Mara snorted. “He’s already talking about putting Kaizer on regular rotations. Said it last night.”
“That so?” Kaizer asked. “Mm,” she said. “Said you’re reliable and don’t complain about every little detail. Said you seem to understand how things work around here.” She rolled her eyes slightly. “High praise coming from that man.”
Tomas laughed. “Means you’re useful and pull your weight, not a pain in the ass like some of the others in camp.” The conversation drifted easily after that. Complains about ration sizes. Jokes about Jake getting drunk and challenging people twice his size. Tomas swore he’d seen something big moving near the river two nights ago. Mara saying he’s full of shit. Len quietly suggested they keep an eye out anyway.
For a moment, Kaizer almost forgot where he was. He found himself laughing at something Tomas said, the sound had felt strange in his own ears. Two weeks wasn’t long, but it had been a long time since anything really refreshing had happened. He almost felt normal. Eventually Len pushed himself to his feet. “We should head back. Don’t want to miss the evening count.”
“Yeah,” Tomas agreed. “Camp’s been tense lately. Best not give anyone an excuse to do something stupid.” Mara glanced at Kaizer as they started moving. “You coming?” Kaizer looked back at the trees for a moment before turning and nodding. Being together was better than dying alone.
As they walked, Kaizer listened. Really listened. Not just to the sounds of the forest, but to the rhythm of their steps, the unspoken order in the group. Who spoke first. Who deferred. Who complained and stayed silent. He was getting the hang of placing people into categories. He filed the information away and continued onto camp.
Once the group had returned, he could feel the mood shift immediately. Kaizer followed the group towards the tailoring tent. “Yo, you got my outfit repaired yet?” Tomas asked casually. The tailor flinched and hesitated. “No sir, I haven’t been given enough material. I’ve had to work on other projects but I just got a shipment. I can have it ready tomorrow.”
Out of nowhere, Tomas kicked the tailor to the ground and punched him in the face. “This is the second time,” he snapped, kicking the tailor in his side as he was trying to get back on his feet. “It’s a simple sleeve, what do you even do around here?” The tailor flinched but said nothing.
Kaizer stepped forward without even thinking. “Relax Tomas, he’s working with scraps, if you want things done better or quicker, you gotta provide better materials.” Tomas spun on his heels, eyes sharp. “Who the fuck asked you?” he said. “Enough,” another voice cut in. It was Lems. He placed his hand on Kaizers shoulder. “Tomas is right Kaizer, hunters works take priority around here, that’s just how it is.”
Kaizer looked around, astonished. No one met his gaze. Not even the tailor. Tomas spat near the man’s feet and walked off. Kaizer returned to his tent to meditate but found his mind wandering to what had just happened.
Later in the evening. Kaizer found the tailor sitting alone near the edge of camp. He offered him food. The man hesitated, then shook his head. I’ll eat later,” he said quietly. “Best not be seen.” Kaizer tried to ask the man a few questions but the only response he received was “look around and you’ll know.” He returned to his tent and lay awake. The camp felt different now, he was starting to realise something was off.
If the hunters and fighters are always first, what do the crafters get?
