“What the…?” Matt muttered. “Guys, I think I’m losing it. I’m seeing things now!” he said as he waved his hand in front of his face.

  “If you’re talking about this weird message, then I’m seeing it too,” Jackson responded, his words helpful but worrying.

  “Amir… please tell me this is one of those desert hallucinations like seeing an oasis?” Izzy asked with a confused yet hopeful voice.

  “This is very wrong. Nothing like this is supposed to happen,” Amir mumbled, confused and worried as the rest of them.

  Matt wasn’t sure what to do. He was looking around for clues, but nothing seemed out of place other than the blinking message box. He looked at Jackson, who just shook his head in response. He’s got nothing either, Matt thought as he started pacing around, wracking his brain for any clue or details from the message, other than the obvious.

  Suddenly, a new message appeared.

  System Message

  Environmentally compatible tutorial zone located.

  Teleport initiating in:

  5…

  4…

  3…

  2…

  1…

  And then… nothing?

  The blinking box was now gone, but nothing seemed to happen. Matt scanned his surroundings only to find out that he was now all alone. Everyone else simply… vanished.

  “Okay… I think I saw this in a horror movie before,” he mumbled to himself, not knowing what to make of his current predicament. He couldn’t rule out the fact that he might’ve hit his head one too many times, but he decided to call that Plan B, opting instead for the option where he wasn’t losing it.

  “Hello? I think you missed one! All almighty you,” He yelled to no one in particular.

  A new message interrupted his yelling.

  System Message

  Applicant rejected by interim leader.

  Issue escalated, please standby.

  .

  .

  .

  Matt crossed his arms and impatiently tapped his foot on the sand. He didn’t know what was going on, but none of it sounded remotely good for him.

  .

  .

  .

  Also, why would he get rejected? This was all starting to make less and less sense by the second.

  .

  .

  .

  Teleport initiating in:

  5…

  4…

  3…

  2…

  1…

  Just as Matt was about to breathe out a sigh of relief, a blinding light enveloped him.

  Everything around him vanished as all his senses instantly got overwhelmed. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t blink, he couldn’t think, he couldn’t even scream. It was as if his brain had shut down. The only feeling left was the feeling of being pulled. And then, it all stopped.

  He slowly opened his eyes and saw that he was no longer in the desert, or even Egypt for that matter. He was in what looked like a wooden cottage you’d normally see in forested areas.

  It was small but gave off a cozy feeling, but with no indication of what it was. He had appeared in the middle of the cottage. In front of him were the front door and a fairly large window. The moon was visible in the night sky through the window, illuminating the endless fields of green, its hue soothing and calming. It was a strange sensation, going from the hot reddish yellow of the desert, to the serenity and tranquility of fields of green under the moonlight. It all seemed like a dream, yet felt so, so real.

  He sighed as he continued taking stock of his surroundings. To his left was a small kitchen, with an old school fridge and a modestly sized oven. In the middle, a wooden table and a set of chairs were positioned, signs of wear and tear obvious on them, something you’d expect from a dining set. They had definitely seen their fair share of use, yet it didn’t take away from how cozy it all looked, very simple and welcoming.

  To the right was a fireplace. The fire was crackling, its golden flame dancing in the wind as it both illuminated and spread its warmth. A picturesque scene that filled him with calmness. It was so soothing, it made him forget about all the day’s events, which was the point he assumed.

  In front of it was a very comfortable looking leather couch and two armchairs on a small circular rug. In one armchair sat an old man with a book in his hand. He seemed to not notice Matt’s arrival, or not really care, focusing all his attention on the book. Matt didn’t really enjoy interrupting people, but he kinda wanted to know what the hell was going on, so he decided to make his presence known. “Hello? Is this the tutorial?” He asked.

  “Matthew, glad you could make it. Come, come, have a seat.” The old man, talking in a grandfatherly way, invited him over. “Is Matthew fine or do you prefer Matt?” he asked.

  Matt walked over to the comfortable looking couch. He took a long look at the old man, analyzing him. He had long white hair and a neat looking long white beard. His eyes looked joyful, his demeanor felt young, yet the wrinkles on his face and the bags under his eyes told a different story, one of a man that had seen his fair share in life and wanted nothing more than to enjoy what peace and quiet it had to offer. He wore simple linen robes and had a cane next to him that looked like an elongated uneven stick. It looked too weak to support his weight, but maybe it had a different use. The man’s gaze looked gentle and kind, almost exactly like a grandfather would.

  Matt was good at reading people. Scarily good. He had to be, considering his family. Matt came from the Ashfield family. A prominent name in the States, and wealthy beyond compare thanks to their construction empire and engineering firms all across the globe. It was safe to say that no big project was done in the US or Canada without them being involved somehow.

  As the eldest son to the current family head, he was always surrounded by important people who lied, cheated and deceived for a living, so he had to learn how to read people like his life depended on it, because it might as well have. It was a life he hated and was glad not to be a part of anymore, choosing to instead enjoy a normal life with normal friends, but that was also why he chose to listen to the old man. He saw kindness in his eyes and felt nothing but honest curiosity from him.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “Matt is fine,” Matt answered as he sat down.

  “Very well,” the old man acknowledged. “And to answer your question, no, this is not the tutorial,” he added.

  Matt waited for the bit, but the old man didn’t elaborate further, so he asked. “Then who are you? And what is this place? And how do you know my name?”

  The old man smiled as if he had been waiting for him to ask. “I am a system projection, and I’m here to offer you some assistance and answer some of your questions until the first level of Earth’s integration is completed. Usually we have no given names, but you can call me Sal,” Sal answered.

  Matt furrowed his brow. The answers gave him nothing but more questions.

  “As for your other questions,” Sal continued, “this is a temporary zone, where we can have a nice, private conversation until it’s safe for you to leave, and I know who you are because you’re part of the system now, as is everyone else from your planet.”

  Matt raised an eyebrow as he repeated questioningly, “Safe to leave? Part of the system? I think I’m gonna need more details than that, I’m already lost.”

  “If you want answers, all you have to do is ask,” Sal answered with a smile, before adding, “keep in mind that many questions you will need to find the answers to yourself, so I will not be answering those. Also, some answers will harm more than help you, so I will not be giving those either. As for your earlier questions, Earth is being integrated into the wider universe. The system has been expanding its reach, and it has now reached your own sector and is flooding it with mana and information as we speak as part of the integration process.”

  Matt put a hand under his chin as he began to contemplate. Clearly something was going on. The “safe” comment still bothered him, so he wanted to know what was up with that. He also wanted to know more about the system and everything that was going on, but he had to start with the most important question to him, especially if his questions or time were limited.

  He clenched his fists as he asked. “Are Jackson and Izzy safe?”

  Sal gave him a warm smile and nodded. “They are starting their tutorial as we speak,” he answered.

  Matt let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding before continuing, “how come I’m not in the tutorial with them? Did some glitch happen with the system?” He was wondering what was up with that “rejected” message he received and why he wasn’t with his friends. It was a nice and cozy place, and Sal seemed alright so far, but he’d still rather be with them facing dangers together than sitting in safety alone.

  Sal let out a booming laugh. A laugh you’d never expect from the frail looking old man. He kept laughing so hard Matt could swear he felt the couch shake a few times. After a few seconds, Sal coughed into his hand a couple of times before finally he stopped laughing. “My apologies, It’s just always humorous how this is the conclusion most mortals, especially from the new universes come to, that something is wrong with the system or that it’s the system’s fault for any ill fortune that befalls them,” he chuckled again before continuing, “so let me put your mind at ease, the system doesn’t make mistakes and doesn’t have ‘glitches’. There is nothing for you or anyone else to exploit either, so let me save you the trouble. This was completely done by mortal hands.”

  “Then why did I get rejected from the tutorial? Are you saying that someone somewhere was like, ‘fuck this guy in particular’?” Matt asked, his tone of voice rising a bit as anger and frustration started taking over.

  Sal sighed. “The simple answer is yes,” he continued. “The interim leader of this planet declined your application. As for why, that’s tougher to answer since there is no basis for whom they can and can’t accept. It’s entirely up to them, and even something as minor as them not liking your name could be reason enough,” he finished.

  “And they can just do that? Prevent anyone from joining the tutorial just because they can? It’s like you’ve just replaced Earth’s democracy with universal dictatorship. And while we’re at it, who’s this interim leader and why does he get to decide who can and can’t go? And what the fuck even is a tutorial?” Matt asked his tirade of questions, feeling out of breath as he lost grip of his emotions, letting anger and frustration get the best of him. He closed his eyes and took a few calming breaths to compose himself. It was a shitty situation, but he needed to be sharp and perceptive, and emotions clouded that. If he wanted to understand what was going on, and not miss any clues, he had to be calm and analytical, not an emotional mess. There would be time for that, but now was not it.

  Sal seemed to understand Matt’s reaction and patiently waited for him, which Matt appreciated.

  “First, let me explain to you what the tutorial is,” Sal said, looking at Matt, who just nodded, prompting him to continue. “When a new universe gets integrated, mana starts flooding into it, but it takes time for it to be absorbed. To speed up the process for newly integrated lifeforms, planets that house life have their cores directly infused with mana matching the lifeforms on the planet. This causes the planet to expand and be a tad unstable, at least for the first day, until a minimal mana saturation level is reached.”

  “Wait, mana? Do you mean like in video games? Where I can use it to cast spells and use skills?” Matt interjected.

  “Mana is like the blood in your veins, and yes, casting is one of the uses of mana,” Sal answered his interject before continuing, “as I was saying, for optimal stability a planet needs 6 months, so the system offers already established races the opportunity to host the newly initiated, that match their own race, on their planets into a form of a tutorial. What form that tutorial takes is entirely up to them.”

  “As for your other questions,” Sal added, “whoever is responsible for a race’s tutorial, in your case humans, gets to pick an interim leader for each planet under their jurisdiction, in Earth’s case it’s The Kanaz Empire, until a permanent leader is chosen by the planet’s denizens, which in many cases ends up being the interim leader themself.”

  It was a lot to take in, so he took a few minutes to ponder and process the information. Not ideal, but it’s not hard to see how that could happen. Forging connections and alliances during the tutorial, add in a show of power and wealth, maybe a few promises of backing, protection and support, and you’ll have people flocking to you and eating out of your palms, no threats needed. “How long do we have before picking a leader? Also, how do we even decide?” Matt asked. He was the only one on Earth, so could he simply pick himself to be the leader?

  “3 years at the earliest, 5 at the latest,” Sal answered, dashing his hopes. “As for how to decide, a council is held and a method for choosing a leader is chosen.”

  That also made sense, even Earth has had its fair share of people who bought or killed their way to power, so it’s not surprising to see that democracy wasn’t the only option. Hopefully it won’t come to that for them, and a simple election could be held.

  “So that’s it? They can act like they own the place for the next 3 to 5 years with no repercussions?” Matt asked, crossing his arms and sinking into the sofa. He really hated politics, and he really hated politicians, and this interim leader was just as bad if he was picking who could and couldn’t go based on whims or because they could.

  Sal grinned at that, as if he had been waiting for this exact question all along. “Definitely not. There are severe repercussions,” he answered, to Matt’s delight.

  He perked up at that. Severe repercussions sounded exactly like what he was hoping for.

  Sal chuckled at Matt’s sudden enthusiasm. “The option to reject is given because not everyone has the resources to host an entire planet’s population, so they filter out those deemed lacking in potential or unable to use mana.” Matt frowned and was about to interrupt, but Sal kept going, “most don’t do that, especially if they’re trying to be permanent leaders, as hosting everyone from a planet buys them a lot of goodwill, making it the obvious move.”

  Matt put his face in his hands and sighed loudly. “It’s always politics, isn’t it?” he groaned.

  Sal chuckled, “Apparently so.” He leaned closer as he said his next words. “Now, when someone with potential, or extremely high potential is rejected, this happens.” He pointed between himself and Matt before looking into his eyes with a sharp, unforgiving look. “And when that someone ends up climbing the tiers, despite his… disadvantageous position, let’s just say the system can be very unkind and extremely unforgiving to the ones responsible for such a colossal mistake…”

  Matt’s eyes widened, and his face lit up. It was exactly what he had wanted to hear. As a great man once said, somebody gon' get they ass kicked, he thought, smiling wider and wider.

  Izzy was pissed…

  She ducked a punch from her right as she got inside the golem’s guard.

  She was really pissed…

  A leg sweep followed, which she avoided by jumping and grabbing the golem’s head, following up with a knee strike to its lower jaw that startled it back a step.

  When they arrived yesterday via teleportation to this city in the middle of the desert, she was confused. When she looked around and couldn’t find Matt anywhere, that confusion turned to worry.

  She followed her knee strike with a leg sweep of her own, dropping the clay construct on its ass.

  When she asked those who called themselves instructors, the answer was always the same, that maybe he got teleported to another city, which didn’t make sense because everyone who got teleported said the exact same thing, that they had appeared together, at the same time with whoever was near them, even the sick and elderly.

  She followed with a side kick to the golem’s face, which it tried to protect against by crossing its arms in front of its face, resulting in it laying flat on the ground.

  Which meant she was being lied to.

  She jumped onto the golem’s midsection and landed 2 open palm strikes to its chest, shards of clay flying everywhere.

  And she definitely didn’t like being lied to.

  She landed a few more open palm strikes to the same area, her speed increasing with every strike.

  Especially when those lies jeopardize the safety of one of her only two real friends.

  Her palm strikes came faster and faster, the golem unable to mount any defense against the sheer speed of the strikes.

  She was going to find out what was going on.

  Her strikes were a blur, crushing and flattening the golem with the ground it lay upon.

  And when she did…

  Izzy smiled sweetly while looking at the obliterated mud golem. “I guess I do need a replacement after all.”

  Author note: this webnovel is freely available on Royal Road. Please support the author by reading only on that site.

  Skill unlocked [Flurry Strikes]