Freeing me from my thoughts, the doctor appeared for the last time and I quickly followed behind him. I didn't want to keep him waiting any longer.

We entered a room that had medicinal herbs locked away left and right in jars. The floor was now a stone similar to the one in the 'summoning room' instead of the soft carpet. Stopping in his tracks, the doctor turned around and finally spoke.

"Druidic Analysis."

He pointed his fingers directly in front of my face. I could instantly feel every cell in my being put on display for him to inspect, almost individually.

It was a dizzying experience like I was being judged to see if I was good enough for... something. The magic stopped just as suddenly as it began and I had to blink a few times to remember where I was.

"Perfectly healthy, please have a seat."

I took the one other seat in the room across from his desk. It had a bunch of alchemical ingredients that I couldn't even hope to understand their purpose.

"This next part is the harder one. I'm going to calibrate your Wheel. When that happens, the Wheel is going to take you somewhere that exists only in your mind. From there, it's different for everybody, so good luck."

"Is it safe?"

"It is. It's a mental trial."

I nodded my head, my excessive worry coming back. The doctor reached for my wrist with a glowing hand that reacted to the Wheel. Just like that, my calibration process began.

My eyes were heavy as I opened them. Like I just had the worst hour nap of my life. I lifted the blanket off my body as I stood up, still rubbing all the gunk out of my eyes.

What caught my attention was the lit computer. I made a habit of turning off my PC when I was done with it, I didn't like being wasteful with power.

I sat down in the red gaming chair as some game I had never seen before was playing. Something felt off to me, but I wasn't sure. Either way, this game was calling to me.

[Pick your class.]

My class..? This was always such a tough question. The game looked like an MMO, which only made the choice harder. I'd normally pick a supportive class, like a healer. I enjoyed it and I knew none of my friends would ever subject themself to 'the boring class'.

At the same time, a voice in the back of my head was telling me I'd be playing this all alone, which made the concept of a healer lose a bit of its appeal. Trying to clear an endgame dungeon in a class that was not meant to give, take, or avoid damage was a living hell.

[Paladin]
[Berserker]
[Sorcerer]
[...]

3 options appeared, and the decision didn't get any easier. The important part here was that I was playing alone. Everything I needed to do, I needed to do alone. No help of any kind. I was properly on my own this time, and neither of these 3 classes could do everything.

[Warlock]
[Priest]
[Assassin]
[...]

There was the support option, it was good to know it was there at least. But no, these aren't good enough.

[Ranger]
[Bard]
[Monk]
[...]

The Ranger could work. Dealing damage from afar was the class's specialty. But still, if anything got close I was in deep trouble. Everything in my body was telling me this wasn't a game I wanted to die in. These classes still had their weaknesses.

[King]
[Necromancer]
[Alchemist]
[...]

King? What kind of class was that? Would I have to manage a kingdom? I don't really like city builders. Necromancer was another tempting option. I could create my own army to do my bidding while I stayed safe but... I didn't like the idea of reviving the dead, especially as someone who had died recently.

...

What?

Died recently? I scratched my head. I caught a glimpse of my bracelet and my memory rushed back into my mind. Oh right, new world, new life. And it looks like this decision is more important than I originally expected. Time to think.

Alchemist was appealing, but I wanted to also be able to fight for myself. I don't know how binding these decisions are, and I don't want to make a choice I could regret. I'll check the rest of the options.

[Sage]

No other options? This was the whole list? This wasn't going to be easy. What was Sage anyway? That would be too risky a choice since it's not giving me a description.

Realistically, Monk, Priest, or Alchemist would be the best choice to make. Monk was known for its self-sufficiency. Dealing enough damage to be a threat, able to take enough not to be in constant danger, and not reliant on gear. Still... The monk fantasy didn't really appeal to me. Ki manipulation, fist fighting, all of it. It just- didn't seem all that exciting.

Priest is my favorite class. That means I'd need to be near combat, near danger, and helping all those I can. But if the typical video game strategy of 'focusing the supports' existed in this world, I didn't want to be on the receiving end of it.

Alchemist was once again an option. I could probably make a decent living cooking up potions and selling them, even if I won't get to fight whatever monsters exist in this world. And honestly, that was probably for the best.

Just as I was about to make my choice, my eyes glanced down to the final option. Why was it hidden in the final menu? Past the King Class?

I couldn't lie, it was tempting. Seeing the option all the way at the bottom felt like a reward for resisting the allure of such a powerful-sounding class. If it was between Sage and Alchemist, then were was no reason I couldn't make potions as a non-Alchemist right? Even if it takes more work and studying, the option isn't locked out. I really don't want to regret my choice.

My hand moved the mouse and clicked on my final choice, a Sage. Having finally locked in, I could see what the class was capable of.

Average damage, average utility, average defense, average agility, average speed. It was all average.

[Class Technique: Skilled Learner.]
[Skilled Learner allows the user to quickly and efficiently pick up any ability.]
[No Class Skills are available for this Class.]

No skill, but I could learn anything. It was hard to say how good or bad that was so soon. Actually, with the way the game worded it, it looked like the other classes had access to more than one skill.

[Class Passive: Quantify]
[Quantify translates your abilities proficiency into easy-to-understand numbers.]

A passive? I completely forgot about those. For a passive, Quanitfy wasn't that useful was it? It's not inherently an ability, it just shows me my character stats like a video game.

I'm praying that this wasn't the wrong choice after all. I took a risk and I hope it pays off.

[Begin tutorial?]
[Gain any 5 skills]
[Skills gained in the tutorial are removed after the tutorial.]
[Yes] [No]

Yes, yes for sure, without a single doubt. This wasn't the time to get cocky and skip the tutorial.

My character, who looked exactly like me in a 32-bit art style, stood in the field and waited for direction. I expected a popup to appear, with some game mascot telling me how to move or what to do next. Yet nothing appeared.

Naturally, I started by punching a tree.

[New Skill: Simple Punching. Grade F. Level: 1]
[New Skill: Simple Logging. Grade F. Level: 1]

Oh! That was quick. Both showed to be level 1 unsurprisingly, but this Grade thing wasn't expected. I tried clicking on it, but the system did not give me any more details.

Either way, this tree wasn't done being chopped, and I never leave wood floating in the air, no matter the game.

A few more punches and I had gathered all the wood this tree contained. Even if the skills were temporary in the tutorial, there was no harm in trying to see what the world qualifies as a skill.

[New Skill: Simple Digging. Grade F. Level: 1]

Just trying to dig a hole in the ground with my hands was another skill.

[New Skill: Simple Kicking. Grade F. Level: 1]

A kick to another tree rewarded me with another.

[New Skill: Simple Running. Grade F. Level: 1]
[New Skill: Simple Jumping. Grade F. Level: 1]

I was just doing whatever I could think of, and it was being made into a skill. I'll have to see how valuable of an ability that is once I level these skills up, but some of the regret that came with picking Sage over the other classes was starting to disappear. Quantify might not be a passive that gave actual benefits, but it was far from bad.

[5+ skills acquired. Exit tutorial?]
[Yes][No]