First Mission

The loading symbol appeared again.

<Do you want to exit the tutorial?>

<Yes.>

Ding!

Larson was back in the landing space. His nephew was staring blankly forward, not breathing. Larson shook the other before realizing he was still looking through the tutorials.

He was going to trot around the area to see what could be done, when the system's voice spoke again. He was getting used to this too quickly.

<Current Stats>

<Rank: Civilian>

<Experience: 0 | Health: 5>

—

[Seeker Larson, please complete your first task to collect Experience and Health.]

Bold words hovered in the air, only for him to see.

<Task: Clear Landing Area>

<Description: The landing area is your default respawn location until manually changed. At any time, the landing area needs to be free from dangerous objects that can hurt the seeker during an emergency or non-emergency situation. Completion of task is rewarded with +5 XP and +1 HP>

Larson scratched his head as he looked around. He was already in a desert, how was he supposed to clean up anything? Still, being a camper all his life, he did his best to clear up anything that could hurt the feet or tear the tent he didn't have.

That was another problem. Even if this was a game, it looked like he was using his real body and controlling his limbs as he usually would. That meant he had all bodily functions. Didn't he need a shelter to rest in? Or even a form of protection against these New Monsters that the game spoke about.

It took him less than 5 minutes to complete the task.

<Task Complete: Clear Landing Area>

<Rank: Civilian>

<Experience: 5 | Health: 6>

Such a little thing could give points? This was basic survival skill! He was in wonder when he heard sniffing from behind. He looked over his shoulder and found Tyler bent over picking up small shards of metal. His eyes were red from tears.

"Why are you crying?" Larson called to him.

Tyler turned to him, looking furious. "I play games because they make me feel powerful. Look, this game turned me into a no-power civilian. On top of that, I didn't get six pack abs on joining! This is a scam!"

His protests fell on deaf ears.

"I already told you before. There is no free meal in the world. If you want abs, you have to work for it. If you want to be powerful, you need to start from the bottom, too."

The wise words made Tyler angrier.

"Uncle, aren't you enjoying this too much? Why would I play games if I had to work hard? I would just farm in real-life, then."

He grumbled as he squatted and cleared the area. There was no joy when he completed the mission.

Larson sat under the smoldering desert son, looking around to make sure nothing and no one was approaching them, keeping an eye on the young on who was still fuming. He waded through the sand.

"I am finally done. Did the game give you the next task?"

Larson shook his head no.

[Attention Seekers. Seeker FunnyButtLicker420 has become the first player to reach Level 2! Congratulations.]

The other players were shocked to hear this, especially the players who had been working they ass off to clean their landing area. Not everyone had been fortunate enough to land on a desert. Some had landed in the destructed cities. The game had not even started for an hour and someone had reached Level 2? They looked at their pitiful stats and wanted to cry.

But that the hell was that name? How did the game server announce that screen name so shamelessly?

They looked at their own name and horror set in. They would be called by their screen name by all the other players and NPCs from then on. In front of a screen, it wasn't an issue. But everyone in the game looked real. This was digging a grave for themselves! And they would definitely want to die in it!

Despite the ruckus, most people went back to work.

"Poor guy," Larson commented as he picked himself off the sand.

"Eh?"

"Didn't you hear the announcement? Only one person wins the grand prize, so whoever gets on the announcement board… aren't they screwed the moment they meet someone?" he questioned.

Tyler finally understood. "Uncle! You're a genius."

"What genius? This is common sense. If you want to survive in the real world, you need to be the snake hidden under the flower. Just like the guy's name, he is going to be licking a lot of butts in the future. I hope he can laugh at himself then." Larson clucked his tongue.

Ding!

Just then the system alerted him to a new task.

<Task: Find Materials to Create a Shelter>

<Description: To survive, Seekers need to secure their own shelter. You can create your shelter by following the markers on the map. Once all materials are found, build the shelter on your newly cleared landing area. Completion of task is rewarded with +10 XP and +9 HP>

It seemed Tyler had received the mission, too.

He had pulled up the ground map and was turning it this way and that to figure out where to go.

Larson, on the other hand, precisely opened the map and inspected the landscape on it. The bright blue dot on it was him. There was even a small arrow pointing to the direction he was facing. The map was a basic topographic map used to hike. Any lay man could read this if they had graduated high school. The game was really making it easy for stupid people.

He got a basic understanding of the main dunes and wind patterns from the map itself, so he could find the supplies easily. On the other hand, Tyler looked close to tears.

It was only right for him to be tormented. He had duped Larson into entering the game.

"It's a topographic map. Didn't you take Geography in high school? I remember you used to draw these maps all the time," he reminded.