4. Floor 0: Tutorial (4)

The safe zone was a town, closed out from the outside by a wall, and a tall metal gate. Although, to be fair, calling it a town was definitely stretching it. 'Farguya Ghetto' was etched on the sign as the went inside. There was a guard tower on the inner part of the gate, but no guards in sight. In fact, there appeared to be plenty of cabins inside there, residences, and shops as well along the road, but there were no people anywhere.

As they walked from the gate to where Liv and Sigurd were leading them, Langa took at look at the desolate streets. There was not a soul to be seen, and where it looked to have been a market, there was only rubble. Near the center of the town was was looked like as statue, the remnants of a great battle had cut it in half, until there was very little left as evidence of the being that the monument was for. This whole place gave Langa the feeling of a once bustling , living world that had its life sapped from it.

An abandoned world.

Would earth one day become like this too? There was no way he could know that.

A prompt appeared in front of Langa.

[You have entered the safe zone; Farguya Ghetto. Would you like to bind your soul here? Y/N]

"Um, bind my soul? What does this mean?" Makoto asked, staring into space.

"Hmm? Did they not teach you how to bind your resurrection stone in Constellation Studies?" the magician, Sigurd asked.

"Constellation Studies? What's that? Was there a class we were supposed to take before we came into the tutorial?" This time it was Langa who asked in confusion. This, however, seemed to puzzle Sigurd even more.

"I think that they are not from a natural world, Sigurd." Liv said, giving him a reproachful look. He turned to Makoto and said, "Just say yes. That way, if you die outside the safe zone, you will respawn here."

Before Langa could respond to the message, both Makoto and Sigurd spoke at the same time, in equally excited voices.

"We can come back to life if we die?"

"Holy shit! I've never met anyone from a lost or forgotten world before!"

Langa rolled his eyes and bound his soul. Nothing really happened, and he did not feel anything different inside of him.

"You can only come back to life once on each floor, unless if your god or constellation gifts you with a resurrection stone that has more lives. Otherwise, try to stay alert, and don't die." Liv explained as he led them towards the largest building in what Langa assumed to be the centre of the city.

Meanwhile, Makoto had gotten over his apprehension and was busy asking Sigurd what he meant by natural and lost worlds. Langa listened along to the explanation as well. Apparently, lost and forgotten worlds were worlds in which the constellations watching over them wanted to allow them to grow and prosper outside of the influence of the towers, and the Divine Wars, they were independent, unless the constellations requested the tower to take them in. Natural and blessed worlds were those which grew under the watchful eye of the constellations and the gods, and most of them prayed to be chosen to be part of a tower, that way, they would have access to the powers of the gods, be free from the Void, and could participate in Divine Wars.

None of that made much sense to Langa, and by the time they reached the town hall, Makoto was hanging onto every word Sigurd said. The whole town looked like it had seen countless battles, with very few houses or shops looking intact. The town hall was no exception. It was located inside a large courtyard with a smaller building next to it. The top floor of the town hall was caved in, and it looked like part of the second floor was badly damaged as well.

Inside the hall, was a large table with over 20 seats, and on the other end of the room was an open door into what looked like an extravagant, albeit medieval looking, gym or training area. Langa could not see everything through the door because at that moment, a woman came through the door.

The woman had long shaggy light brown hair, her skin was pale gold, and her eyes were brown and unnaturally round, larger than any eyes Langa had ever seen before. She had a small snout for a nose. Langa would have found her cute, like a cat, if not for the heavy chain mail armour that she was wearing, and the aggressive manner in which she walked up to them.

"Wow, gotta hand it to ya. I thought you'd find corpses if you went out there," the woman said, casting a brief glance at Langa and Makoto. She then squinted, looking at Langa. "What the hell? Is it another arrogant dark elf? What's up with your hair?"

Langa raised a hand to touch his dreadlocks, and found nothing amiss. "Um-"

"What's your nose for, you idiotic woman. What kind of lionkin cannot smell a human up close?" Another person said from the other side of the room.

While the woman sniffed him, Langa looked over at the other occupants of the room. There was an old man standing in front of a fox painting on the wall, his hands clasped together and eyes closed.

The others were sitting at the end of the table, one man, one woman. The one who had spoken was the male one, he had dark skin, darker than Langa, short sleeked back white hair, and long pointy ears. His dark eyes were watching Langa with interest, and he found himself shivering for some reason from that look, and looked away from the handsome dark elf. The woman was also a dark elf, and she stuck close to the elf next to her. They were eating their tutorial rations, unconcerned with anything else.

"Oh, you're right. He is a human. Weird." she shrugged and then walked away, tail swishing behind her as she walked.

"What the hell?" Makoto asked, coming up behind Langa.

"Forget them. Go talk to the old remnant NPC, you'll complete your quest." Sigurd said with a shrug as he went to sit at the table while Liv went to speak to the lionkin woman.

Although Langa had a million questions, for now, he felt that completing the quest was more important. "Come on. I'm ready to learn more about this world, let's talk to the old man." he said to Makoto and the boy followed him.

"Excuse me, sir? Hello?" Langa said once they reached the old man.

"Hello, player. I am a remnant of Elder Farguya. I was merely showing my gratitude to The Unrivaled for sending you to our desolate world. I am thankful that you made it here safely." the old man said with a bow.

[You have completed Tutorial Quest #1

Quest Completion grade: A

+200 Experience

+250 karma

+40 copper coins

+3 Tutorial Rations

+1 skill book

+1 leather breastplate

+1 leather trousers

+1 leather boots

+1 leather jacket]

[System Announcement: 7 out of 10 players on Zamone have managed to complete the first tutorial quest.

+50 bonus experience to all surviving players.

Tutorial Quest #2 will be issued in 22 hours.]

Once he was done, Langa said, "Thank you, Elder," and he stepped aside to let Makoto through.

The most intriguing thing out of all the rewards he received was the skill book, so Langa quickly opened it.

[Skill: Flash Step

Active skill

Skill Rank: A

Skill description: Lv 1 (0%) : Promptly move to a target location within a radius of 5 metres. If there are any foes at target location; 2x Agility damage dealt.

Cost: 30 Stamina

Cooldown: 10 seconds.]

[Please note: Player can only learn a maximum of:

5 Passive Skills (0/5)

10 Active Skills (0/10)

10 Divine Skills (0/10)

Would you like to learn the skill 'Flash Step'? Y/N]

Langa only hesitated for a moment as he noted that this situation was different from those types of games where players could learn an infinite number of skills without limit. This was an A rank skill, and it was really good, probably thanks to his tutorial quest completion grade. He grinned thinking that almost being killed by a level 5 fox was worth it after all.

"Yes," he said, and a white light surrounded him, a jolt going through his body in an instant, leaving heat in its wake. And then it was over.

[You have learned the skill: 'Flash Step']

Next, he wanted to change out of his ripped jeans and t-shirt , even if it meant changing into the crude leather armour.

"Brother Langa, what does it mean that my quest completion grade is C? Does that mean that I almost failed?" Makoto asked, once he was done talking to the old man. "And how come you have so many clothes? I only got one cloak?"

"Maybe it's because I saved you? I don't know." he replied.

"Hmm… well, I got a C rank skill called mana shot, it allows me to create mana arrows that increase the damage dealt by my arrows, so that's something I guess," he said, learning the skill.

"Langa, can I borrow you guys for a minute please?" Liv called out to them. He was sitting at the table, along with everyone else, and although Langa wanted to quickly change from his torn clothes, he decided to follow Lady Mira's advice and get along with the other players, so he and Makoto joined them at the table.

"Thank you all for agreeing to this meeting. I thought it was important for us all to get acquainted and plan how we're going to work together moving forward," Liv said. He sat at the head of the table, and Langa caught the female dark elf eyeing him disdainfully.

Langa looked at the two dark elves to get their details since they had not had the chance to introduce themselves. The woman was Qin Ghol III and she was level 3, while the man was Fi Kindaro III and he was level 4. While he was at it, Langa also checked the lionkin lady and her name was Eniche V Tigris Vale, also level 4.

Fi Kindaro III snorted at Liv's statement. "Get acquainted? Don't tell me, are we going to go in a line introducing ourselves and telling each other our likes and dislikes? Oh, let's all be friends and get along nicely," he said with a sneer. Ghol laughed as if he had just said the funniest joke.

"No. I just want to get the logistics out of the way, Kindaro. This is the safe zone, so technically we can go live anywhere inside the town for the next week, but I just wanted to suggest that we all stay here, it's convenient," Liv said to everyone, unperturbed by the mockery. "I spoke to the Elder earlier, and he said that he prepared 10 rooms for players to sleep in, I'll show you where they are upstairs. I think it's a good place for the seven of us to sleep for the time being, it makes communication easier."

"Sure, whatever. I like it here, the training room is really brutal and I can challenge myself all day. I can even fall asleep in there if I want," Eniche said in approval, and Sigurd nodded.

Langa neither approved nor declined, as it seemed like Liv was not done talking. "The Elder knows a few passive skills as well, so if anyone wants to learn a new skill, you can ask him to teach you. The fee is cheaper by margins compared to how much more expensive it would be to learn the skills inside the tower," Liv informed them.

"What kind of fool would waste one of their precious 5 passive skill slots by learning a skill from a backwater world abandoned by the gods?" Ghol asked, disdainfully.

"We can learn skills from other people? Not just from skill books?" Makoto asked in awe, and Ghol, Kindaro and Eniche stared at him in surprise. "Um… Brother Langa and I aren't from a natural world, that's why I'm asking."

"It's quite alright kid," Sigurd said kindly. "Yes, you can learn skills from someone who has a a grandmaster level in that skill. They usually charge a fortune though, and they may help you raise the level of your skill too if you-"

But before he could finish, Kindaro banged on the table, barely contained anger apparent on his face. "The gods have truly abandoned this world. What the hell is this nonsense? Someone as gifted as myself was actually thrown into this unfathomably pathetic team? Two low level common outworlders with no concept of the gods or the might of the tower dare to sit on the same table as me, royalty from a blessed world?" he barked angrily turning his gaze from Langa and Makoto to Sigurd, "If that was not bad enough, the team also includes a viking who chose a fucking magician class? Are you insane? Your kind cannot even feel mana! I have spent my whole life training to control mana, to build a mana core in preparation for when The Unrivaled finally chose me, but what? I am here with only fools who shall drag me down in this tutorial!"

Sigurd pursed his lips, and looked down. Makoto was trembling next to Langa, but Langa himself was neither upset nor angry. Discrimination was something that he'd faced his whole life, elitists who resented his talents when he performed better than them, children at school who bullied him because they were jealous of his talents and even racists who tried to put him down every time he was chosen to compete in national tournaments. It did not bother him anymore, after all it said more about them than it did about him. Right now, he lacked information about this new world, but he would still not lag behind, without even trying his hardest, he knew he could surpass everyone in this room… except maybe Liv. There was something about his aura that made Langa hesitate.

Ghol put a hand on Kindaro's shoulder, "Your Highness, please calm yourself. They do not deserve your attention let alone your anger." she said.

"Yeah, Calm down Kindaro. Do not look down on others based on their background that you know nothing about," Liv warned him.

"Oh please," Eniche said scratching her shaggy hair with narrowed eyes, "what else can you expect from him? Dark elves only care about their misplaced superiority complex. All you know how to do is to follow your deranged demon gods as they take over other people's worlds. You're just a bunch of leeches!"

Ghol pulled out her dagger and stood up, "You dare blaspheme against The Great Thousand Undead?!"

"Ghol, sit down. Do not entertain that filthy animal. You will lose your intelligence," Kindaro said, not even looking at Eniche. "As for you, Liv'Kungsadu, what gives you the right to act like a leader? You demigods are really full of yourselves, just because you were born to power while the rest of us had to work for it!"

Even as Kindaro tried to provoke him, Liv remained calm. So, he was a demigod, then? No wonder Langa felt a dangerous aura from him.

Having been silent enough, Langa decided to speak. "You bring up a good point. It would be easier to make decisions if we had a leader. I think that should be our first order of business."

Ghol sheathed her dagger and sat down. "Very well human. Since His Highness Fi Kindaro III has the highest noble status, he shall be our leader."

"Like hell!"

"Me, being led by a power drunk dark elf? Over my dead body!" Eniche snarled.

"That can be arranged, bitch."

Sigurd, who had been quiet since Kindaro insulted him, laughed. "This is good. In viking culture, the leader is always the strongest. We must have a fight to determine our leader."

Eniche cracked her knuckles with a satisfied grin, "A battle royale, then? I'm going to pound all your heads in."

Once again, Kindaro snorted, "You wish to drag us down into your insane cultural norms? I think not."

Liv put up his hand to silence Eniche who was about to retort, "Guys, this is a safe zone. We can't fight here, only spars are allowed. We need to agree on a peaceful way to get a leader."

"In my culture, the custom is to let the eldest person choose," Makoto said quietly.

"Yeah, no thanks kid. I'm not interested." Sigurd said, since he was clearly the eldest.

Langa rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness of the situation. "Have none of you ever heard of democracy? What kind of worlds do you live in? Let's just vote. Whoever gets the most votes, wins… and everyone has to listen to them."

Kindaro huffed, but did not argue, and Eniche just shrugged. No one seemed to object to the suggestion, so Ghol said, "Fine. I vote for His Highness."

"Thank you Ghol. I also vote for myself." Kindaro said with a nod.

"I vote for Liv," Sigurd said.

"Okay 2 votes for Kindaro, 1 vote for Liv," Langa said keeping score.

Makoto grinned up at him, "I vote for you, brother."

Langa snorted, "There's nothing I hate more than having responsibilities, I vote for Liv as well."

Liv looked at Langa with a frown, "Don't sell yourself short. I think you-"

"We need someone who knows about what's going on in charge," Langa said cutting him off. He was inwardly panicking at the thought of being chosen to lead. He absolutely hated being in charge of anything, or anyone especially not this crazy bunch. He was also way too lazy to have all those responsibilities piled on him. "Eniche, what's your vote? We've got 2 for Kindaro and 2 for Liv."

Eniche bit her lip. "I really don't like dark elves or demigods, but only one of you has pissed me off today. So I vote for Liv'Kungsadu."

Langa heaved a sigh of relief as Kindaro cursed in frustration. "Well, Liv, it looks like you win… unless you were gonna vote for Kindaro of course." he said with a satisfied smile.

Liv sighed. "Fine. You guys elected me, so I will be the leader then, if no one objects."

"As long as it's not the lionkin, I don't care," Kindaro muttered, arms crossed.

Langa was just pleased that he was not the leader. He was smiling when he received a new prompt from the system.

[You played a major role in allowing your team to become the first team in the Floor 31 to 40 tutorial batch to select a team leader.

+50 Karma

Hidden Quest Unlocked!]

HIDDEN QUEST #1

Quest Rank: Unique

Quest Objectives:

Gain your teammates' trust using any means necessary. Learn the motivations that your teammates have for climbing the tower, and what drives them to fight. Build team unity!

Time Limit:

Tutorial Only

Quest Limitations:

Progression: 0/6

Cautions:

N/A

Quest Rewards:

Rare Title

Langa stared at the quest in front of him and resisted the urge to laugh. Get these people to trust him and open up to him? Yeah, there was no way that was happening anytime soon.

"Oh, I just received a hidden quest for being the first in our entire tutorial batch to be elected as a team leader," Liv exclaimed. "It says that we need to fight 10 battles in which I'm the party leader, and win. The reward is a title that will enhance our party play."

Kindaro stood up, "Let's go right now. The tutorial is seven days long, but we all know the quicker we complete it, the more rewards we get."

"I think we should wait to go outside the safe zone until tomorrow when we get the main tutorial quest," Sigurd suggested.

"What? We need to level up before that!" Kindaro snapped.

"Sorry, but I'm not going out of the safe zone today. I'm going to spend the rest of the day training, getting used to my new skill and my weapon. It would be foolish for me to go out there and get into a fight without knowing the extent of my powers," Langa said to everyone. "Makoto, you'll train today as well."

"Okay," Makoto nodded.

"That's a great idea, Langa, is it? I'll show you the training room. It has everything you could ever wish for if you want to get stronger. I also need to train to get back into form since the tutorial reset my level." Eniche agreed with him.

"Okay, I'll help you train as well, Langa, so that we're all in top form tomorrow. The stronger we are individually, the stronger the team." Liv said, and then he looked around the table, "Is anyone willing to help Sigurd train his mana control?"

Kindaro rolled his eyes, "Fine, I am the only other mage in here anyway. Hey, you viking, I will teach you, but only because I need as many of you as possible to be alive at the end of the tutorial to get better rewards."

Things seemed to be going as well as they possibly could with such a mix of different personalities.