Chapter 4 - First Wave Begins

Welcome to the tutorial, prospective pathfinders. We look forward to your progress and growth in these hallowed grounds. And while only half of you may leave this place and truly become powerful, as is the way with the path, those who succeed will surely be rewarded handsomely.

In the tutorial, a pathfinder's job is to gain as many points as possible. Points can be viewed from within the system or on the leaderboard below. Points are earned by completing quests and dungeons, gaining rare titles and killing beasts. There are other less common methods listed in the ascension index in town.

A pathfinder must finish in the top 50% of points to pass the tutorial. The higher you rank, the greater your rewards.

Killing fellow pathfinders is impossible in the towns and on the road to them. Points will be deducted for those that have been killed. If a pathfinder dies outside of a safe zone, all their points will be removed, and they will respawn in the entrance hall.

For crafters, take the path right down into the port town. You will gain points by creating and selling weapons and armour you have crafted.

For combatants, take the path on the left to the sheer steps. There, you will have to defend a town from escalating beast waves while also having an opportunity to challenge the sheer steps.

Best of luck, and we'll see you on the other side.

Lan finished reading the bulletin board, and his stomach started turning. He felt nauseous at the thought of fighting an endless wave of beasts, especially when he was woefully unprepared. What chance did he have when everyone here had years of training?

Morgan nudged him in the ribs with their elbow, "Hey, you alright?"

"What? Oh... Yeah, just nervous, I guess. I've never really killed anything before," Lan admitted sheepishly. He had fought in plenty of bar fights in the hotel, but he had never taken another animal, let alone a person's life.

"Ah, don't worry about it. Look at me. Do I look like I've killed anything before?" Morgan gestured to themselves, their skinny frame and wide brown eyes the picture of innocence.

Lan frowned, "I'm sure they had you practice at the academy,"

They rubbed their shaved head uncomfortably, "Yeah... there was some stuff with a... Animals... But I'd rather not talk about it," they mumbled, eyes downcast and ashamed.

All around them, people were making their decision quickly, waving goodbye to each other as they split off down different paths. Morgan and Lan decided to follow the crowd going up the hill since they were both combatants with their talents.

As they walked up the hill, Lan decided that, for now, he wanted to get a better understanding of how the stats worked, specifically health. "Is there any way I can view something like health in depth?" He asked Morgan.

Nodding, Morgan explained that all Lan had to do was say, 'View health,' and an in-depth breakdown of the stat would appear.

[Health: 35/35

Modifiers:

Vitality = 50 health

Endurance multiplier = 0.7

50*0.7 = 35]

Now that he could see his health in detail, it was pretty clear to Lan that he needed to upgrade both endurance and vitality simultaneously to get the best out of either of them.

With that in mind, he placed three free points into endurance, bringing the multiplier to 1.

He used the remaining free points to bring strength and Dexterity to 10 and vitality to 6.

[Name: Unknown

Title(s): None

Age: 18

Race: Human - G

Class: None

Talent: Weapons are my Weapons - G

Health: 60/60

Mana: 30/30

Level: 0

Strength: 10

Dexterity: 10

Endurance: 10

Vitality: 6

Mind: 11

Intelligence: 3

Luck: 11

Free Points: 0

Skills: None]

Perhaps it was his improved endurance, but the remaining walk up the hill was nowhere near as brutal as it would have been a few days ago. Instead of panting for breath, Lan talked with Morgan as they walked, asking them questions about life in the schools and how they had been prepared for the tutorial.

"So, is there anything I need to watch out for?" Lan asked.

Morgan looked over their shoulder to ensure no one in the nearby crowd was listening before talking. "Yeah, watch out for second-generation kids. They have way more training than everyone else and aren't afraid to use it,"

Lan frowned, "The gap can't be that big…right?"

Morgan shook their head, sighing, "It's even bigger than you think. If it was just them having better weapons and training, that would be one thing. But they learn all the tips and tricks about the tutorial from their parents before coming here. I'll bet everyone who makes it above the sixth step is a second generation. And the majority of people who pass the tutorial will definitely be second-generation scions… this… what I'm about to say next is purely speculation, but I think that the real reason the academy takes in orphaned kids like me is to increase the odds of survival of second-generation scions in the tutorial,"

Morgan's face was grim when they finished talking, and Lan wasn't any better, "Is it the odds? If more than half the people they bring are poor kids, and second generations do way better than us, then most of them will survive," Lan muttered, working it out as he spoke.

"Honestly, for us normal kids, getting out of here with our lives is a success. And if you make it out with a decent title and class, that's a downright miracle!" When Morgan said the words title, their eyes were glazed slightly.

"Titles?"

"Yeah, they give bonus stats to those who accomplish difficult things. For example, the first person to reach level 10 and get a class here will probably get a title. But nobody else will get one for reaching level 10, only the first person,"

Lan nodded in understanding, "Is there any way to get titles that don't rely on time constraints?"

"That's what I was going to say next. In the tutorial, there's this set of challenges called the sheer steps. They get progressively harder, and the more you complete, the better because you'll be awarded titles based on how many steps you climbed,"

Lan thought everything over and felt at even more of a disadvantage than he had expected. Everyone here had such a big head start on him, and the only way he could see to catch up was to work twice as hard as they did. But if there was anything Lan was good at, it was working hard. As long as he was smart about it, he was sure he would survive this and finish in the top 50%.

Seeing how far behind he was, Lan was itching to catch up as quickly as possible. He couldn't wait to fight something and level up. And it wasn't long before he got his chance.

***

The town they finally arrived at was ramshackle at best. It was almost an insult to city planning that this haphazard collection of wooden huts could even be called a town. It looked like every building had just ended up here by accident.

The cobbled road ran through its centre and continued towards a colossal cliff with massive cliffs carved into its granite rock. The enormous steps were far too big for any human to use, looking like they had been designed for giants. Each one was big enough to build a house on. And not the shitty little wooden huts in the village, not the rundown apartment Lan lived in either.

A proper house.

On either side of the road was a collection of huts surrounded by a short, spiked wooden barricade that encircled the entire town. The barricade was a random collection of wooden stakes driven into the ground, some so old they were rotting.

The second they set foot into this town, Lan and Morgan got a notification from the system.

[Alert: Quest Assigned

Defence: Once a day for the next month, this town will be attacked by rabid beasts spawned from the twisted forest. Enlist the help of crafters and improve the town's defences, holding the beasts at bay until the tutorial ends. Contribution to protecting the town will be awarded points.

Rewards: Special titles for critical contributors. See additional rewards on the leaderboard. Points will be released on the completion of the final wave.

Failure: Death for all.]

Lan gulped when he finished reading that, realising he might be a little glad for the rich kids being here. He could already see them near the barricade, organising teams to prepare for the coming waves of beasts.

He was just about to ask Morgan what to expect from the beast wave when a booming gong sounded from the centre of the town. All at once, everyone glanced around, trying to find the source of the sound. Only to be greeted by another message from the system.

[First wave. Begins.]

Like swarming locusts, thousands of young people that had been casually milling about in the town burst into action immediately. Grabbing their weapons like well-trained soldiers and marching towards the barricade confidently. Their faces were set in grim determination, a look Lan had rarely seen where he had grown up. People were never that assured or confident in the District.

Running alongside Morgan, Lan felt distinctly out of place. It was at least some consolation that Morgan didn't seem to be faring much better. Their march was far less measured and confident than most of the other teenagers. The skinny teenager looked awkward and ungainly amongst their well-built fellows.

Lan felt his heart pounding as he neared the wall. Strangled snarls and the clashing of weapons rang out from past the barricade. Strangely enough, it wasn't fear that set his heart racing, but excitement.

He had been in plenty of bar fights over the years and knew how to take a punch, but this was his first time in a real life-or-death battle. The atmosphere here was different, the air smelt bloody, and the crazed look in people's eyes was almost manic. Quickly, Lan began to get drawn into the madness, soaking in the blood and screams of the fighting.

Seeing that he was in a big group of people, he quickly realised he would only have a little to do when the fighting started. One of the stronger kids would take care of most of the monsters, and he would be left without a chance to level up.

'I need to push myself! I need to take more risks than anyone else, work harder than anyone else, and I can't do that if I'm in a big group like this,' he realised, affirming that he needed to separate and search for his own battles.

Lan tapped Morgan on the shoulder and shouted across the din of fighting, "I'm going off on my own!"

Morgan shook their head and tried to grab Lan's arm, "No! That's a bad idea. We have no idea how strong those monsters are!" Their voice quavered, almost pleading.

Grinning, Lan brushed off Morgan's hand and slipped out of the group. He felt almost naked outside the protection of the big crowd. The only thing keeping him alive now, was him. A thought that, while it should have been nerve-wracking, made his blood boil.