Alex was in shock, speechless as he stared at the words in front of him. He had reread them several times over and was doing so again.
***
Welcome to the Universal System
The region of space you are in has reached the population threshold required for integration.
As such, your planet is one of the ones beginning induction into the wider universe.
As the most populous planet in the region being integrated, Earth has been chosen as the focal point and will be transformed into a Prime Planet. All beings on other planets in said region will be brought to the new Prime Planet Earth upon completion of the tutorials.
Beings of this region will share tutorials.
After integration is completed, you will be transported to your starting locations. The tutorial's starting point will be based on your current geographic position and the terrain around you.
***
Scanning subject and surrounding area…
Scanning subj-
Error-
Anomaly detected.
Error
Unable to scan due to interference.
Investigating interference…
Evaluating results…
Reallocating additional resources to increase the scan.
Interference mapped and reason found.
Interference caused by pre-system technology.
Error-
Additional interference detected.
Advanced spatial pocket found.
Resuming scan of subj-
Error-
Unable to determine denizen race due to high levels of interference.
Reallocating additional resources.
Scan is increasing by 1000%
Subject unscannable due to high concentration of pre-system technology and metals, and high levels of spatial mana.
Determining subjects race based on information gathered…
Determining…
Scanning location…
Calculating…
Race found. Only one possible option exists.
Progenitor race detected.
Reallocating…
Warning: Integrating a member of the Progenitor race will temporarily require all available System resources in this universe sector.
Please wait.
Please wait.
Reallocating resources…
Reallocating resources…
Reallocating resources…
Reallocating resources…
Reallocating resources…
Reallocating resources…
Reallocating resources…
…
…
…
…
..
.
The messages kept scrolling before Alex for several minutes, and he began to wonder if he had broken something. He reread it again and again.
What the hell is going on…? System? Tutorial? Progenitor Race?
I’m probably just dreaming, right? I did fall really far, so maybe I have some brain damage going on, and this is all just an awesome hallucination.
…
…
Resources Granted.
Processing…
Processing…
Completed.
Prepare for integration into the Universal System, Progenitor.
***
Pain.
That became Alex’s world as it ripped through him suddenly and without restraint. It became mind-numbing as it radiated through him, searing his mind and breaking his body. He couldn’t think. His skin felt as if fire scorched it, his bones blasted to powder, his muscles ripped and torn. Every piece of his body shifted, changed, and was rebuilt.
He screamed through it all, screamed more than he ever had before and more than he thought possible. His throat quickly tore from the strain, vocal cords shredded, lungs giving out as his screams became silent.
Time lost all meaning to Alex. Minutes, hours, days. He didn’t know how long it went on.
Eventually, after what he felt was a millennium, light returned to his eyes when they finished regrowing in his skull. What he saw was something he wouldn’t soon forget.
Stars. Planets. Galaxies. The entire universe was bare before him. He saw everything.
They’re so close that I could reach out my hand and grab them… and why shouldn’t I? It would be my right, my destiny to fulfill. My Path. They will be. All mine.
The idea of that made him feel whole, complete. That feeling surged through him.
Immediately after, pain followed, bringing him out of his thoughts. His vision quickly shifted; the stars and the universe disappeared. He reappeared in the broken-down ruin he had been in before. His rapid breathing slowed as the pain slowly faded and drifted away, his mind cleared, and relief slowly began to flow through him.
What… was all that? I don’t understand. How am I even alive? The pain… the things that happened to me…
Tears slowly formed in Alex’s eyes as he remembered what had happened. He was kneeling and slowly lowering himself to the ground, threatening to curl into a ball, never to get up again.
I remember everything… my body broke in ways that shouldn’t be possible... I-I…I don’t understand… How…? The pain…
Alex felt himself on the verge of breaking down from the memories. The pain and thoughts of what he had gone through. Every time he saw a part of himself, he remembered the pain that area felt. The skin, muscle, and bone. The memories were so vivid and overwhelming in his mind.
The more he thought about it, though, and the more the pain faded away from him, so did the feelings behind it. Slowly, but surely, as the minutes passed, Alex got himself under control. The strong emotions he had been feeling behind the painful memories were disappearing.
What…? My emotions… how? What the hell is going on? When I think about what I just went through its like watching a movie. I can clearly see it's me, but I don't feel anything while watching. I remember the pain, and it feels distant now.
What did the System do? Is it fading those memories or distancing me from them? What the hell is going on, and how's that possible!
This is freaking ridiculous. How am I okay with what just happened?!
AND… what was I thinking when I saw the stars and universe? Why did I feel the need to have it all? I felt like the universe rightfully belonged to be. But that's fucking crazy and makes no sense. I still think this is all definitely some brain-damaged hallucination.
Alex slowly raised himself up and leaned against the nearby wall. His body was heavy, and he felt the need to be braced up and supported. He didn’t feel confident to stand yet.
As he shifted his head a bit, a piece of long silver hair fell before his eyes, startling him.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“What the fuck!” he screamed, reaching up to grab it, thinking it was a spider web or something.
Giving it a small tug to throw it, he realized it was attached to his head. Quickly moving his hands over his head, fingers running through it, he realized he had a whole head of long silver his. His hair.
“Is that my hair?!” he screamed again. This time, it sounded a little less girl-like. “Why is my hair long and silver?! I’m not a mutant monster hunter!”
When he woke up that morning, Alex’s hair had been cut short and blonde. Wonder and disbelief filled him as he stared at his ridiculous new hair. Those feelings were tinged with a bit of anger, too. While it's true he had always loved his hair, the main problem was that it reminded him of his family. The family that was no longer alive. Both his parents and his little brother had the same blonde hair he had. Well, used to have.
It didn’t take long before he realized that his pain had disappeared, too. Not just the pain from recent memories, but the pain from his caving escapades and mishaps. The bumps, bruises, cuts, and his leg were all healed.
But before Alex could think anymore about his interesting new hair or his miraculous recovery, another message appeared in front of him.
***
Integration complete.
Prepare to be transported to your tutorial.
3..
2..
“Mother fu-”
1..
When the countdown finished, a blinding light struck Alex. Hues and colors of all varieties flashed past, disorienting him and making it difficult to keep his eyes open. Thankfully, it only lasted a few seconds before the lights went out; otherwise, he felt he might have been sick. When he reopened his eyes, he realized he was somewhere else.
“Oh, look,” he started sarcastically. “I’m still inside a cave, awesome. A magical System teleported me to god only knows where and put me into another damn cave. I love it. You’re so thoughtful, System, thanks for the assistance.”
“Asshole…,” he mumbled.
Alex glanced around the cave and instantly noticed how vastly different it seemed. This new area was much smaller, and the ruins were gone, for starters. The temperature had also skyrocketed, uncomfortably so.
Damn its hot. He thought, pulling his shirt up and down to fan himself with the air.
***
Welcome to your tutorial.
Information: You must survive for 30 days. Time will be based on the new Prime Planet Earth’s previous time calculations. One day will be twenty-four hours, or one daily solar cycle.
Collect experience and System Points by defeating monsters and other tutorial participants or completing other accomplishments the Universal System deems worthy.
You will be able to spend these System Points (SP) in a System Store when it becomes available.
Good luck, gain power, and, above all, survive.
Time remaining: 30 days
***
As Alex finished reading the message and it disappeared, a small object materialized in front of him and floated there. It looked like an uncut gemstone, three inches in diameter. New words quickly appeared before him.
Use this Basic Class Gem to gain your first class.
Hesitantly, he reached out and plucked it from the air. Holding it in his hand, he stared at it for a moment. Words appeared over the gemstone automatically, but they were different from the previous System messages. Those previous words had appeared directly before his eyes, as if they were on the sunglass lenses he wore.
These new words floated directly over the item, but were still clearly readable and perfectly sized.
-Basic Class Gem-
This is a basic class gem designed to be used by denizens of the Universal System to gain their first class.
Okay… that’s cool. And classes? Like… video game classes? He wondered to himself as he held the gem in his hand. Before another thought came, more words appeared in front of him.
Do you wish to consume -Basic Class Gem-?
Yes/No
Consume…? I don’t have to eat it, right?
Yes? He thought, attempting to answer the question in front of him.
The gem dissolved instantly, and new words appeared.
Choose your basic starting class:
Warrior
Mage
Support
Scout
Only four options? Seems low… Maybe because it’s a ‘tutorial’? But I guess it's just a starting class, so hopefully I can change stuff later.
Ignoring the fact I’m sitting here in a weird cave, thinking about picking a video game class in real life, I’ll just go with the flow and think about this logically…
If it’s a dream, cool. And if it’s real? Well, that’s a problem for future Alex.
Now… Can I get more information on these class options here? That’s the real question.
He took a moment and focused on the first option, warrior. A description appeared.
Warrior Class
A Basic class granted to newly integrated denizens of the Universal System.
A warrior is a physical fighter who prefers heavy or medium armor and can use a variety of weapons or engage in hand-to-hand combat.
Hmm, seems pretty basic. Exactly what you’d expect of a warrior class. Melee weapons, armor, and surviving some hits. Let's see what else we got…
Mage Class
A basic class granted to newly integrated denizens of the Universal System.
A mage is a magical fighter who wields the elements to fight at close or long range. Throwing balls of elemental magic, shaping the world around you, and harnessing forces of nature, mages can do it all with enough power.
This class will require the user to pick a starting element: Fire, water, wind, or earth as a beginning focus.
Magic… he thought in awe, a starry gaze in his eyes as he fantasized about all the wonders he could achieve. It was something everyone dreamed of.
I can’t say I’m not tempted to take that choice right now. Wielding magic to sling fireballs, hurl lightning bolts, or fly in the wind, it's all something I would love to have.
Support Class
A basic class granted to newly integrated denizens of the Universal System.
A support helps those around with healing or defensive skills. Closing wounds, buffing allies to bolster their strength or stats, and using magical shields to protect those important to you, many paths are available to support classes.
That’s not too bad at all. I never minded being a healer in video games. But I do worry about picking a support right now… In this cave and alone, it could be hard to survive or do enough damage to actually kill something. There's a high chance I’d just run out of mana from healing myself before I could punch them to death.
Scout Class
A basic class granted to newly integrated denizens of the Universal System.
A scout is an agile fighter who typically prefers small blades or ranged weapons, such as daggers, bows, short swords, or thrown projectiles. Stealth is a standard for this class and sometimes a necessity, since they prefer lighter or medium armor.
Rogue or archer type class, huh… That’s definitely always a good option. A lot of good decisions, it's a hard choice.
All four could be useful, but since I’m alone and stuck in a cave for who knows how long, I don’t feel comfortable picking support. I know healing is important and can save my ass, but I just can’t risk it. I need to make sure I can defend myself a little. Hopefully, I won’t have to.
Mage is tempting. God, I’d love to blow shit up! I just worry I won’t be able to protect myself if something gets close. It doesn’t tell me what kind of skills I would get, so it's a gamble. One that has my life on the line.
Scout or Warrior, though, both could work. Warrior might be a big basic, though. It’ll definitely be a smack, my enemy, faster than he smacks me kind of thing, and just hope that I don’t bleed out after.
I don’t have any bow experience, but I do think Scout could be my best choice. Stealth is king! I can pick my fights and avoid danger a lot more often.
Yeah, screw it, let's go with Scout.
Accept Scout Class?
Yes/No
Yes.
Incompatible class choice for a Progenitor. Unable to comply.
“Wait… what?” Alex said aloud in surprise.
“What the hell do you mean by ‘incompatible class’? You're the one who gave me this gem! And what the hell’s a Progenitor?!” he yelled at the System response.
“Whatever, let’s go with warrior.”
Accept Warrior Class?
Yes/No
“Yes.”
Incompatible class choice for a Progenitor. Unable to comply.
“Dude. What. The. Fuck. You told me to use the damn gem and now decide I’m ‘incompatible’? Make up your mind!”
“It’s definitely not ideal, but let’s go with Mage then. Can’t complain about that,” he mumbled to himself.
Accept Mage Class?
Yes/No
“Yes, and you’d better accept it this time, asshole.”
Incompatible class choice for a Progenitor. Unable to comply.
“You mother fu–ahhhh! God damn stupid piece of shit machine System! I hope you get a damn virus for make me pick a support class! If I die in this damn cave, I’m going to come back and haunt your ass!”
Frustratingly, Alex picked support.
Incompatible class choice for a Progenitor. Unable to comply.
A Progenitor cannot use a Basic Class Gem. Use a compatible gem.
“Why the hell did you give me a gem I couldn’t use?! And what gem?! I don’t have another one, you dumb ass System!”
Scanning Progenitor…
Compatible Class Gem found. Use the gem, Progenitor.
“System, robot, person, whatever you are. What gem?! You only gave me one, and I haven’t seen any others. Do you need to get your scanner repaired or something?”
Alex quickly searched his pockets and found nothing. He dumped out his backpack all over the ground. It was filled with an assortment of things: a few bottles of water, protein bars, random rocks and metals he’d taken in the ruins, and the book that wouldn’t open.
“See, no gems,” he said, looking up into the air where he thought the System was watching from.
Open the book, Progenitor.
“Already tried that, it wouldn’t budge,” he replied, as he reached out and picked up the book from the ground. He admired it again for a moment, feeling the warmth still radiating from it. Slowly, he ran his hand over the cover and slid his fingers towards the edge. Electricity tingled his fingers as they moved. Upon reaching the book's edge, he pulled.
The book opened effortlessly. Alex let out a gasp, his eyes going wide at what he saw inside.
There was a gem.
It was black, speckled with white, and streaked with gold. It looked eerily similar to the book in his hands. As he reached into it and lifted the gem, the book disintegrated, the dust falling between his fingers onto the cave floor below before it too disappeared.
Ignoring what had happened to the book, Alex purely focused on the gem in his hand. He gazed at it, transfixed by its beauty and the feeling it gave him. He felt… complete. Whole. As if everything he had ever wanted or needed was right there in his hand. A warmth sank into him from the gem, a warmth born of something far beyond his comprehension. It sank deep, deep into his bones.
“What… is this? It’s so different than the other Class Gem,” he mumbled to himself, still completely absorbed and mesmerized by the gem. He did notice that no information came up showing him more details or its name.
Make a choice, Progenitor.
Use this gem and be forever locked into this Path, or don’t and use a different Basic Class Gem.
Another gem, just like the one he used before, materialized in front of him.
-Basic Progenitor Class Gem-
A basic class gem, specifically created for the Progenitor Alex Everett.
This item will bypass the usual restrictions and allow the new Progenitor to choose a basic class like everyone else.
Choose.
Alex hesitated, refusing to reach for the new gem that floated in front of him. He knew what it would mean if he took it.
A basic gem… like everyone else. Do I want that? It’s true, I know what a warrior, scout, mage, or support is, and generally what they would do. But I could pick something different. Something that might be strong. Or weaker, I guess, too. But I have a feeling it's stronger.
Do I risk it?
What do I want, to be like everyone else, or to forge a new path as whatever the hell a Progenitor is?
Alex knew what he wanted. He’d known since the choice was offered, but he didn’t want to make a rash choice, always trying to keep himself logical and grounded.
I want to be different and to grow strong.
He used the gem that was already in his hand.
Do you wish to consume -Progenitor’s Path Gem-?
Yes/No
There it is again. Progenitor. And what the hell is a Path?
Yes.
Alex’s body glowed, a glow so bright he couldn’t directly look at his own hands for fear of blinding himself. Instead, he focused on his shadow on the wall. The crystals all around the cave made it clear, even with his currently glowing body.
His shadow twisted and changed, growing larger than himself. It became speckled with white, stars shining brightly in it, the outline growing a vibrant gold.
To Alex’s immense relief, no pain came, just the light show that had transpired. While the light died down and he saw his shadow returning to normal, a screen appeared before his eyes. On it, he saw his information, right as another message appeared.
Class Gem accepted.
