William followed the steps he had done previously. He pulled out all three of the remaining [Skill Shard]s he had from his inventory and held them in his hand. He placed [Pathetic Hardiness Boost] into the next open slot on his status page. It was sucked into place. He watched with an almost child-like wonder as the system held onto the shard, air whooshing out like advanced technology, swirling around and locking it into place. It was very much like what he expected the first one to look like.

  He placed the remainder into the openings. Each one settled exactly like the first two had without any difference.

  A cold feeling started to permeate through his body. William shivered only to shout as a feeling of being thrown into a freezing cold pool filled his entire body. He shivered and shook uncontrollably as his body attempted to fight off the cold.

  The system dinged with another notification.

  [Class]Unlocked!

  Pathetic Tavern Brawler (F-)

  Rewards in Inventory!

  Tips and Hints -

  Use Runes to level-up your classes by upgrading your stats!

  Wisely select your path of development!

  William stared at the [Class]he had been given for a few moments. He couldn’t help the disappointment he felt as he re-read what he had been given over and over again. A [Pathetic Tavern Brawler] did not seem like anything special, if he was asked. It was rather underwhelming if William was being honest with himself.

  Out of everything he could have gotten in a magical, fantastical, otherworldly game-like world, he got the most basic mundane thing possible, worse than that. William was confident he could have been the same exact thing without needing to go through a tutorial or being miraculously saved from certain death. All he had to do was get drunk enough and find the right bar or tavern back on earth.

  All it would take to be much better was to train in boxing or Muay Thai for a few years.

  He had been expecting lower-leveled, but still genre appropriate classes like a warrior, mage, archer, soldier, pugilist, or anything else he could think of. Not this though.

  The frustration was only curbed by seeing that his levels had unlocked as well. It gave him hope for future development, upgrades, evolutions, or a mutation of some sort to get him out of the (F-) ranked class. Especially the part with the brackets; [0/49]. It would take him fifty levels of hard work, but it was something he could look forward to and grind towards to become stronger.

  Status User William -

  [Class]- [Pathetic Tavern Brawler (F-)]

  Level - 0 [0/49]

  Runes Held - 3

  Runes Needed for Level Up - 665

  William didn’t get any advancement in his stats, everything remained the same, yet he felt the difference in his body. He started stretching as he marveled at how great he felt even with a (F-) ranked class. The longer he did, the more amazed he was. It felt like he had reached the peak of what his athleticism used to look like during his heydays.

  He began to bounce on the balls of his bare feet, enjoying the springiness of his movements. Not even his potato sack of a shirt bothering him with every movement could decrease the ecstatic energy that filled him.

  Error…

  System Malfunction…

  William stopped moving as he watched the system have another stroke. It struggled to finish whatever process it was going through. He had to start controlling his emotions and reactions when dealing with it from now on. At least until it gained a resemblance of normalcy or stability.

  [Class]Error…

  [Pathetic Tavern Brawler (F-)]...

  EroRoorrr…

  All four [Skill Shard]s shook like pokemons that refused to be captured by a poke’ball, violently trembling like they were about to explode. William took a step back, not that it created any distance.

  It took a few long, grueling seconds before something happened. They froze for a moment and then shot out, slamming into the different walls of the cell. William had to dodge one that almost tore through him. He was sure that the sharp crystal shard was sturdy enough to rip him apart with that much momentum considering they did not chip after crashing into the walls.

  William ignored them for a moment. He had far more important things to figure out before he had to pick them up. Mostly his status page. He let out a long, relieved breath as his status page did not change except for the empty skill slots. [Pathetic Tavern Brawler] was still in its spot and his leveling mechanic remained unlocked. He had to worry about what this would look like once he reached level fifty and needed to evolve his [Class]into something else. Would he still need to figure out how to place them back? Not that he had any Runes to level up yet.

  He had the ‘Earthly Realm Rune Shard [1]’ in his inventory that he got from finishing his quest. He could put it forward to getting closer to leveling up, but it was still a long way from what he needed. Then again, it might be wiser to save up those rune shards for when he needed them in the future. A final boost rather than the bulk of his leveling up. Or maybe he could sell it to others directly rather than through the system.

  There was also the fact that he had not lost any of the effects of the [Class]either. He still felt fresh, athletic, and stronger too.

  Another sigh escaped him. William made his way around the cell to pick up the [Skill Shard]s and held them in his hands. He stared at them for a few moments as he considered the options available to him. There was not much he could do at the moment.

  “What do I do now?” he said to himself.

  William guessed that trying to put them back into place would be a logical next step. Maybe in a different sequence than before? He hoped that would change the system error messages and prompt it to do something other than have a stroke and launch dangerous projectiles back at him. The second he finished placing the last one, the system buzzed and flashed red a few times. It spat out the [Skill Shard]s onto the floor, unceremoniously, without dangerous levels of momentum.

  The system dinged with another notification.

  System Code Red (Class) Error.

  Combination already in use…

  Please provide the system with a new combination of [Skill Shard]s to unlock your class.

  Tips and Hints -

  Using the same four [Skill Shard]s does not provide the same [Class]to two different people.

  Randomness and destiny play a role as well.

  William blinked at the message in his vision. “Does this mean what I think it does? Can I get multiple classes?”

  If he could somehow figure out how to convince the system to allow him to use multiple classes, then he could make up for the lack of ‘Shop’ access. This was a type of advantage he doubted anyone else would have other than him. One he could wring for everything it was worth to get ahead of his competitors and do whatever the ‘Saving Humanity’ part was supposed to be. He could already imagine always having an answer for difficult and unique situations he would encounter during. Being quiet and required to sneak across terrain? Use his dexterity based [Class]. Need to use brute force? How about fighting something that can only take damage through magical means?

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  William could counter anything thrown at him.

  Though he could see the disadvantage as well. He would need to figure out how to level all of his classes as he got them, while his competitors would all be leveling up a single [Class]. Without another one to distract them or take their attention away from maximizing it. He could see how that could hurt him in the long run if he did not find a way to grind or work extra hard in order to level himself up. William would need to work and struggle while everyone else was sleeping. When they chose to have fun and relax, he had to find ways to level up and grind in order to keep up and keep his greater advantage viable.

  Changing classes wouldn't matter if his enemies could just blast him away with a single powerful and overwhelming attack while he was searching through his options trying to find a way to counter it. Power was the grand rule after all.

  Then again, it all hinged on what he would find in the Ruined City of Balfiemeth.

  William wasn't sure if there were any [Skill Shard]s that he would find during his exploration considering this was supposed to be the end of the tutorial. Though he was confident that this was not supposed to be the end of the tutorial per se, but rather it was supposed to keep going, maybe play out in a different place entirely. He wasn't sure to what extent the system malfunctioning affected everything that he was dealing with. Did it malfunction during his transportation?

  Or maybe it was supposed to provide him with bigger and better stuff to use during this process like tools and weapons that he would find along the way as he followed the tutorial during the exploration of the Ruined City of Balfiemeth. Considering his highest ranked quest was just to escape, he didn’t have high expectations that this area was easy to deal with.

  “Probably a good idea to not sit here any longer,” he said. William put all four of the [Skill Shard]s back into his inventory, then picked up the broken shield and the rusty long sword and equipped them.

  .

  He knew that they were probably not going to be any good in a direct fight, almost more dangerous to him than his foes, but having them gave him a sense of calmness. Holding the pommel of the sword and strapping the shield soothed his nerves. They could be decent projectile distractions at worst. William shook his head and resolved himself to get moving. He was confident that others were further along already, simply due to the availability of quests. Add onto that their ability to use [Analyze] and access to the shop and he was starting at a horrible position. They could start out with buying powerful [Skill Shard]s and weapons off the bat rather than deal with what he was currently using. Unlocking many [Class]es in the process as well.

  The tutorial probably was only showing them how to use these [Skill Shard]s, giving them an example with (F-) [Skill Shard]s and a terrible [Class]to boot. Once they left the tutorial they would know exactly what to do and how they could optimize it to best suit their needs. Not that he had this option anyway. He would figure out how to work around it eventually. Just a matter of time.

  William readied himself and walked up to the opened gateway out of the cell. He peeked out, looking left and right and noticing the torches first. They swayed back and forth to a wind he could not feel. The dancing flames cast long shadows back and forth throughout the entire hall. William just hoped it wasn’t some invisible gas that would suffocate him the second he walked by it. The halls looked pretty much the same in either direction, except onto the right there was a corpse not too far away. One that seemed to have much better armor and weaponry than what he currently carried.

  He stepped out of the cell and walked up to the closest torch while keeping an eye on the corpse. It seemed like a good ambush spot, one that he was not about to fall for.

  William made an attempt to remove the torch off the wall, but quickly learned that might be impossible for the current him. The wooden torch seemed to have sunk into the stone walls themselves rather than being held up by something else. While the wood itself was far too strong for him to break no matter how much he tried to leverage his entire weight behind his pulling. It did not even budge slightly.

  Finding no success, he moved towards the corpse to check it out. William was careful to protect himself in case it shot up and dove at him instead of sitting there unalive.

  A guardsman corpse that looked like it had been withering away for ages. Completely dried up with skin stretched tight onto its bones without a single shred of meat anywhere on its body. Though the set of armor seemed in good enough shape. The metal breastplate, shoulder pauldrons, and helmet were all dirty, scratched, dented, and beat up, but otherwise good enough for William to use.

  William got closer to the corpse and poked it a few times with his rusty sword, just in case it was still alive and he hadn’t activated it. It sank into the exposed areas a few inches without any resistance until he touched bone. The rusty sword was already crumbling apart from something so basic. The corpse did not react. William took a moment to consider his options: Whether he wanted to desecrate a corpse or follow his need for a dopamine rush in the sense of looting.

  He eventually decided against it. Had this been a monster he was fighting, then it would have been earned loot. William would be damned if he didn’t take what was rightfully his. But to desecrate the already dead felt wrong and unacceptable. This was real life, not a game. He wasn't a grave robber.

  The thought to [Analyze] it did cross his mind, but he was quick to throw the idea out. The system did not self prompt an analysis of the corpse before him, so he guessed it wasn’t anything important. No notification should mean it was safe. It wasn’t worth the torment of going through the horrific headaches he felt during his attempt to use that ability the first time. William did not enjoy being tortured.

  William nodded to himself as he turned around to walk away—

  Cold fingers snapped at him and grabbed his wrist. The dead corpse opened its eyes, screaming something shrill and loud enough to hurt his ear drums. William matched its scream with his own. Though his was filled with fright as he instinctively tried to rip his arm away from its tightening grip. It was too strong and body light enough that it ended up being picked up to its feet from his haste to scramble away.

  It threw its body at him with more force than anything that skinny and dead should ever have, sending him tumbling to the ground and doing his best to fight his way back up.

  The dead Guardsman screamed as its eyes lit up into red flames for orbs.

  William was half standing as he turned around in time only to see it swinging its sword faster than he could react. Tearing his throat open. William fell back to the ground. He dropped the sword and shield as he scrambled backward as he did his best to hold his open neck wound closed. Blood spilled out in the gallons through his fingers. He tried to scream but could only gurgle. It only took seconds before his eyes began to blur and the loss of blood made it difficult to think and breathe.

  The system dinged as a red notification popped up. Prompting an [Analysis] too late and showing him an enemy that it had not recognized before.

  Enemy Detected!

  Corrupted Guardsman (E-)

  Danger Ranking - Overwhelming Force

  William felt the world spin as he lost strength in his arms. He fell to his back as he watched as a blurry figure he knew to be the [Corrupted Guardsman] raised its sword up high–

  System Code BLACK (Loop) Error…

  Removed Corrupted Files Re-Entry to System Procedural Structure…

  Error…

  ERoeeRoroEr…

  Welcome back to the Tutorial User William (1oPg72j9) -

  Become Stronger. Save Humanity…

  … System Malfunction Detected…

  Corrupted Files Unresolved…

  Congratulations! Tutorial Finished!

  …

  William’s eyes snapped open. He shot up off the ground screaming. He scrambled with as much haste as he could fuel in his limbs from the expected strike that was coming. Pushing himself until he felt his back hit the cell wall. It was only then did he get back the sense to notice what surrounded him. Most importantly, was the lack of an armored dead thing killing him. He found himself back where he had woken up after the transfer into the portal.

  William felt his arms tremble as he reached for his neck as he searched for the deep, fatal injury he had sustained. There was nothing there, no blood on his clothes, no scar or anything else that could have hinted that he had his throat sliced wider than he could smile.

  “H-How did I get back to the cell? Where’s the ?” he said out loud without any issues speaking. Again proving that whatever happened… had not happened? How was that even possible?

  Except now he stared at the trail of notifications the system gave him. Most importantly was the red flashing light of what had attacked him. A [Corrupted Guardsman] with a danger rank that seemed beyond what he could deal with kept flashing. The first thought that came to his head was: Corrupted with what? Would he also be tainted by whatever had gotten the guardsman if he was not careful?

  System Error…

  William felt a tremble run through his entire body as he considered that he should have died. His eyes drifted to the next part of the notifications. He did not understand what the system was having a stroke about, but he was not an idiot to complain. He did recognize a few words. Mainly [Loop] and the welcome message he had gotten the first time. Except that he didn’t need to go over the tutorial again.

  Rest/Recovery/Save Point Recorded…

  Tips and Hints -

  Retrieve your Lost Runes from your last location of death.

  Dying again before retrieval destroys any Lost Runes.

  William looked back at his status page and found that his [Runes] were currently sitting at zero. Losing three was no big deal, but later on when he was close to a big level up? The thought of losing thousands of [Runes] by dying to something stupid after a boss fight made his eyes twitch.

  Again, he started rubbing his neck and gulped hard. Phantom pains made it clear that this was no game or dream.

  His assessment of this being real life and not a game returned to him.

  “Fuck that. I'm looting every corpse I find! Desecrating every grave! I can’t let any advantage, no matter the size, escape me when even a shambling corpse is strong enough to tear my throat out with a single strike.”