James, after a long search, could say confidently and with quite a bit of relief that there were no serial killers looking to violate his masculinity. He shivered again at the thought of being kidnapped and tied down for a monster to do what he wanted then cut him up and stuff him in black bags.

He was quite lucky to be well… he wasn’t sure where he was exactly. The more he explored, the more confused he got. There were no other buildings, just three trees, his hut, the river, and the unused campfire. That wasn’t mentioning the small bag of brown rice–something that would probably be eaten in the B.C. years–bowl and massive spoon.

The rest was just an expanse of grass surrounded by a sheer drop. He had a sneaking suspicion that there was no end to it.

James wasn’t sure what was worse to be honest. That there was a visible ground below the floating island–he walked along the very edge all the way around until he reached the other side of the river–that he could smack and die on if he jumped or an endless sky.

Didn’t people die at a certain velocity if they jumped from a ledge high enough. Would that be more peaceful that smashing onto solid earth? Or was it painful…

Why was he even contemplating ways to die? Hadn't he been isekai-ed? A new world? A new and more improved life?

Wouldn’t he get the opportunity to be something more than a mundane clerk in a more mundane grocery store? If he was put in a medieval world with magic, does that mean he would chance upon a beauty in some remote village that would love him and he love her in return.

James couldn’t help but imagine having a supermodel wife without a supermodel complex. Just a humble girl that cared for him. He could already imagine the…

He let out a deep breath. Not now… some ancient thing might be watching him, and getting caught with his pants down was more than embarrassing. He might be well tempted to jump off the edge if that ever happened.

Or maybe he could be a machiavellian ruler! Women would throw themselves at him and he would get to…

He shivered.

Control!

Don't die of embarrassment!

Just long enough till we are isekai-ed to a new world! Princesses and humble peasants wait just for you! Or… Or fit adventurer ladies!

Just last till this tutorial is over!

So James waited. And waited… and waited some more. At some point, his stomach rumbled with a thunderstorm. Was he supposed to get hungry in some magical dream? That seemed quite counter intuitive if they asked him, then again, nobody showed up for him to complain to.

Where was the welcome? Wasn’t there a world that needed saving? James could only feel despondent the longer this took. Even his raging hard-on passed as he found himself alone in a picturesque landscape.

At some point, he was getting too hungry to think straight. Not to mention not eating anything for breakfast due to a talkative granny, he never made it to work to munch on some cookies or even get a sip of hot coffee. Add to that the time he had been knocked out and what it took to search most of the floating island.

Fuck it.

He got up and started to make himself a bowl of rice. It probably would taste terrible with no salt, spices, or any extra ingredients like meat, but it was calorie dense.

As he gathered water, and brought some fire wood together, James had an epiphany! This must be a test! He was so going to pass it, the tonne of survival videos he watched in utter boredom after work had finally a chance to come through for him!

He could even build a real and much better hut, if he recalled how. James was quite sure he could follow the steps he saw, probably. Maybe.

Probably not, but it should count for something!

Extra stats or something! Or even experience points in construction if that was a skill to be unlocked. Eventually he would be a master architect.

James hurriedly started a fire, his arms burned with lactic acid as he struggled to get a spark to appear. He used a few long sticks with enough girth to hold up his bowl. Filled with brown rice and water, he watched with an unpracticed eye as the cooking started.

Rice cookers were not that expensive, and instant meals were even easier to make. He didn’t ever have to cook properly, but again, he watched enough cooking videos to have a general idea of what to do.

It took some time, but he eventually had some slightly burnt rice and a steaming hot bowl he was too afraid to touch. There were no ointments or drugstores on the island. A burn wound could get infected and he would then die by attempted rice making.

James killed the fire then let the bowl just sit there to cool down. He came back a few minutes later, starving. Even unsalted and bland rice tasted like heaven to his taste buds at that moment.

Congratulations on accomplishing a task!

Reward 12 exp

Reward 2 bronze coins

Congratulations! Level up!

Reward Rusty sword

Reward Broken shield

2 attribute points available

Two coins as large as a nickel appeared in front of his face and fell harmlessly to the ground. A rust covered sword appeared next. That he had to jump out of the way or he would have cut himself. Half of his rice spilled onto the ground, much to his dismay. He didn’t even notice the shield that clinked behind him.

There was something more important! This was a tutorial!

“Yes! I was right!” James felt ecstatic as he cuddled the remainder of the rice.

They couldn’t send him out as a level zero or it would look extremely suspicious. How would it be possible for a twenty some year old to be at the level of newborn babies? His otherworldliness would be figured out in an instant by even the most dunce villagers.

James could already imagine a million ways he could optimize his growth while stuffing his mouth with rice. Would he get better rewards for doing greater life tasks? Exercising? Accomplishing not so easy tasks? And then there was magic in a magical world.

Magical world means magical fights and monsters. James imagined all the levels he would get for practicing his swordsmanship. Would that skill appear? And if it did, would it be a correcting guide? Or would he be stuck at a novice level because he had no one to really teach him.

What about unlocking actual wizard attacks. Fireballs and launching tornados at his enemy. And eventually, fire tornados!

James finished his food, the bland taste getting to him after he satisfied the first few bites of urgent hunger, and cleaned his utensils. Put the small bag of rice away. He had attribute points to place!

His years of gaming will do him well! Or maybe the mechanics were completely different. He gulped, feeling a lot of pressure. This wasn’t a rpg. This was real life. If his build was weak or had a glaring weakness, then he was going to be royally fucked. Glass canons shouldn’t exist if they keep dieing to stray arrows when they were level 100. Simple natural selection demanded they survive basic attacks at a minimum.

With this, he only really had two main paths to move forward. One to be able to survive larger and larger attacks, then heal them. Two to never get hit.

The second option was the most appealing, but after serious thought, wouldn’t he still be relatively susceptible to stray arrows? He couldn’t outrun what he never saw coming. It would be perfect to escape and stay out of major conflict, yet in a magical world there was bound to be area of effect attacks he couldn’t dodge.

Then again, being a slow tank just didn’t fit with him. All the pain and worse, being too slow to dodge more serious attacks that would take his life with a single shot. Maybe go down a paladin class? If there were classes.

That was too flashy and relied on what he didn’t understand or experience yet. Weren’t they based on faith in a church…? It was a modern dilemma with faith being so hard to come by in his day and age. He would have to put his trust in–if stories and novels were truish–a fickle being that would excommunicate him if he looked at an effigy wrong.

James resolved to create some form of hybrid class. The main point was survivability. Magic only made all situations more extreme…

He shook his head. It was time! It was only two points, but a boost in strength or unlocking magic would only give him a better situation to make future decisions.

“Status!” James yelled, with an expectant smile. He couldn’t contain the jubilance that oozed out his being.

“Status?”

“System?”

“Attributes?”

Shit.

“Stats?”

“Statistics”

“My character?”

James Anderson did nothing but scream out random words for the next half hour. Then did another half hour of saying them all mentally trying his best to focus on a screen appearing. But nothing. Nothing but another notification that left him confused and even more frustrated.

Congratulations on exceeding your limits!

Mental limits exceeded! First Mental limit exceeded!

1 attribute point to mental attributes available

Reward 7 exp

Reward 1 copper coin

A copper coin clinked on the sword in front of him. It chipped off a small part.

What the fu… James took a deep breath filling his lungs up. He held it. Too much cussing, he’d need to slow down. He let out the air slowly…

What the fuck was he supposed to do with an attribute point without access to the status panel?! Who made this motherfucking tutorial?! Dumbass, motherfu…

James got up and dunked his head into the river. He only came up after he couldn’t hold his breath any longer. And then he dunked his head under again. James felt his lungs burn from holding his breath, but he needed to clear his head somehow.

Congratulations on exceeding your limits!

Reward 1 exp

Congratulations! Level up!

Reward tattered robe

Reward stinky socks

Reward 10 copper coins

2 attribute points available

Sigh…