[Welcome to the tutorial. You are in tutorial batch #4 (DW.T1773). You have been placed in Tutorial DW.T1773-1089: The Abandoned World, Zamone.

Date: (DW.T.T) 2nd Day of the Month of Water in the 12th year of the 1773rd Deiwos Tower. (02/04/12 MDCCLXXIII) ]

 

Langa opened his eyes, and with a surprised yelp, he noticed that he was inside a large metal cage. He looked around and spotted three large foxes with their teeth bared circling his cage. There were numerous other cages around the place and a large metal door to his left. The red foxes had glowing, unnatural blue eyes as they watched him, and he stood still, not daring to move. He stared at one of them, and words swirled above its head, along with a green bar.

 

Corrupted Fox

Level 1

HP: 30/30

 

Well, that wasn't weird at all. Foxes were dogs, right? He'd never been a dog person, and he wondered if just saying ‘Voetsek!’ would get these weird creatures to leave him alone. It worked on the dogs back home. Just as he was looking at them, two more notifications appeared in front of him.

 

[You have unlocked the System Scan. This is an innate system function that allows all mortals connected to the system to scan players, non-players, sapient creatures and items. When scanning other mortals, Name, Level, Class and Alignment can be identified. This is a basic system function and it does not work accurately on individuals or items with a Shroud.]

 

 

So, he had to complete a quest? It even had the possibility of death casually thrown in there, as if that was normal. Okay. He had decided to take this whole experience at face value and pretend he was in a game. So, he had to complete this quest, and judging by the thirty-second timer on the lock of the cage, he guessed he had just under thirty seconds until the cage opened. He hastily opened the backpack that he’d been given earlier.

 

[Tutorial Kit (Silver)

3 x basic health potion

1 x class change scroll

1 x class weapon

1 x resurrection stone

1 x Tutorial rations (1 day)

1 x standard issue comcer

5 x copper coins

 

Silver Tutorial Kit bonus

3 free attribute points

3 x basic wound ointment]

 

Langa decided to check the rest of the contents later, for now, he opened the scroll. There were four rows each with a few weapons displayed in front of the class name, along with the statement that the class could be upgraded at Level 10. The classes were:

 

• The Fighter Class
• The Rogue Class
• The Mage Class
• The Rangers Class

 

He had to make a choice quickly, and he wanted a class that allowed him to fight from afar, but he could not choose Ranger because they did not display guns, only bows, crossbows and slingshots. He had never used any of those weapons before, and he was unsure if he would be able to strike his target without the skills for it. He crossed out the Mage class as well, he had no idea how to use magic. In the end, he was torn between the rogue and fighter classes.

The fighter class seemed to be more strength-based, and he’d never used a sword or shield in real life, or fought with his bare hands for that matter. He was unfamiliar with all these weapons. He paused, looking at the spear. Did a javelin count as a spear? That was the only weapon that he was familiar with, as he had participated from time to time in the javelin throw category of the national athletics tournament. Granted, the goal of that competition was less about accuracy and more about distance thrown, however, Langa had made a sport of always throwing accurately in the 70 to 75-metre range, to ensure that he was in the top ten, but not the top three. His accuracy could help him now, and he could use the time after throwing the weapon to either run away or look for a new plan of attack.

The rogue class would be a great way for him to utilise his speed since that was his highest stat. However, the choice of weapon for that class was a dagger, and the daggers were short-range weapons. This meant that the possibility of getting hurt was high. He detested being in pain, so, he was unwilling to get too close to the enemy and risk being hit. He supposed that he could throw the daggers too though. But then again, the tutorial kit only promised one weapon, so he would rather use a weapon with higher damage.

Langa sighed, and selected the Fighter class, choosing a spear as his weapon. A prompt appeared in front of him, and after reading it, he scanned his weapon.

 

[You have chosen the class: Fighter.

+2 STR, +2 VIT +1AGI

This is a Common class. On every level up, you receive +2STR, +2VIT, + 1AGI and 3 free attribute points.

This class is upgradeable at Level 10]

 

[Crude Pike

Rank: Common

Deals 10 -20 physical damage on thrust. Double damage dealt when thrown.

Durability: 10/10]

 

The spear felt right in his hands, he was Zulu after all and King Shaka united the Zulu nation with just a spear and shield. Well, he had an army too but the point still stood.

Next, he had the free attribute points to allocate. He had played a few games with his niece, Khaya, before, but he wasn't an avid gamer. He was a very casual gamer, and he only did it when he was bored. If he used those games as a basis, then strength must determine his attack power, agility, his speed, mind, his magic power and vitality his health. Since his agility was already very high, he decided to invest his points in strength, which was his lowest stat.

Just to be sure, though, Langa asked, “Can I get an explanation of what each stat does?”

At this, a quick menu popped up, confirming his decision.

 

[Strength: determines the player’s physical attack power, damage dealt and stamina. The higher the strength, the heavier the armour that the player can wear. It also determines stamina regeneration rate.

Agility: Determines the player’s dexterity, accuracy and speed. Determines damage dealt with ranged weapons, critical hit chances, movement and attack speed.

Vitality: Determines the player’s endurance, health, innate defence and stamina. Vitality also determines the pace at which skills are learned and levelled. It also determines health regeneration rate.

Mind: Determines the player’s mana pool, magic attack power, awareness, and perception.It also determines mana regeneration rate in conjunction with other special stats.]

 

According to the system, the average stats for humans ranged between 5 to 10. That meant that his agility was insanely high, and everything else was about normal, with vitality slightly on the higher end as well. Satisfied, he placed all the free points in strength. As soon as he finished allocating his points, and the wooden pike was in his hands, the cage opened. He knew that the foxes would jump in immediately after that, so mobility was key for him. He could not allow himself to be cornered inside the cage with such a bulky weapon, and thus, he jumped up above the first fox as soon as it barged into the cage. He timed his jump accurately to land on top of the second fox, which was just at the cage entrance. He landed with a kick to its neck and saw its HP bar fall to just above half.

As soon as he found his footing on the ground, he thrust the pike into the glowing eye of the third fox which had just jumped towards him, growling. It howled in pain as its HP went down to below 50%, and Langa viciously pulled out the spear, bringing its HP down another 20%. Instead of finishing it off, however, he threw the pike towards the first fox, piercing its midriff as it darted out of the cage. Swiftly, he brought down his foot and crushed the third fox’s neck, killing it as he took away its last remaining HP. He could see flashing messages from the corner of his eye, but there was no time to check them. It had been a while since he’d killed wild animals. When he was young, living in the rural areas, he had done some hunting from time to time, but after he moved to the city, he had not killed anything in a long time.

The blood made him gulp nervously, and try to steady himself. Unfortunately for him, the second fox that he had kicked earlier had found its bearings, and it bit deep into his ankle, through his jeans.

 

[-7HP

-3HP]

 

“Yhoo!” He cursed as the excruciating pain hit him and he tried to kick the fox away. It would not budge and it tore his jeans and he lost his balance. He threw out his hands first to break his fall, and as he fell to the ground, he rolled towards the other fox that had been struck by his spear. It whined loudly in pain as it tried to move, but it was bleeding heavily lying on the ground. Still with the second fox chomping on his leg, he pulled out the pike from the fallen first fox and tried to thrust it into the second fox’s head but its skull was too thick, and the spear only left a deep gash on its forehead. Still, this was enough for its jaw to slacken and he pulled his foot free.

 

[-12HP

-9HP

-1HP/s bleeding]

He was bleeding heavily all over his damaged white trainers. A scream tore through the air from somewhere deeper into the building, but Langa had no time for any of that as he stood up grimacing in pain, and thrust the spear into the second fox’s neck, killing it. He did not have to do anything else as the first fox bled to death.

He sat back down on the floor without delay and contemplated whether to take the health potion or use the ointment.

[Basic health potion

Rank: Uncommon

Restores 100 Health Points instantly.

Cool-down: 30 seconds]

[Basic wound ointment

Rank: Common

Stops bleeding. Closes small cuts and wounds instantly.

Cool-down: 30 seconds]

 

He checked his HP first, and it was above 50% of the maximum. He had only lost 42 HP in this fight, his HP was regenerating right now, and it had increased from earlier as well. It would be a waste to use the health potion, so he applied the ointment instead. A faint heat encompassed his ankle and the bleeding stopped. It was not a small wound so the healing was not instant, but it started to close up rapidly. Satisfied, Langa checked the blinking messages at the corner of his eye.

 

[You have killed a level 1 corrupted fox

+20 EXP

+2 karma]

 

[You have killed a level 1 corrupted fox

+20 EXP

+1 karma]

 

[You have killed a level 1 corrupted fox

+20 EXP

+1 karma]

 

So, he only needed to kill two more foxes to level up, and also to get the karma he needed to complete the quest. Since he had a moment to himself, he decided to check what everything in his tutorial kit was used for, so that he would better understand how to survive in this world. After all, the quest needed him to get to a safe zone, and he had no idea how to get there, or where there even was.

The tutorial rations were something that looked like a regular protein bar and the description said it would be enough to keep him satiated for one day, the copper coins were apparently the currency of the Tower, but he had no idea how valuable they were. The most interesting items, though, were the comcer, and the resurrection stone. The comcer looked like a thick black bracelet with multiple buttons on it, while the stone looked like a small clear crystal that could fit in his hand.

 

[Standard Issue Comcer

A basic long-distance communication device used in the Tower. Uses basic mana signature for communication.

Soul bound: Does not drop upon death.

Infuse mana to activate.]

 

[Resurrection Stone

Artefact rank: Divine. (Order: The Unrivalled Tower Master)

Stores one extra life. Recharges once every floor.

(Please note, the player must bind their souls to a safe zone in order to be able to respawn)

Available respawns:1/1

Respawn zone: N/A]

 

Langa gaped at the resurrection stone. It could bring him back to life once on every floor? Was that even possible? He laughed at himself for a moment, realising that he literally had a status screen and was using a spear to fight for his survival…anything was possible. He put on the comcer on his wrist, even though he had no idea how to use it.

A loud clattering sound snapped Langa to attention. It was coming from one of the cages behind him, but it did not sound too close. That’s right, he had heard someone scream during the battle earlier. If there were more players here, that meant more monsters. There was nowhere to hide except behind the cages, so Langa tiptoed towards the cage in front of him, away from the corpses of the foxes, and hid there.

Sure enough, a fox soon appeared, but this one was dark brown instead of red, and it was sniffing around for something. It was also limping, and it looked as though its side was bleeding, and there was a dagger lodged there. He focused on it, and sure enough, he saw its level and description.

 

Corrupted fox

Level 3

HP: 74/120

 

Someone had already wounded it badly, but judging by the blood dripping out of its mouth, they probably didn’t make it. He gripped his spear tightly. The fox was about 50 metres away from him. If he threw his spear, he could bring its health down to at least 20%. His spear only dealt 20 damage, more when thrown, but he was sure that if he targeted the neck, then the health would drain faster, and coupled with its other wounds, the fox would definitely die. So he calculated the distance, and making sure to stay hidden, he took his throwing stance, putting all his power into it, and let go.

His mark hit true, piercing deep into the fox’s neck, causing it to fall with a loud grunt. He stood behind the cage, motionless, and watched as the fox bled out and died.

 

[You have killed a level 3 corrupted fox

+70 EXP

+4 karma

x1 Farguya Ghetto Map]

[Congratulations! Level Up!

Level 2

+1 karma

+2STR, +2VIT, + 1AGI

You have 3 free attribute points to distribute.]

 

Langa took a deep breath to steady himself. He was finally level 2, and this beast was much stronger than the ones he’d fought, apparently. He only got lucky because someone else had fought it first. He pulled out the dagger from the dead fox, grateful to have even one more weapon.

He opened up the map, and to his surprise, it disappeared from the scroll he was holding, only to appear in front of his eyes, like magic. There was now a tab on his status screen where he could see the map in front of him on his interface.

 

[Farguya Ghetto Map added to your Personal Map. To share your map with other players, please open the Personal Map tab on your system interface.

Please Note: The Map ‘Help’ function, which shows the location of all nearby living beings will only be active in the tutorial until the player reaches level 3. After that, only known locations will be added.]

 

He saw a black dot on the map, surrounded by a mass of stationary dark objects. There were hundreds of them, and then there were two blue stationary objects. He frowned and walked slightly forward, and the black dot moved as well. He moved towards the blue object nearest to him, and he found that it marked the cage that he’d first appeared in.

He surmised that the blue object must represent the cages where people had been locked, and he hoped to find another person in there. For a moment, he hesitated and then he stood up, walking in the direction that the fox had come from, and according to the map, it was in the direction of the other blue object. He walked past what felt like almost fifty empty cages before he reached his destination.

Outside an open cage, were three dead foxes, like the first ones he had fought, and a little distance further up, was a person lying dead on the floor. It was a middle-aged man with his eyes wide open, a dagger on the floor next to him, his throat torn apart. He lay in a large pool of blood, and Langa felt sick. His hands shook before he steadied himself. Did this person not have a resurrection stone like him?

Or perhaps, as the description said, the stone did not work until he bound his soul to a safe zone?

Blood littered the ground. The dead foxes and the torn up body of the dead man all made this entire place feel real. He couldn’t pretend to be in a game with a dead person in front of him. Was that one of his neighbours? He couldn’t tell because of the claw marks on his face. Bile rose up the back of his throat, he wanted to throw up, but he breathed in and out.

“I am in control,” Langa whispered. The mantra always made him retain his grip on reality and ground his mind.

He pushed the horrified thoughts away and took a deep breath, not having time to freak out at the moment.

He inched away from the corpse, and noticed a small backpack, similar to his own, on the ground. A part of him wanted to leave right away, but he knew he might need more resources soon, so he bent down and looked through the backpack. He only found one health potion and two wound ointments as well as the basic rations. There was nothing else in the bag, no stone, comcer or scroll, so he just took the items he found including another dagger, and put them in his bag.

He spared one look at the man and bowed his head. In his culture, those who died with their eyes open would not find peace, unless a ceremony to respect the dead was performed. Even through his shaking hands, Langa closed the man’s eyes and placed a finger on his forehead. “Your eyes are closed now. May you rest in peace.”

He was now done here. He had fulfilled most of the quest objectives, and now needed to get to a safe zone. He zoomed out on his map, it was as though he’d always known how to do it, and he saw that the building he was in, the centre, was surrounded by other centres, but there was a road outside that would take him to the safe zone, a zone marked in green on his map. By his estimation, it was about 2 to 3 kilometres away. He closed the map and walked towards the centre’s exit.